'Isms' are still fighting fit 1

I am disappointed that no challenge was presented to the ignorant views of the blogger and Bruce Charlton who claim that feminism is "bullshit" and a "stupid academic fad" ("US blogger plots graph to show the death of 'stupid academic fads'", 2 October).

Nothing could be further from the truth. Feminism - a critique of male-dominated systems of power and an advocacy of gender equality - remains as relevant as ever.

If the word itself is less prevalent in journals, it is because feminist ideas have been successfully mainstreamed and incorporated into other strands of research. To base such vitriolic criticism of a concept on such reductionist data undermines the author's credibility. Feminism is also relevant beyond academia - have the blogger and Charlton not heard of groups such as the Fawcett Society? Too much time spent in their ivory tower, perhaps?

Rainbow Murray, Convenor of the Women and Politics group of the Political Studies Association.