Prof. Lynne Segal is a distinguished British-Australian Jewish psychologist, gender studies scholar, and radical feminist theorist. She currently serves as the Anniversary Professor of Psychology and Gender Studies at Birkbeck, University of London.
Prof. Segal’s academic influence stems from her profound analysis of social structures. Her seminal works include Slow Motion: Changing Masculinities, Changing Men and Radical Happiness: Moments of Collective Joy. A core member of the British Women’s Liberation Movement (WLM) in the 1970s, she remains a leading figure in socialist feminism. Her research consistently explores the links between power, desire, and collective action, and she is celebrated for infusing rigorous scholarship with a “spirit of street protest.”
Prof. Segal’s political engagement is deeply integrated with her academic stance. She is a founding member of Independent Jewish Voices (IJV UK) and a staunch supporter of Jewish Voice for Labour (JVL). She maintains that Jewish liberation and Palestinian liberation are indivisible. She has poignantly noted: “As someone raised in Jewish tradition and haunted by the shadows of the Holocaust, I refuse to accept any form of racial dispossession. True ‘Never Again’ means opposing the occupation of Palestinian land and the dehumanization of others. Our Jewish identity should be a bridge to solidarity, not a foundation for walls.” She has signed numerous open letters criticizing government hesitation on a ceasefire and actively promotes academic support for Palestinian human rights.