The Guilty Feminist

The Guilty Feminist
Presentation
Hosted by	Deborah Frances-White + guest co-host
Starring	e.g. Aisling Bea, Rachel Parris, Felicity Ward, Sindhu Vee
Genre	Comedy, Feminism
Created by	Deborah Frances-White Sofie Hagen (2015-September 2016)
Language	English
Production
Production	The Spontaneity Shop
Theme music composed by	Mark Hodge
No. of episodes	179
Publication
Original release	15 December 2015
Related
Website	http://guiltyfeminist.com/

The Guilty Feminist is a feminist comedy podcast hosted by Deborah Frances-White. Created by Frances-White and Sofie Hagen in 2015, the podcast features guests on a panel to discuss topics on and related to feminism, and is recorded in front of a live audience.

Overview

The podcast was created by Deborah Frances-White and Sofie Hagen in December 2015.^[1] The idea for the podcast came from the pair having lunch together and often sharing their hypocrisies and double standards with each other.^[2][3] Hagen and Frances-White co-hosted the podcast until September 2016 when Hagen left. Since then a range of guests have co-hosted each episode. The podcast is recorded in front of a live audience and each episode lasts approximately 45 minutes.^[4][5]

Each episode begins with short stories starting with the words "I'm a feminist, but...", with the episode's hosts admitting to moments where they have done or thought something that an ideal feminist wouldn't.^[1][6] Episodes are based around a theme, and topics of discussion have included stereotypes, hair removal, periods, not having children, or purchase of cosmetics.^{[3][7][8][9][10]} The presenters set themselves weekly challenges,^[10] and at the end of each episode audience members are invited to ask the panel questions.^[2]

The show has featured guests such as Shappi Khorsandi,^[2] Gemma Arterton,^[11] Dawn O'Porter, and Aisling Bea.^[7] Frances-White aims to create diverse and inclusive panels of guests.^[2] In 2023, the house of The Guilty Feminist also launched Media Storm, a news podcast hosted by journalists Mathilda Mallinson and Helena Wadia, featuring underrepresented individuals who are rarely given a chance to voice their lived experience.^[12]

Reception

The podcast was shortlisted for an Internet Award in the 2017 Chortle Awards and nominated for Best Podcast in the 2017 Audio & Radio Industry Awards.^[13][14] In The Guardian's 2017 list of best podcasts, Kathryn Bromwich listed The Guilty Feminist as one of her six favourite podcasts in the 'sex, life and relationships' category.^[10]

To date, the podcast has been downloaded over 100 million times.^[15]

References

1. Sahlender, Julia (29 August 2017). "Feministisch, schwarz, queer: Podcasts abseits von Verbrechen oder Geschichte". dieStandard.at. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
2. Tuxworth-Holden, Charlotte (28 April 2017). "Feminism to the fore in hit comedy podcast". The Argus. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
3. Gupta, Alisha Haridasani (2020-02-22). "Are You a Guilty Feminist?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-09-01.
4. Bruton, Louise (27 July 2017). "Feminism has become one more thing to feel guilty about". The Irish Times. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
5. "Girl power: the best podcasts for women". Daily Telegraph. 17 September 2016. p. 50. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
6. Harrison, Ellie (30 December 2016). "Why 2016 has been a great year for women in comedy". Radio Times. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
7. Fetherston, Sinann (6 July 2017). "5 Feminist Podcasts for a Woke Commute". RTE. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
8. May, Naomi (6 June 2017). "These 5 Podcasts Celebrate Female Empowerment". Observer. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
9. Verdier, Hannah (3 November 2016). "The Guilty Feminist: is it OK to watch Beauty and the Beast in your wedding dress?". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
10. Bromwich, Kathryn (30 October 2017). "From Dirty John to Mogul and the Guilty Feminist: best podcasts of 2017 part 2". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
11. Mumford, Gwilym (22 August 2017). "Gemma Arterton reveals studio filmed her exercising to make her lose weight for role". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
12. "Media Storm". shows.acast.com. Retrieved 2023-12-06.
13. "And finally... best show". Chortle. 16 February 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
14. "Audio & Radio Industry Awards 2017 nominations". Radio Today. 18 September 2017. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
15. "Deborah Frances-White". Podcast Show 2024. Retrieved 2023-12-06.

External links

• Official website