Mom and Apple Pie
In 2006, long before hashtags, Tarana Burke began a grassroots “me too” movement to try and reach women and girl survivors of sexual assault, particularly women of color in low wealth communities. In 2017, actor Alyssa Milano used “me too” as a hashtag, and it went viral. While much has...
Contemporary romance novels are big business, and they empower women in a number of ways. In the United States alone, romance novels account for about one third of the fiction market, about the same as mystery and fantasies combined. The vast majority of romance writers are women, and so are their...
The Spice Girls and the Women’s World Cup are parallel realities, and some will point out that women are still underpaid, undervalued and stuck in much the same position they were in during the early 1990s. “Girl power” was never anything more than a heaven-sent answer to the question,...
The main conceptual problem in surrogacy — the production and sale of a child — reduces both women and children to commodities in commerce: things. Many articles and books can be found describing the horrors of surrogacy. Exploitation is common, with abuse and slave-like conditions for...
Society must listen to women. The fight for their rights and equality must be all of ours. “I believe you. What you have to say is important. We’ll find justice.” For too long, American women have failed to hear these three simple phrases. Our democracy has been proud to tout ideals...
In Jordan, the state puts women who are at risk of honor crimes into “protective custody,” which often means prison without charge. As per the BBC, an honor killing is “the murder of a person accused of bringing shame upon his or her family.” The act occurs worldwide but is particularly...
Those most impacted by the consequences of tax dodging are the world’s poorest, who are disproportionately women and girls. Asana Abugre has a small shop in Accra, Ghana, where she makes and sells batiks and tie-dyed textiles. Asana pays her taxes regularly. Women like her, working in markets...
Why is the term “feminist” understood as a role for the angry woman who can’t find a man? *[Note: The author identifies herself as “womxn,” which is a means of linguistic dissociation from the word “man” and also a way to recognize the multiple intersections that construct gender...
The issue of women's rights does not only concern women, but the whole of Yemeni society. Benjamin Wiacek speaks to Alaa Al-Eryani, a Yemeni women’s rights activist, who launched a page on Facebook dedicated to the Yemeni Feminist Movement. She talks to Wiacek about her initiative and...
Secular and Islamist discourse in Egypt share a core essence of masculine dominance. Egypt and the wider Middle East are undergoing major change following revolutions. But what is the best way to plan for and navigate the future? A number of post-Arab Spring political and strategic analyses have...
“Feminist porn” is not compatible with feminism. In recent years, a trend known as “feminist porn” has gained visibility. Including films and even an annual Feminist Porn Awards ceremony, an increasing number of women are embracing the idea that porn, if done right, is...
Femen cannot present itself as a feminist, subversive, revolutionary movement. In a Marxist interpretation of feminism, the way we understand it, feminism is a revolutionary current that not only aims for the liberation of women from patriarchy, but also the liberation of all oppressed...
More than contributing to just and humane societies, the international gender industry, feminism’s institutionalized offshoot, has undeniably become part of multi-faceted attempts at periphery control. Just like threats and enemies often don’t turn out to be who we are told or believe...
