The Feminist Files

The Feminist Files
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Welcome to The Feminist Files! Emerging from the University of Cambridge’s feminist collective, Gender Agenda, our student-run team digs deep into current feminist debates, talking with enthusiasts within the student body and those in the world of policy, academia and activism. Our originality stems from our desire to democratise feminist discussion; we encourage our enthusiastic team to pursue any feminist-focused topic they are passionate about. Follow us on Instagram! https://www.instagram.com/the_feminist_files_/. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. Heteronationalism: Sexual Politics in Ghana with Kwaku Adomako

    FEB 9

    Heteronationalism: Sexual Politics in Ghana with Kwaku Adomako

    Faith Cunningham speaks with Kwaku Adomako about heteronationalism, colonialism and Ghana's 2021 "Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill." They discuss how anti-LGBTQ+ legislation reshapes Ghanaian cultural identity and the role of political actors in framing sexual and gender diversity as a national threat. NOTE: The NDC should be referred to as the National Democratic Congress.  Read Kwaku's work: Adomako, K. (2022). An Overwhelming Consensus? How Moral Panics About Sexual and Gender Diversity Help Reshape Local Traditions in Ghana. Politique africaine, 168(4), 75-94. https://doi.org/10.3917/polaf.168.0075 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    52 min
  2. Secondary traumatisation: An investigation into how domestic abuse victims are treated

    JAN 23

    Secondary traumatisation: An investigation into how domestic abuse victims are treated

    In this episode, Helena Kondak is joined by Professor Shazia Choudhry (University of Oxford) to discuss her two-year comparative European research project on how justice systems and family law deal with domestic abuse cases. Drawing on extensive work with women’s rights organisations and key stakeholders across England & Wales, France, Spain, Italy, and Bosnia & Herzegovina, the research exposes how survivors often face secondary traumatisation within legally sanctioned processes. We unpack how narrow legal understandings of violence, procedural barriers, and the growing reliance on concepts like “parental alienation” systematically discredit mothers and silence survivors, even where abuse is well-documented.  Placing family law in conversation with human rights obligations under the ECHR and the Istanbul Convention, this episode asks what states are required to do to truly protect women and children, and why current systems can fail to do so. * Get in touch with us :  For any responses, comments, or suggestions, please get in touch via thefeministfiles2025@gmail.com, or on Instagram @the_feminist_files_  * Credits Hosted by Helena Kondak Joined by Professor Shazia Choudhry Edited by Rowan Berkley Cover design by Madeleine Baber Music by Jacob Carey Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    34 min
  3. GROK: “A digital manifestation of a millennia felt entitlement”

    JAN 19

    GROK: “A digital manifestation of a millennia felt entitlement”

    In this episode, Helena Kondak, Astrid Carrasco and Isobelle Oppon interview Dr Daisy Dixon, philosophy professor at the University of Cardiff, for insights on her embodied experience of AI assault.   What does the Grok sexual image generation scandal say of emerging digital violence, its impact on vulnerable bodies, and necessary legislation?  Analysing the onset of Grok AI image-generation in recent weeks, Dr Dixon grounds her interpretation of new tech, sexist and sexual violence in the philosophical concept of “aesthetic injustice”. Dr Dixon insists on understanding the physical impacts produced by images, inducing new forms of digital age dysphoria.  From concepts to law, this episode dissects how new digital laws are debated, from accusations of restricting free speech to concerns about weak law implementation.   References: Klein and D’Ignazio, Data feminism, 2024 Bates, Laura, The New Age of Sexism: How the AI Revolution is Reinventing Misogyny, 2025. Dalaqua, Gustavo H. “Aesthetic injustice.” Journal of Aesthetics & Culture 12.1 (2020). Dixon, Daisy, and Tom Roberts. “Review of Dominic McIver Lopes: Aesthetic Injustice.” Ethics (2026). * Get in touch with us :  For any responses, comments, or suggestions, please get in touch via thefeministfiles2025@gmail.com, or on Instagram @the_feminist_files_  * Credits Hosted by Helena Kondak, Astrid Carrasco & Isobelle Oppon Joined by Dr Daisy Dixon Edited by Rowan Berkley Cover design by Madeleine Baber Music by Jacob Carey Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    55 min
  4. This House Would Abolish Prisons: Theories of Power and Control

    JAN 10

    This House Would Abolish Prisons: Theories of Power and Control

    In this episode, Asha Metcalfe and Rosie Hillary sit down with Lauren Sayers and Rosie Freeman after the debate: This House Would Abolish Prisons, held by Gender Agenda, the University of Cambridge’s largest feminist collective.  In our first episode out in the field (breaking free from the recording studio), we are joined by two fellow Human, Social, and Political Science students to discuss abolitionism, crime, and systems of power and oppression. We move beyond the prison system to discuss theorists like Michel Foucault, Judith Butler, and Max Weber to explore the ways power and surveillance can be theorised in society. We apply these theories to our lives to examine how relationships and institutions are impacted by systems of power and control. What do we gain from understanding these topics? What is the benefit of social critique?  If you are interested in our discussion, consider reading: The Right to Sex by Amia Srinivasan Experiments in Imagining Otherwise by Lola Olufemi The New Spirit of Capitalism by Luc Boltanski and Ève Chiapello Decolonial Feminism in Anya Yala: Caribbean, Meso, and Southern American Contributions and Challenges by Espinosa, Lugones and Maldonado Torres - particularly the chapter by Iris Hernandez Morales If you enjoyed this episode, please follow us on Instagram and Substack! https://www.instagram.com/the_feminist_files_/ https://substack.com/@thefeministfiles  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    38 min
  5. The Feminist Files in conversation with Gemma Kelly, anti-commercial sexual exploitation advocate

    JAN 2

    The Feminist Files in conversation with Gemma Kelly, anti-commercial sexual exploitation advocate

    We have been nominated for the Political Podcast Awards' People’s Choice Award, please vote for us here: https://politicalpodcastawards.co.uk/the-peoples-choice-award/ In this episode, we explore commercial sexual exploitation: its specificities, how it can be combated, and its evolving technological manifestations. In an era of rapid digital expansion, how can feminist organising and policy-making respond to this growing form of misogynistic violence? Drawing on eighteen years of experience across research institutions, frontline child protection services, and policy-making, Gemma Kelly unpacks the perverse dynamics of commercial sexual exploitation and its increasingly digital nature. Her work highlights the centrality of structural change, particularly through legislative and regulatory interventions, in addressing exploitation at its roots. This conversation probes the contradictions at the heart of feminist debates: how can we reconcile individual choice with structural misogynistic violence? Can the former ever truly be disentangled from the latter? We also discuss attempts to regulate the online space, often perceived as opaque and impenetrable, where regulatory efforts frequently fall short despite mounting harms. About the Guest Gemma Kelly is a Policy Consultant at the SERP Institute (Sexual Exploitation Research and Policy Institute), Ireland’s only independent research body dedicated to the study of sexual exploitation. Throughout her career, she has worked on combatting human trafficking and addressing sexual exploitation in both online and offline contexts, with a particular focus on women’s rights, gender-based violence, and child rights. She holds an MA in Human Trafficking, Migration and Organised Crime from St Mary’s University, an MA in Equality Studies from University College Dublin, and a BA in Social Care from Dublin Institute of Technology. Get in Touch If you’d like to respond to something discussed in this episode or propose an episode of your own, get in touch via email at thefeministfiles2025@gmail.com or on Instagram @the_feminist_files. Credits Hosted by Helena Kondak and Astrid Healy Carrasco Joined by Gemma Kelly Edited by Rowan Berkley Cover design by Madeleine Baber Music by Jacob Carey Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1 hr
  6. Black Girls’ Experiences in British Private Schools: Misogynoir and the Racialised Politics of Visibility

    12/19/2025

    Black Girls’ Experiences in British Private Schools: Misogynoir and the Racialised Politics of Visibility

    In this episode, hosts Asha Metcalfe and Rosie Hillary are joined by Reese Marley Robinson, a recent Cambridge graduate, to discuss her sociology dissertation exploring the lived experiences of Black girls in Britain’s private schools. Drawing on interviews and her own experiences, Reese explains the “affective cost of inclusion” and the emotional labour of navigating elite, predominantly white institutions which marginalise the experiences of racial minorities. We discuss topics like misogynoir, structural racism, code-switching, hair politics, and the racialised politics of visibility. We explore how Black peer networks can be sites of resistance and care, and talk about what meaningful institutional change could look like for Britain’s education system.  Here are some readings that are related to our discussion!   Anti-Community: The Kitchen & Our Cooked Community https://radicalblackbrits.substack.com/p/anti-community-the-kitchen-and-ourThe Brixton Balck Women’s Group https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/2024/07/30/book-review-speak-out-the-brixton-black-womens-group-milo-miller/Farleigh’s Place: Wealth, Privilege and Whiteness by Reese Marley Robinson https://www.thecambridgestudent.co.uk/culture/farleighs-place-wealth-privilege-and-whitenessLewis, Amanda E., 1970-. Race in the Schoolyard : Negotiating the Color Line in Classrooms and Communities. New Brunswick, N.J. :Rutgers University Press, 2003.Nash, J.C. (2019). Black Feminism Reimagined: After Intersectionality. Duke University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv111jhd0Carby, Hazel V. (1982) ‘White woman listen!: Black feminism and the boundaries of sisterhood’ in Centre for Contemporary Cultural StudiesDavis, Angela (2016) Freedom is a Constant Struggle Chicago: Haymarket Books. Episode Edited by Rowan Berkley Vote for us in People’s Choice Awards 2026: https://politicalpodcastawards.co.uk/the-peoples-choice-award/ Follow The Feminist Files on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_feminist_files_/ Follow The Feminist Files Substack: https://substack.com/@thefeministfiles Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    53 min
  7. The Feminist Files - How have attitudes towards sexual violence changed after the MeToo movement?

    12/01/2025

    The Feminist Files - How have attitudes towards sexual violence changed after the MeToo movement?

    In this episode, Helena Kondak is joined by Zoe Abrams, DPhil student in Sociology at the University of Oxford, to discuss her latest work: Explaining Societal Shifts in Victim Blaming and Perpetrator Culpability for Sexual Violence: Evidence From the #MeToo Era. Abrams studied Politics and Sociology at the University of Cambridge before pursuing an MSci in Sociology at the University of Oxford, where she was awarded the A. H. Halsey Prize for Best Performance. She is now pursuing a DPhil in Sociology, focusing on the gender gap in political mobilisation among young people. During the interview, Abrams and I discussed whether individuals reacted to the shift in public discourse concerning sexual violence after the MeToo movement in the same way that institutions did. Zoe's focus on Scotland was crucial to understanding how feminist politics and influence in policy-making led to Scotland being the only country to collect data on attitudes towards sexual violence. "From the founding of the Scottish Parliament, the feminist movements were there, framing the key issues and collecting data on attitudes towards women". Here is a list of the resources mentioned in the episode: Diana E. H. Russell, & Howell, N. (1983). The Prevalence of Rape in the United States Revisited. Signs, 8(4), 688–695. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3173690 Wilson, L. C., & Miller, K. E. (2015). Meta-Analysis of the Prevalence of Unacknowledged Rape. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 17(2), 149-159. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838015576391 (Original work published 2016). Want to respond to something said in this episode? Or propose an episode of your own? Get in touch via email: thefeministfiles2025@gmail.com or via Instagram: @the_feminist_files You can also find us on Instagram: @the_feminist_files Credits: Hosted by Helena Kondak Joined by Zoe Abrams Edited by Rowan Berkley Cover design by Madeleine Baber Music by Jacob Carey Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1h 3m
  8. The Feminist Files- Gender on the Pitch: How the UK Supreme Court’s New Definition of a Woman is Impacting College Football

    11/24/2025

    The Feminist Files- Gender on the Pitch: How the UK Supreme Court’s New Definition of a Woman is Impacting College Football

    Women’s college-level football has recently taken the form of an informal intercollegiate league following the banning of transgender women from participation in college-affiliated league matches, in line with the UK Supreme Court ruling earlier this year. What are captains, colleges and Cambridge University doing in light of this legislative pressure? What does this mean for inclusivity and the future of women’s football as a whole? Faith Cunningham discusses this sensitive and complex issue with guests Lara and Tia, members of the college women's football league. For any welfare concerns, please get in contact with Louisa, the CUAFC Welfare Officer. If you have any questions or comments, please email fc5562@cam.ac.uk Follow The Feminist Files on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_feminist_files_/ Follow The Feminist Files Substack: https://substack.com/@thefeministfiles Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    35 min
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About

Welcome to The Feminist Files! Emerging from the University of Cambridge’s feminist collective, Gender Agenda, our student-run team digs deep into current feminist debates, talking with enthusiasts within the student body and those in the world of policy, academia and activism. Our originality stems from our desire to democratise feminist discussion; we encourage our enthusiastic team to pursue any feminist-focused topic they are passionate about. Follow us on Instagram! https://www.instagram.com/the_feminist_files_/. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Information

  • Creator
    The Feminist Files
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    47
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © The Feminist Files
  • Show Website
    The Feminist Files