Kat Banyard (born 1982) is a British author and activist against sexual inequality. She is the co-founder and director of UK Feminista, a

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

pressure group whose campaigns have included Lose the Lads Mags, and the author of two books on feminist topics. She has also made appearances on UK television channels discussing feminist topics. Banyard's work is critical of choice feminism, the

beauty industry The cosmetic industry describes the industry that manufactures and distributes cosmetic products. These include colour cosmetics, like foundation and mascara, skincare such as moisturisers and cleansers, haircare such as shampoos, conditioners a ...

and the sex industry, which she describes as "commercial sexual exploitation". In 2010,

Kira Cochrane Kira Cochrane (; born 1977) is a British journalist and novelist. She is the Head of Features at ''The Guardian,'' and worked previously as Head of Opinion. Cochrane is an advocate for women's rights, as well as an active participant in fourth ...

, writing for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', called Banyard "the UK's most influential young feminist".

Career

While at university in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

, 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 Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers primaril ...

. In a profile with ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'', 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". Banyard worked at the

Fawcett Society The Fawcett Society is a membership charity in the United Kingdom which campaigns for women's rights. The organisation dates back to 1866, when Millicent Garrett Fawcett dedicated her life to the peaceful campaign for women's suffrage. Originall ...

until 2010 as Campaigns Officer. In 2010 Banyard founded UK Feminista. 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. Her second book, ''Pimp State: Sex, Money and the Future of Equality'', was published in 2016. ''Pimp State'' posits that

prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...

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 The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...

'' and

Sarah Ditum Sarah Ditum is an English opinion columnist and freelance writer whose work has appeared in publications including ''The Guardian'', ''New Statesman, The Times'', and ''UnHerd''. She is based in Bath, Somerset, Bath. Ditum's writing has covered i ...

in ''Guardian''. ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

'' described the book as "punchy and breezily written". Charlotte Shane wrote a critical review in ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...

'', claiming the book misrepresents the views of those who support decriminalisation of the sex industry and excludes the perspectives of women who sell sex.

Bibliography

* ''The Equality Illusion: The Truth about Women and Men Today.'' London:

Faber and Faber Faber and Faber Limited, usually abbreviated to Faber, is an independent publishing house in London. Published authors and poets include T. S. Eliot (an early Faber editor and director), W. H. Auden, Margaret Storey, William Golding, Samuel B ...

, 2010. . * ''Pimp State: Sex, Money and the Future of Equality.'' London: Faber and Faber, 2016. .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Banyard, Kat 1982 births British feminists Living people British feminist writers British human rights activists Women human rights activists British women activists British women writers