Following on from the successful campaign last week by CUSU Women's Campaign and ARU Feminist Society, Feminism continues to be a popular topic of conversation in the university. The Cambridge Union last night teamed up with HuffPost UK to host a panel on Feminism, led by its Editor-in-chief Carla Buzasi. The accomplished all-female panel consisted of Claire Perry (Conservative MP), Julia Simpson (chief of staff for International Airlines Group) and Lucy Anne Holmes (founder of the No More Page 3 campaign).

The panel began with Buzasi asking the panel, and then the audience, the deceptively simple question, “Are you a feminist?” Although the panel were unanimous in agreement, there were a few dissenters in the predominantly female audience. The self-identification of men and women as feminists and the connotations of the term itself went on to become hot topics of conversation for the densely packed discussion.

Initially, each panellist described the origins of their feminism. Perry, although a Conservative, did not describe herself as a Thatcherite and instead identifying the roots of her activism in her days at the University of Oxford, where Reclaim the Night marches and her role as Women’s Officer were large parts of her university experience. In contrast, Simpson’s commitment to women’s rights came from her involvement in trade unionism. Simpson also emphasised the importance of sex education and reproductive rights for women, sharing the experience of her grandmother who, when nine pregnant with the first of her nine babies, did not understand the mechanics of childbirth. Lastly, Holmes admitted that until a few years ago she had felt academically intimidated by the word “Feminism”, and it was only recently that she realised she had been fighting an unconsciously feminist cause.

The forum was lively and wide ranging, with audience contributions coming live and via Twitter. Topics ranged from body image to sexism in the media, from women in business to feminist icons and also covered the more uncomfortable ground of rape culture and female genital mutilation. On the issue of women in leadership, Perry praised the banking industry as being more meritocratic than most, citing a figure of 40 per cent of managerial positions being held by women – compared to only 20 per cent female representation in the Houses of Parliament.

But Simpson, a woman with a formidable track record in the world of business, believed that inequality in the workplace was more pernicious than it might seem. She referred to an “insidious passive repression of women”, that is often overlooked and perpetuated by what she believed to be the unhelpful “have it all” culture that many media promote for women.

On the topic of women in the media, Simpson also praised the editorship of Sarah Sands at the London Evening Standard in her campaign against the practice of female genital mutilation, something she believes a male editor would not have undertaken. Female genital mutilation has been illegal in the UK since 1985, but no cases have ever made it to trial – despite it being estimated that some 20,000 girls are at risk. The enforcement of this law is something very important to Perry, who stated that we need to stop using multiculturalism as an excuse for tolerating violence against women.

Rape culture and attacks on women are not typically seen to be caused by daily tabloids such as The Sun. Nevertheless, part of Holmes’ reasoning behind her “No More Page 3” campaign is that it encourages the objectification of women and the male control over the presentation of female sexuality. Recalling a recent radio experience, Holmes was shocked that when quoting a reaction to The Sun’s Page 3 (“Look at the tits on that”), she was admonished for the use of the word “tits” rather than for referring to a woman as “that”.

However one of the prevailing themes of the evening was the idea that the word “Feminism” needs to be redefined in order for it to be embraced. One member of the audience argued that, as with the Civil Rights movement in America, the global women’s movement should be about inclusivity rather than creating dividing lines between groups of people – a sentiment the panel largely agreed with. Holmes emphasised that feminism needs to be about encouragement rather than discrimination. This attitude seemed to resonate with the audience – Freya Robb, a first year student at Christ’s College, said: “I liked how informal it was. It didn’t seem intimidating to ask a question, which it often can be at these sorts of discussions. I think different generations look at the word [feminism] differently. A new word would possibly attract greater public appeal”.

Amy Hawkins is Deputy News Editor for Easter Term 2013