NOUS - The Feminist Podcast

Extra points and conversation on Episode 024 about cancel culture in feminism!

In this week's episode, we take a look at the role of cancel culture in today's society and how it is impacting the feminist movement. We try and navigate the definition of cancel culture, the positive and negative effects it can have on feminism.

TW: mention of sexual violence, transphobia

Some of what we discuss includes:

• cancelling vs. holding accountable
• public vs private opinions
• JK Rowling, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Greta Thunberg
• Donald Trump, Andrew Tate
• trans recognition

Don’t forget to download, listen, subscribe and review, and be sure to share this podcast with others who would be interested!
Our blog:
www.nouslondon.co.uk 
Our Instagram:
@nous_ldn 
Our email:
admin@nouslondon.co.uk 

In this episode looking back on International Men's Day, we ask Ken and Tom to give us some insight into the men's mental health crisis in the UK from their perspective. 

Among many other things, we cover:

• toxic masculinity
• processing emotions
• validating men's need for help
• mental health
• LGBT allyship
• women's marches
• the role of men in feminism
• inspirational men 

Don’t forget to download, listen, subscribe and review, and be sure to share this podcast with others who would be interested!

Our blog:
www.nouslondon.co.uk 

Our Instagram:
@nous_ldn 

Our email:
admin@nouslondon.co.uk 

On this week's episode, we commemorate Remembrance Day and the largely overlooked role of women before, during and after the First World War. Durham English Literature Masters graduate, (and our social media rep) Annabelle Saunders, discusses Vera Brittain's autobiographical book "Testament of Youth" (published in 1933), exploring the various layers of struggle she endured as a university student pre-1914, during active service on the front-lines as a nurse, and her reception upon coming home from war. 

Among other topics, we discuss:

• the bravery of Vera and many others like her
• parallels to modern day realities faced by women
• how women have been erased from narratives of remembrance
• the relevance of Vera's work and the importance of hearing her story
• women's work & position in places of education prior to, throughout and post-WW1
• the changes and continuities in perceptions of women in the post-war period 

Don’t forget to download, listen, subscribe and review, and be sure to share this podcast with others who would be interested!

Our blog:
www.nouslondon.co.uk 

Our Instagram:
@nous_ldn 

Our email:
admin@nouslondon.co.uk 

In this episode we look at the dark side of Siri's female voice and the wider issues of the gender disparity in the technology and AI industries.

Among other things we discuss:

• the history of women in tech
• women in STEM vs boys in humanities
• the gender pay gap
• women leaving the tech industry
• sexual harassment against Siri and Cortana
• sex-bots, and the abuse of them
• using female voices as mobile assistants

Don’t forget to download, listen, subscribe and review, and be sure to share this podcast with others who would be interested!

Our blog:
www.nouslondon.co.uk

Our Instagram:
@nous_ldn

Our email:
admin@nouslondon.co.uk 

In this Black History Month episode about misogynoir, Tati Kapaya and Nivea Makinde share their experiences as Black women in today's society as well as thinking about the historical factors that brought us here.

Among many other things, we discuss:

• Black pain in the media
• the use of language to express said pain
• humiliation of Black artists
• dehumanisation and emancipation
• exclusion from mainstream beauty
• the potential holes in feminism
• performative activism
• words of advice and encouragement for younger Black girls

Some extra clips from '019 - Endometriosis and Painful Periods' where we chat about our own period stories:

• hiding sanitary towels up our school jumpers
• leaking in public
• comparing period symptoms with other girls 
• teachers telling you 'you should've gone at break' when asking to go to the toilet

This episode takes a deeper look at the underlying political background behind Zhina (Mahsa) Amini's death and the protests that it has sparked, with Noorin's personal stories about her relationship with Islam.

Among other things, we discuss:

• ethnic minority treatment in Iran
• the morality police
• is the hijab really a symbol of Islam?
• the role of religion in government
• how neo-colonialism is shaping our understanding of Islam and these protests

Don’t forget to download, listen, subscribe and review, and be sure to share this podcast with others who would be interested!
Our blog:
www.nouslondon.co.uk 
Our Instagram:
@nous_ldn 
Our email:
admin@nouslondon.co.uk 

This episode is inspired by the UK's 2022 decision to make labelling calories on menus compulsory in all restaurants and cafes to increase "healthy eating" ignoring the increase in calorie counting and other disordered eating habits, a problem that disproportionately affects teenage girls.

Among other things we discuss:

• who is actually benefitting from diet culture?
• how governments can actually promote healthy eating
• reasons why people can't afford a healthy lifestyle
• why does the patriarchy want skinny women (and muscly men)?
• the obesity epidemic vs internalised fatphobia

Don’t forget to download, listen, subscribe and review, and be sure to share this podcast with others who would be interested!
Our blog:
www.nouslondon.co.uk
Our Instagram:
@nous_ldn
Our email:
admin@nouslondon.co.uk

Continuing on from our previous episode on the relationship between social media and sex crimes, we explore the extent to which the sugar daddy-baby relationship has been glamourised and advertised online, as well as the dangers of this romanticisation for young women. 

Alongside plenty of other topics, we explore:

• reasons people go into sugaring (from both sides) - be it want or need
• the historical origins of this often exploitative dynamic and how the internet and social media has helped it become widespread 
• motives of sugar daddy website owners 
• the dangers and complexities of partaking in sugaring 
• how feminism plays a role and how it is absent
• the rebranding of love as transactional 
• and how sugaring has been separated from traditional sex work through its online glamorisation 

Don’t forget to download, listen, subscribe and review, and be sure to share this podcast with others who would be interested!
Our blog:
www.nouslondon.co.uk 
Our Instagram:
@nous_ldn 
Our email:
admin@nouslondon.co.uk 

In this episode we try to unpack some of the horrifying realities of when sending nude photos goes wrong. As we say in the episode, if our audience were predominantly men, we would put the onus on them to stop sharing their girlfriend's or ex's nudes with their friends; however, as our audience consists mainly of women, we hope that instead we can protect our listeners from ever being in that situation, even though the victim is never at fault.

Some of the topics we cover include:

• why/how many people take nudes
• the laws around revenge porn
• why some women don't report it
• hacking phones/Cloud for nudes
• blackmailing and threatening
• Deep Fake nudes and pornography
• protecting yourself online
• buying and selling nudes by location
• "Collector Culture"
• 1 in 5 men admit to intimate image abuse
• online toxic masculinity
• the loophole in the law
• Verified Associates, Revenge Porn Helpline, #notyourporn, My Image My Choice

Don’t forget to download, listen, subscribe and review, and be sure to share this podcast with others who would be interested!
Our blog:
www.nouslondon.co.uk 
Our Instagram:
@nous_ldn 
Our email:
admin@nouslondon.co.uk 

On today's episode we disucss the origins of shaving in the Western world, and what its relevance is to our modern beauty standard of female hairlessness. Alongside this, we examine the impact of making hairlessness the norm and how this has changed across cultures and eras. 

Among other topics, we explore:

• how body hair has become a symbol of feminism and not femininity
• the first razors advertised for women and its link to capitalist motives 
• different body hair standards across cultures 
• the paedophilic undertones of the standard
• the influence of advertising on culture 
• modern femininity as a performance 

Don't forget to download, listen, subscribe and review and be sure to share this podcast with others who would be interested!

Our blog:

www.nouslondon.co.uk

Our instagram:

@nous_ldn

Our email:

admin@nouslondon.co.uk

In this episode, we discuss the various components contributing to gender socialisation throughout childhood, concentrating on gaming, toys and the school sphere. Exploring the impacts of specific branding and advertising, we dissect the effects of reinforcing strict gender roles and norms upon children. 

Some of the topics covered include:

• the debate between gender essentialism and constructivism 
• differences in branding and advertising in toys, stationery and sportswear for boys and girls 
• raising children as gender neutral and the 'theyby' idea
• the potential reasons for and consequences of reinforcing a strict gender binary in childhood 
• the connection between gendered branding and capitalist motives

Don't forget to download, listen, subscribe and review and be sure to share this podcast with others who would be interested!

Our blog:

www.nouslondon.co.uk

Our instagram:

@nous_ldn

Our email:

admin@nouslondon.co.uk

In this episode we have the pleasure of interviewing GB athlete, Anastasia Davies, as we discuss the role of women in the world of sports, the opportunities presented to them, and those from which they are held back. Among much else, we discuss:

• the gender pay gap
• % of women in executive positions
• moments of solidarity
• injustices and double standards
• football, cricket, tennis, athletics, gymnastics
• the best and worst things about being a female athlete
• dangers faced by female athletes in their personal lives
• a message of encouragement for budding athletes

Don’t forget to download, listen, subscribe and review, and be sure to share this podcast with others who would be interested!
Our blog:
www.nouslondon.co.uk 
Our Instagram:
@nous_ldn
Our email:
admin@nouslondon.co.uk

In this episode we welcome Faye and Mitra to discuss some of the reasons we became feminists when we were younger, how it has impacted us, and when we might not have even identified as feminists at all!

Some of the topics discussed include:

• 'TERF' (trans-exclusionary radical feminism)
• what it means to be a feminist to us
• times that being a feminist has helped us
• times we thought we were bad feminists
• how our values have changed over our teenage years
• would our younger self be proud of our feminism today?
• what makes a bad/good feminist?
• does a bad feminist even exist or does it all contribute to the same cause?

Don’t forget to download, listen, subscribe and review, and be sure to share this podcast with others who would be interested!

Our blog:
www.nouslondon.co.uk

Our Instagram:
@nous_ldn

Our email:
admin@nouslondon.co.uk

We are so happy to introduce Jessie Wade in this episode about the overturning of Roe v Wade to explain the background of abortion rights so we can begin to unravel the effects that this decision will have on women in the US.

Some of the topics we will cover include:

• abortion legislation globally
• how many women are directly impacted
• the background of Roe v Wade (1973)
• Planned Parenthood v Casey (1992)
• Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization (2022)
• trigger laws in the US
• the history of modern anti-abortion rhetoric including midwifery and eugenics
• the class and racial disparity
• examples of information about safe abortions

Don’t forget to download, listen, subscribe and review, and be sure to share this podcast with others who would be interested!
Our blog:
www.nouslondon.co.uk
Our Instagram:
@nous_ldn
Our email:
admin@nouslondon.co.uk

In this episode we are honoured to have been hosted by Amy Rowlinson on Focus On WHY, her incredible podcast about the reasons that push people to follow their passions.

Some of the issues we cover include:

• creating a podcast as young women
• solidarity with other women
• the concept of sisterhood
• the role of feminism in society
• what pushed up to make a podcast
• why it is so important to us
• advice for other young women (and anyone listening!)
• micro aggressions in male-dominated spaces
• the importance of intersectionality

Don’t forget to download, listen, subscribe and review, and be sure to share this podcast with others who would be interested!

Our blog:
www.nouslondon.co.uk
Our Instagram:
@nous_ldn
Our email:
admin@nouslondon.co.uk

To kick off Season 2 of the NOUS Podcast, we are discussing 'pick me' girls, both as a culture and as a term. In just a few short years, this phrase has gone from defending the core values of feminism, to enabling the fragmentation, and therefore the potential weakening, of the feminist movement.

Topics discussed include:

• the term 'pick me'
• the cause and rise of 'pick me' culture
• 'pick me' women in authority
• selfish feminism on a wider scale
• 'pick me' boys and gaslighting
• the rejection of femininity
• weaponising feminism

Don’t forget to download, listen, subscribe and review, and be sure to share this podcast with others who would be interested!
Our blog:
www.nouslondon.co.uk 
Our Instagram:
@nous_ldn 
Our email:
admin@nouslondon.co.uk