The F Word Isn’t Dead - But We Are Still Afraid To Say It

As far-right ideology tightens its grip across the globe, feminism is losing its hold on the next generation.

Legacy media is losing relevance. Young audiences, disengaged, are instead turning to algorithm-fed platforms that use clickbait, hate speech and misinformation to attract followers. We want to meet them where they are, but on our own terms: through thematic releases that cut through the noise and focus on facts.

Why Radical Signals?

Radical times demand radical signals. But what does that actually mean? What change can another media platform bring to the world of noise?

The normalisation of far-right discourse means the gradual acceptance and integration of right extremist ideologies and rhetoric into mainstream society, eroding social taboos and fostering tolerance for once-fringe ideas - as explained by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung in 2024.

We have become progressively more used to blatant sexism, fascism and misogyny, from Internet anonymity to the utilisation of AI for deepfakes. We’re at the point of inflexion in the history of society, where knowing someone’s politics is enough to pass judgment. The nuance of opinion and common ground has perished, forcing us to be “for” or “against” for any issue, at all times.

The Radical Signals concept wasn’t born overnight, but rather conceived as a way to understand the dynamics of today’s cultural and political timing. It was actually inspired by Gloria Steinem’s Ms. Magazine in 1971. Ms. was the first of its kind magazine for women, as it refused to advertise cleaning products, instead offering articles on national and international events and feminist issues.

Our personal stories also impacted the shape of this project. Wiktoria and I were both born in Poland. We grew up with the inter-generational post-Communist and post-war ghosts, Catholic guilt, and personal transformation in a Western culture.

We are determined to study the overlooked or harmful viewpoints that pertain to the topics at hand - feminism, gender, violence, war, health, family, career, self-esteem, community and more. The real progress demands from us a deeper understanding of history, process, problems and the norms.

What Is “The F Word”?

When deciding what to dissect first, we turned to something hiding in plain sight: feminism.

It's everywhere and nowhere at once. Splashed across t-shirts and book covers, wielded as branding for companies patching over deeper failures in strategy or values. Yet simultaneously dismissed as passé, something only "angry leftists" care about because, apparently, women already have everything they need.

If feminism isn't dead, why are we all so afraid to say the word?

This contradiction fascinated us. How did we get here? How did a movement that fundamentally changed the world become both ubiquitous and irrelevant?

The answer lies in what we've forgotten. We no longer viscerally understand what it meant when women couldn't vote, own property, or make decisions about their own bodies. The battles feel distant, the victories feel complete. Progress has made its own urgency invisible.

And that's exactly the problem. Today's oppression doesn't announce itself with explicitly discriminatory laws. It operates through healthcare systems that ignore women's pain, research that treats male bodies as the default, and workplaces that penalise motherhood while rewarding fatherhood. It's algorithmic bias and venture capital blind spots and a thousand subtle ways that equality remains theoretical.

Young people see feminism as a slogan because the fight has gone underground. The oppression is still here - you just have to know where to look.

We decided to make "The F Word" our inaugural capsule because feminism's current crisis is also its opportunity. Strip away the commercialisation and the backlash, and you'll find something powerful: a framework for understanding how systems of power actually work, how change actually happens, and why the work is never really finished.

It's time to remember what feminism actually means, and why we still need it.

Through interviews with those reshaping the movement, art that reveals what words cannot capture, and stories that connect past struggles to present realities, we're going beyond the slogans to find what remains. We hope you'll discover something that changes how you see not just feminism, but the systems we all navigate every day.

The Politics of Form

We decided to release Radical Signals in capsules to provide an in-depth, varied approach to the topics we explore. Each capsule is a mini-issue - covering topics often overlooked or flattened by mainstream media. We include essays, interviews, poetry, data, visuals and recommendations around a topic, going deeper than surface-level. We talk to artists, scientists, journalists and activists to go beyond one dimension and to bridge the worlds of science and art.

Many years have passed since Gloria Steinem’s Ms. Magazine, but one thing remains - the need to share stories and fight for things that stay close to us. We want to do it through slow journalism and multi-format storytelling, without compromising quality for clicks.

Meet the Voices: What This Capsule Holds

Signal 01 takes you inside three conversations that refuse to stay comfortable. Michelle Vaughan paints anti-feminist women in soft pastels, forcing us to reckon with the paradox of women who reject the movement that fought for their freedom. Pola Rader photographs Orthodox women caught between obedience and power, revealing strength that operates within, not despite, restrictive systems. And Penny East steps into leading the Fawcett Society, inheriting a legacy that's both revered and irrelevant to the generation she's trying to reach.

Each conversation peels back another layer of what feminism means when it's no longer revolutionary, when it's about a fight we don’t necessarily understand.. Alongside these voices, you'll find the art, poetry, and provocations that first made us question what we thought we knew about "The F Word."

This isn't a capsule about having the right answers. Instead, it explores the uncomfortable questions that might actually matter.

Have a look. Let us know what you think. And if something here shifts how you see the world, even slightly, stay tuned for what comes next.

We’re a movement, a media platform, a place where dissidence meets art, journalism and science. Our goal is to use our voices and amplify the voices of others to inspire, educate and spur change.

Wiktoria Bulik

& Agata Bendik

Co-Founders