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Kat Banyard

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Kat Banyard
Kat Banyard in 2010
Born1982 (age 41–42)
OccupationWriter
Known forFeminism

Kat Banyard (born 1982)[1] is a British author and activist against sexual inequality.[2] She is the co-founder and director of UK Feminista,[3] a feminist pressure group whose campaigns have included Lose the Lads Mags,[4] and the author of two books on feminist topics. She has also made appearances on UK television channels discussing feminist topics.[5][6] Banyard's work is critical of choice feminism, the beauty industry[7] and the sex industry, which she describes as "commercial sexual exploitation".[7] In 2010, Kira Cochrane, writing for The Guardian, called Banyard "the UK's most influential young feminist".[2]

Career

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While at university in Sheffield, in 2004 Banyard set up FEM Conferences, a conference designed to bring together a range of campaign groups and activists working on gender equality to build communications, as well as educate people about gender discrimination.[8] In a profile with The Observer, Banyard said she set up the conference because she "wanted to be able to go somewhere to be inspired and there wasn't anything like it".[9] Banyard worked at the Fawcett Society until 2010 as Campaigns Officer.[10] In 2010 Banyard founded UK Feminista.[11]

Banyard's first book,The Equality Illusion: The Truth about Women and Men Today was published in 2010. Observer published a critical review, arguing that while its subject matter is important, the book is poorly written and infantilises women.[12]

Her second book, Pimp State: Sex, Money and the Future of Equality, was published in 2016. Pimp State posits that prostitution is at risk of becoming normalised, and critiques the idea that sexual equality and the sex industry can coexist. The book was reviewed positively by Helen Lewis in New Statesman and Sarah Ditum in Guardian.[13] Financial Times described the book as "punchy and breezily written".[14] Charlotte Shane wrote a critical review in The Spectator, claiming the book misrepresents the views of those who support decriminalisation of the sex industry and excludes the perspectives of women who sell sex.[15]

Bibliography

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  • The Equality Illusion: The Truth about Women and Men Today. London: Faber and Faber, 2010. ISBN 0571246273.
  • Pimp State: Sex, Money and the Future of Equality. London: Faber and Faber, 2016. ISBN 0571278221.

References

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  1. ^ Banyard, Kat (2010). The Equality Illusion: The Truth about Women and Men Today (About the author section). Faber & Faber. ISBN 9780571246267. Retrieved 11 October 2019. Banyard was born in 1982 and is the founder of FEM Conferences, an acclaimed series of national feminist conferences.
  2. ^ a b Cochrane, Kira (10 September 2010). "Why Kat Banyard is the UK's most influential young feminist". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  3. ^ "About Us". UK Feminista. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  4. ^ Guardian Staff (26 May 2013). "Letters: Lose the lads' mags or risk legal action". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  5. ^ "Sexual harassment debate: 'It's offensive to women that have been raped to discuss knee touching'". Channel 4 News. 6 November 2017. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  6. ^ Cormack, Morgan (10 November 2021). "Why Panorama: Online Pimps Exposed is dividing viewers". Stylist. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  7. ^ a b "Kat Banyard: 'We were sold a lie on an almighty scale, that equality had been won, the battle was over'". The Guardian. 14 October 2012. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  8. ^ "About". FEM Conferences. Archived from the original on 25 March 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  9. ^ France, Louise; Wiseman, Eva. "The new feminists". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  10. ^ "The Trouble with Feminism". ICA. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  11. ^ Charles, Nickie; Wadia, Khursheed (23 August 2017). "New British feminisms, UK Feminista and young women's activism". Feminist Theory. 19 (2): 165–181. doi:10.1177/1464700117723592. ISSN 1464-7001.
  12. ^ "The Equality Illusion by Kat Banyard | Book review". The Guardian. 21 February 2010. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  13. ^ "Pimp State makes it clear our laws on prostitution are not working – so how should we change them?". New Statesman. 4 June 2016. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  14. ^ Jacobs, Emma (9 June 2016). "'Pimp State: Sex, Money and the Future of Equality', by Kat Banyard". Financial Times. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  15. ^ Shane, Charlotte. "Love for sale". The Spectator. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
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