The feminist society at Corpus Christi College has rechristened itself so that it no longer bears the name of a male alumnus.

Despite long being colloquially known as Corpus FemSoc, its official name until recently was the Isherwood society, named after author and Corpus alumnus Christopher Isherwood.

In an Instagram post announcing the name change, the society described Isherwood as “a notable alumni” whose semi-autobiographical novel Goodbye to Berlin (1939) served as the inspiration for the musical Cabaret (1966). To the College, he is best remembered for leaving without a degree in 1925, after writing jokes and limericks in his second-year history exams.

Explaining their reasoning for removing his name, the society officers said they “felt that our Feminist Society should not be named after a man, even if only on papers and JCR budgets”.

“A man’s name does not accurately represent the reasons why feminism should be and IS central to our current politics and social experiences,” they continued.

The society is now named after Margaret Andrew of Chesterton, who in 1349 donated land to the gilds of St Mary and Corpus Christi in her deathbed will. Three years later, these gilds merged to form a joint gild from which the College originated. Her gift is therefore the earliest documentary evidence of the College’s existence.

The society told Varsity that they chose Margaret Andrew because they “wanted to emphasise the fact that even though it took Corpus a while to admit women, they have always played a vital role – almost like a metaphor to the treatment of women in society as a whole”.

Corpus Christi agreed to admit women in 1980, with the first female students matriculating in 1983.

The new name has long been in the works, with a former society president commenting on Instagram that they had pushed for the change four years ago. The current leadership explained that the difficulty was finding a name that would be approved by the College.

They added: “When we thought of Margaret Andrew, we knew she would be perfect as the college is very proud of its roots as [the] only college founded by the townspeople. It also came at a perfect time as the college is releasing a Margaret Andrew bursary.”

According to the Corpus website, little is known about Andrew; she owned only a small amount of land, but the fact that she left behind a collection of domestic goods suggests that she oversaw a relatively large household.

The College explains that gilds played a significant role in the lives of medieval men and women, and that religious gilds like the ones which founded Corpus offered “mutual social and religious support for their members”.

The Corpus archives contain a copy of Margaret Andrew’s will, alongside a list of members for the gild of St Mary.

Corpus FemSoc stressed that the name change does not indicate a wider overhaul of its ethos, but that the newly christened Margaret Andrew Society “will continue to celebrate inclusive and pioneering feminism,” with events including a discussion about incel culture, a Galentines film night, and an International Women’s Day formal.