Today's episode is cohosted by the fabulous Millie McMillan aka OxFemSoc events organiser (RIP events). Millie and Kate chat to Ava Vakil, Oxford student, feminist and sexual violence activist. Ava has been collecting testimonies from victims of sexual harassment and violence in schools to write an open letter outlining the rape-culture present at the Kings School, Wimbledon (and many others). Ava describes the impact this has had on young girls and women who attend/have attended the school or been attacked by male students attending Kings. More broadly, we discuss  the inspiration behind the letter, the response from the school and both the local and national actions and legislation that are required to make meaningful changes to the safety of our young girls.  

There is a trigger warning for this episode, where we discuss rape and rape culture extensively. Please listen to one of our other empowering episodes if you don't feel you can listen to this one right now. 

Topics covered today include:

- institutional sexual harassment and violence from school to university

- the intersection between privilege and a lack of accountability when it comes to rape culture

- the importance of inclusive and sensitive sex & relationships education to try and nip these issues in the bud.

Find us: We’re on Instagram! Follow us to engage with these discussions @grabembythepoesypodcast and your host is @grab_them_by_the_poesy. You can find Oxford Feminist Society on IG (@oxford_feminist_society), Twitter and Facebook! Find Millie on IG @millie_mcm

Resources: 

read Ava's letter and follow her work on her instagram @avavakil or find it here https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JtcVmP-z8S5OIMLvJXRlJIyUSojZ-QDD/view

read Kate's article on the normalisation of sexual violence on television: https://www.imprintmag.co.uk/post/turned-off

Everyone's invited, a movement committed to tackling rape culture through conversation, education and support: https://www.everyonesinvited.uk/

After: Surviving Sexual Assault (BBC sounds podcast): https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p07fzbg8

Welcome to episode 5 of the podcast! This week I am chatting to my friend, neighbour and life adviser Ellen Brewster (@ellenonthemake on IG). Ellen recently completed her PhD in English Lit at the University of Oxford. During her studies, Ellen worked as the Graduate Teaching and Careers Officer where she helped students identify their passions and find their path beyond Oxford. 

This episode is perfect for anyone who's stuck in a rut or uncertain about their future career or feeling demoralised by the COVID-19 employment shituation (not a typo).

We talk: 

Resources: https://creativeaccess.org.uk/ (providing opportunities for PoC/ underrepresented groups in creative industries).

We’re on Instagram! Follow us to engage with these discussions and suggest guests/topics for future @grabembythepoesypodcast and your host is @grab_them_by_the_poesy. You can find Oxford Feminist Society on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook!

Welcome back to the Grab em' by the Poesy podcast. Today's episode is extra special. Your guest host Ruth (president of Oxford Feminist society), introduces us to Safa and Alana, founders of Theory4Thotz (@theoryhoes on instagram), an online collective open to EVERYONE where feminist theory can be discussed in an accessible and fun way. 

In today's episode we discuss...

- what feminist theory is, what it does, why it’s fun 

- Is theory important

- How lived experience is theory

- Is theory a way of practicing feminism 

- How to think about a text

- How to engage with theory

- How to be a Marxist and not read Marx

- Reading without reading 

- What are the valid ways to engage with a text

- Why we care about doing Oxford ‘right’?

- Living life as an antagonism and listen to the end to hear Alana and Safa’s antagonistic life philosophy

We’re on Instagram! Follow us to engage with these discussions and suggest guests/topics for future @grabembythepoesypodcast. You can find Oxford Feminist Society on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook!

Today's episode:

Welcome back to our Inspirational women of Oxford series, episode 3: ‘Making peace with 2020?’ where I’m delighted to be joined by Molly Ross, a masters student at St Edmund Hall studying french and professional yoga instructor with a focus on mindfulness. Molly is the kindest, gentlest soul who has put so much love into to enriching the wellbeing of the student community. 

Many of us right now are feeling lost, isolated and just overwhelmed. As we come to the end of this orbit around the sun, we discuss how we can each take stock of what has been an extraordinary year, with unprecedented obstacles, and how we can make peace with the opportunities that may not have come to fruition, the plans we had to put on pause, and the collective traumas we are all working through. How can we reflect and introspect after such a challenging time? How can we let go of all of the negative energy and redirect this into intention and momentum for 2021? 

Molly leads us in a self reflection practice where we evaluate our year in a nonjudgemental way, and we set some nourishing New Year's intentions for 2021. Crucially, we discuss how we can each cultivate hope during these gloomy winter months, so that we are ready after this long period of enforced hibernation, to blossom when we have the chance once again.

Thank you so much for joining us for this very special episode. I hope it can offer some comfort, reassurance and hope. Just remember, you are not alone x

ps thank you to everyone who contributed to the discussion points in this episode! 

About your host

Kate Murnane is a DPhil student at Teddy Hall. When she’s not studying haematology, your host is most likely to be cooking something obnoxiously garlicky or stalking exotic cat breeds she can’t possibly afford, online. You can find her on Instagram @grab_them_by_the_poesy

Socials

Find Molly on instagram @molls_ross, https://www.facebook.com/groups/oubreathingspace, https://www.mollyrossyoga.com/

We’re on Instagram! Follow us to engage with these discussions and suggest guests/topics for future @grabembythepoesypodcast

Resources

6. Reflection Practice

Thinking back over your year - write a timeline of 2020 (eg months/seasons/terms, moments of the year) choosing a few key ones

What is your feeling for the year?

What are you celebrating this year?

How have you faced/overcome challenges this year?

What have you learnt about yourself this year?

Who has been in my life in 2020?

What gives me energy?

I am in the process of calling in…

Think of just one manageable step you could take towards this goal/dream…

Credits

Host and edits: Kate Murnane,

Cover art: Ruth Thrush

Music: free on Anchor.fm

Welcome to episode 2 of the Grab ‘em by the poesy podcast, ‘Are we bored of mental health?’ with your host Kate Murnane, in collab with the Oxford Feminist society. Today I’m joined by two equally wonderful inspirational women of Oxford, who work on different aspects of mental health. Iheoma Green is a wellbeing practitioner working within the NHS, specialising in childhood and adolescent anxiety. Shannon Maloney is a DPhil student in Teddy Hall who’s work (based in the department of Psychiatry) focuses on mindfulness based programmes.

This extended episode was an absolute joy to record and is full to the brim of insight, laughter and hope . Both Shannon and Iheoma’s passion for people, how our minds work and how we can help when things get dark, is inspiring.  Topics we cover include: imposter syndrome, representation of women within psychiatry, mental health vs mental illness, the harm of genderizing mental health illness and suicide, over-saturation and misinformation by the ‘mental health’ trend on social media, capitalist exploitation of ‘self care’ by patriarchal companies and why this risks oppressing women further. 

In this episode we have a teensy wifi blip toward the end (FU virgin media!!) and the sound quality on one of our mics is slightly shaky in moments, but bear with us because this nourishing episode is 100% worth it!!

Sending you all the love. We hope that this podcast will give you a chance to fill your cup because YOU are worth it xx

Trigger Warnings: mental Illness and suicide.

About your host

Kate Murnane is a DPhil student at Teddy Hall. When she’s not studying haematology, your host is most likely to be cooking something obnoxiously garlicky or stalking exotic cat breeds she can’t possibly afford, online. Why on earth you’d want to see more of this, I can’t imagine, but if you’re that kind of freaky, you can find her on Instagram @grab_them_by_the_poesy

Socials

We’re on Instagram! Follow us to engage with these discussions and suggest guests/topics for future @grabembythepoesypodcast

Kate Murnane: Instagram: @grab_them_by_the_poesy

Shannon Maloney: find Shannon on twitter (@shann_maloney), Instagram (@ourwellnessdiary and @shannonmmarie) and on LinkedIn

Iheoma Green: find Iheoma on LinkedIn and the department of experimental psychology website (specifically the TOPIC research group).

OxFemSoc: Engage with Oxford Feminist Society on Facebook, Instagram (@oxfemsoc) and on our website.

Resources

The Mental Illness Happy Hour podcast, @wetheurban on Instagram (positive affirmations you need), Off the Record mental health charity based in Bristol (@otrbristol), The Value of Lived Experience in Social Change Baljeet Sandhu, 2017 (long read report), oversaturation of ‘The Conversation’ and the negative implications of this: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/jun/30/nothing-like-broken-leg-mental-health-conversation, free mindfulness session through the Oxford Mindfulness Centre: https://www.oxfordmindfulness.org/learn-mindfulness/online-sessions-podcasts/, Insight Timer: Free mindfulness app.

Credits

Host and edits: Kate Murnane, 

Cover art: Ruth Thrush

Music: free on Anchor.fm

Thank you for joining us on our debut episode! We are delighted to be talking to Melanie Onovo, the founder of The Truth of the Matter, an incredible educational resource that platforms the voices of marginalised communities to foster anti-racist ally-ship. Melanie is currently studying History and Politics at Oxford University, and has also made significant political and sporting contributions to the student community. Today Melanie talks to us about how supported she felt to apply to Oxford during her A-levels as a talented black woman from one of the most impoverished areas of the UK. Sadly, this could never prepare her for the subsequent racial abuse that she suffered while studying here, and the devastating effects this has had on her mental health. Though parts of Melanie's story are distressing to hear, ultimately Melanie uses her traumatic experiences to educate, inspire, and empower. 

TW: racial abuse, mental health, depression, bipolar disorder. 

Socials

Engage with Oxford Feminist Society on Facebook/ oxfemsoc on Instagram and our website https://oxfemsoc.wixsite.com/website. 

Resources

The Truth Of The Matter (youtube channel), _thetruthofthematter_ instagram handle

The Good Ancestor podcast

Dual Lives by Abigail Allan, accessed through commonground-oxford.com

Credits

Hosts: Kate Murnane, Ruth Thrush

Cover art: Ruth Thrush

Editing: Timea Iliffe

Music: Hannah Louise Siddiqui

Sounds (all sourced from freesound.org): pouring a drink in a cup (Ccj125), kettle boiling (Aliedsvwyk), more Jazz guitar (Sub-d)