Charli Howard and Freya India chaired by Julie Bindel

Writer and journalist Freya India and author and model Charli Howard discuss what it means to be a woman in the 21st century and the challenges of misogyny, commodification of the female body and coming of age in a time of technological and cultural shifts.

India writes for publications such as the Spectator, New Statesmen, UnHerd and the Independent and has her own Substack, Girls, which has attracted 45,000 subscribers. In Girls: Gen Z and the Commodification of Everything, she says the angst and turmoil of girls coming of age is compounded by a world filled with TikTok plastic surgeons, dating apps, online porn, therapy apps and even customisable AI girlfriends. India exposes the ruthless commercialisation of the inner lives of girls and young women.

Howard is an author, model and human rights activist well known for fronting campaigns for global brands and for her work as an ambassador for the charity Refuge, which supports women who have suffered abuse. In her new book Flesh: Decentering the Male Gaze and Reclaiming the Objectified Body, she explores how society has sexualised the female body through time. She looks at how women can reclaim their bodies for themselves and truly love them as their own.

Discussions are chaired by journalist and feminist campaigner Julie Bindel, author of Feminism for Women: The Real Route to Liberation and Lesbians, Where are we Now?