Reporting back from the 2013 Young Sexualities Postgraduate Conference at Cardiff University Read the full story

Earlier this year, GEA got very excited when we discovered some feminist activity happening online led a group of teenagers who are still at school and are passionate about feminism. The Twitter Youth Feminist Army (TYFA), like GEA, is committed to  developing girls’ interest in feminist issues and ideas, but are also re-definining what feminism and being ‘a feminist’ means to them.  We invited Lili, ‘admin queen’ of the TYFA to write a blog for us and tell us what its all about…..

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November 11th 2011 saw an exciting joint symposium between the Youth studies and Sexualities BERA SIG at Manchester Metropolitan University, UK. Read the full story

“It’s almost like she’s two different people; one in English Literature class and another in song-writing club.  I’d like to think the second one is the true her” (English teacher, inner London post-16 college)

This comment refers to a student who appeared to inhabit very different learner identities within two distinct contexts in her college: her academic English Literature class and an extra-curricular song-writing group.  Within her English Literature class she had a reputation among her teachers for being disengaged, unproductive and sometimes disruptive; she was at risk of being removed from the course and frequently expressed her own desire to “drop out”.  Within her song-writing club, she impressed staff members with her commitment, patience and creativity; she expressed positive feelings about this learning experience and the work she was producing. Read the full story

Whilst I am always happy to see critical discussion on the role of sex and relationship education in schools and youth centres, worryingly, this week saw a new amendment narrowly passed in the UK Commons. Read the full story

Whilst working in youth projects over the past decade or so, I have often noticed the predominance of highly gendered career guidance for young people. Too often, when discussing what career options girls were considering, the ‘holy trinity’ of beauty, hair and child care cropped up repeatedly in young women’s visions for their future and their Year 10 work placements. Such options were further cemented in areas such as ‘alternative’ education provision, or vocationally orientated training aimed at ‘NEETS’ (Not in Education, Employment and Training), that seemed to guide working class, young women into courses and apprenticeships in beauty or child care, and their brothers into motor mechanics and bricklaying. Read the full story

On the 15^th October the End Violence Against Women (EVAW) organisation called upon the Coalition Government to urgently address the “alarming levels” of sexual harassment and violence against young women in schools. Their YouGov 2010 online survey of 788 16-18 year olds found that a third (29%) of young women reported unwanted sexual touching at school and witnessed routine sexual name-calling on a daily or twice-weekly basis. Over a quarter (28%) said they had seen sexual pictures on mobile phones at school twice a month or more. In the same month, Girl Guiding UK continued to fight the sexualisation of girl culture by delivering a 25,000 signature petition to Downing Street calling for the Government to introduce compulsory labelling for all airbrushed images. This concern addressed the findings from their Girls’ Attitudes Survey, in which 50% of the girls reported that they would consider having surgery to change their looks and more than half had been bullied for their appearance. Indeed, the impact of ‘sexualisation’ upon girls and young women has become the subject of high profile controversial reports and inquiries from a number of government and non-governmental bodies (Home Office 2010). Read the full story

Everyday there seems to be yet more depressing news for education in the UK. Yesterday saw more rushed ideological notions of bringing soldiers into the classrooms, destroying teacher education within  Higher Education,  and reconfiguring the national curriculum yet again.

Schoolchildren and students were also active in walking out of lessons, taking to the streets and occupying campuses. These actions are in response to massive hikes in tuition fees in Higher Education, and the abolishment of  the Educational Maintenance Allowance in Further Education. Curiously, an article in the the Daily Mail has focused on the gendering of these protests, highlighting the actions of rioting girls. Perhaps we are seeing a new wave of youth and female led activism? I’d love to hear other people’s thoughts

Louise Archer, Sumi Hollingworth and Heather Mendick would be delighted if you can join them to celebrate the publication of their book Urban Youth and Education by Open University Press.

On Wednesday 27th October at 5pm: Refreshments from 4:30pm Read the full story