A chat about our trip to FiLiA, the largest grassroots feminist conference in Europe.

Celebrating their tenth anniversary, FiLiA 2025 was held in Brighton, UK and hosted 300 speakers from 75 countries and nearly 3,000 attendants - and Elle was there to soak it all up.

In this episode Elle shares the inside scoop about what she saw and heard - the good, the bad and the ugly. From the powerful panel discussions (see list below), to women’s newfound global connectivity and solidarity, to frictions between feminists of different cultures, getting a 360º view of women’s oppression, and how we stay ahead of the patriarchal onslaught.

WE DISCUSS:

(00:00:00) Introduction

(00:01:36) Background on FiLiA Conference

(00:04:49) Elle travels to Brighton

(00:09:31) TERF Island

(00:11:41) Opening Ceremony & Brighton’s Suffragette History

(00:19:16) Feminism and Militarism Panel

(00:27:18) Beyond the Misogynist Backlash Panel

(00:33:01) Erasure of Women’s History Panel

(00:35:56) Modern Matriarchy Panel

(00:38:12) Women and the State Panel

(00:42:22) Surrogacy Panel

(00:47:19) Femicide Panel

(00:54:42) Drama at the Disco

(00:59:39) State Violence & Gender Ideology in Brazil

(01:06:20) Importance of Women’s Gatherings

EPISODE LINKS

FiLiA

Mary Clarke Brighton’s Suffragette History

Esua Goldsmith

Max Dashu Interview | Subject to Power

Total Woman Victory

Minangkabau Matrilineal Community

Right To Remain

Femicide Census

Counting Dead Women UK

MATRIA

CONTACT US

Website: www.chatinthecommons.com

Instagram: @chatinthecommons

X: @ChatInCommons

Email: https://www.chatinthecommons.com/contact

A chat about boys and men. Natalie and Elle explore the current state of masculinity - male attitudes, behaviors and culture. And how do men perceive themselves and the challenges they face?

In this episode, we highlight both struggles and positive shifts, digging into men’s economic anxiety, loneliness, violence, and the growing manosphere, but also new models for raising boys and young men, and the work of creating healthier masculine narratives and supportive communities in order to redefine what it means to be a man.

WE DISCUSS:

(00:00:00) Episode Overview

Introduction to the state of manhood and masculinity norms

(00:03:53) Equimundo’s State of American Men Research Report on American men, highlighting men’s own perspectives on masculinity

(00:05:02) Key issues overview: economic anxiety, restrictive masculinity, loneliness, and time online

(00:07:11) Exploration of men’s shifting provider role, economic pressures, and identity

(00:11:28) Masculinity becoming more restrictive

(00:13:38) Male loneliness and emotional accountability discussion

(00:16:15) Male Alexithymia and emotional expression

(00:22:08) Manosphere narratives and online radicalization

(00:24:04) Debunking the “Men Are Losing Out” myth

(00:27:19) Overview of online manosphere groups

(00:35:13) Recognition of violence as a key issue for men, including self-directed violence

(00:40:32) Discussion of how violence is perpetuated and the importance of community for men

(00:52:11) Raising boys and young men

Discussion of matriarchal models, mother-son bonds, and raising feminist sons

(00:55:13) Early education and gender stereotypes

Highlight of Icelandic preschool program combatting gender stereotypes

EPISODE LINKS

International Men’s Day

Dads For Kids

State of American Men Study 2025

Alexithymia | Katie Hanlon TikTok

The Other Parent | James Steyer

Male Fiction Authors | Tracy Sierra TikTok

Gen Z Men & Women’s Outlook | NBC News

Triad of Men’s Violence

Jackson Katz | The Spectator

Belonging vs Fitting In | Brenee Brown

The Lives of Boys with Michael Conway | Subject to Power

Disappointing Men | Solid 7 TikTok

Paid Leave For All

The Men’s Collective

ReMasculine

Mankind Project

XY Online

How to Raise a Feminist Son | Sonora Jha

Why she wrote the book | Sonora Jha Instagram

Icelandic Hijalli Model

CONTACT

Website: www.chatinthecommons.com

Instagram: @chatinthecommons

X: @ChatInCommons

Email: https://www.chatinthecommons.com/contact

A chat about babies and birthrates. In our final episode on the 4B movement, Natalie and Elle unpack the many reasons why women across the world are opting out of procreating. It is being proclaimed that the human birthrate is in free fall and that we are in a ‘plummeting population crisis’ - but is the birthrate panic warranted? We look at the environmental, economic, political,  evolutionary and social theories as to why the human boom may be slowing down.

In this jam-packed episode, we also take a critical look at the contradictory messages women receive about our role as creators of new life, and discuss examples of ill-fated government interventions into women’s bodily autonomy - including China, Germany, Romania and the US. We try to wrap our minds around the pronatalism movement and the recent Trump Administration’s incentives for promoting motherhood, and present our own list of incentives that would actually be meaningful to women. We cover the boom-bust theory, evolutionary mate selection theories, DINKS and much more.

EPISODE LINKS

Martha Ahumuza | X

Dr. Jennifer Glass | Paula Ferris Show

DINKS | Nordy on TikTok

DINKS Social

The Elephant In The Womb | Grant Wyeth

Declining birth rate

Boom and Bust Cycle

Climate Apocalypse | Instagram

Jen Unhinged Selective Gatekeepers | TikTok

Jen Unhinged 4 Things | TikTok

The Cost of Sexism by Linda Scott

Natal Conference

CONTACT US

Website: www.chatinthecommons.com

Instagram: @chatinthecommons

X: @ChatInCommons

Email: https://www.chatinthecommons.com/contact