Category: Feminism

Don’t let feminism get hijacked for racist ends

While we all celebrate International Women’s Day in different ways, there’s one under-discussed issue I hope all of us will take up – the way racist policies across the globe are being enacted under the guise of protecting women.

Stoking racial hatred by invoking the protection of women – white women, in particular – is nothing new in the United States, of course. The fear of rape has historically been used to justify horrific violence against American black men

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/mar/08/feminism-hijacked-migrants?

The problem with International Women’s Day

By 2022 Summers says we need to achieve four significant reforms. “Legislated equal pay for all women in all jobs, decriminalisation of abortion in New South Wales and Queensland, specialist domestic violence courts in every state of Australia and gender quotas dictating women make up 50 per cent of all parliamentarians, all cabinets and other ministries and directors of all public company and government boards.”

https://womensagenda.com.au/latest/eds-blog/how-do-i-really-feel-about-international-womens-day-fed-up-and-fatigued/

Equality is a ‘profoundly conservative goal’ for women, Germaine Greer says

The feminist and author Germaine Greer has said that aiming for equality is a “profoundly conservative goal” for women, speaking at the launch of her comprehensive archive at the University of Melbourne on Wednesday night.

“What everybody has accepted is the idea of equality feminism,” Greer told an audience of about 500 people at the Kathleen Fitzpatrick Theatre for the International Women’s Day event.

“It will change nothing. War is made against civilian populations where women and children are the principal casualties in places like Syria . . .

“War is now completely made by the rich with their extraordinary killing machines, killing the poor who have no comeback. Women are drawing level with men in this profoundly destructive world that we live in and, as far as I’m concerned, it’s the wrong way. We’re getting nowhere.

“If what happens when women discover when they join the army is they discover it’s no place for a sane human being then they’ve learned something,” Greer said. “But right now, things are looking distinctly grim.”

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/mar/09/equality-is-a-profoundly-conservative-goal-for-women-germaine-greer-says?

With great female minds idling on the sidelines, how much progress have we lost?

Considering that approximately 130 million girls worldwide are not attending primary through upper-secondary school and that women represent nearlytwo-thirds of the world’s illiterate, we must ask: how many other innovations and inventions – great and small – have been lost to the world because so many minds are idle on the sidelines of human progress?

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/mar/08/with-great-female-minds-idling-on-the-sidelines-how-much-progress-have-we-lost?

Petition update · Getting Noisy On Intl Women’s Day

March 8th is International Women’s Day and we’re raising our voices on behalf of young girls around the world. Meet the global team from Endangered Bodies who tell the CEOs of Apple, Google and Amazon why they need to ensure harmful cosmetic surgery games do not target children. Because no nine-year-old should be dreaming of liposuction.

https://www.change.org/p/apple-stop-cosmetic-surgery-apps-aimed-at-kids-surgeryisnotagame-2e366caa-1317-483e-90cb-b3ecf6f8d89e/u/19624202?

1950’s 1960’s – A History of International Women’s Day

Nevertheless, it had been possible in 1944 to bring together 200 women from 90 organisations throughout Australia (despite travel restrictions), including representatives from traditional women’s organisations, feminists, and unions. This conference agreed on an Australian Women’s Charter which called for equality in opportunity, work and pay, better health services, child care, pensions and welfare, and supported the need for better Aboriginal welfare through federal government controls, and land rights for tribal Aborigines.

http://www.isis.aust.com/iwd/stevens/50s60s.htm

Jessa Crispin: the woman at war with lifestyle feminism

“Contemporary feminism is not only embarrassing but incredibly misguided to the point where I can’t associate myself with it.”

Crispin writes that in feminism’s pursuit of mainstream acceptability, it’s lost a lot of its power and kick: “For something to be universally accepted, it must become as banal, as non-threatening and ineffective as possible.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/mar/03/jessa-crispin-the-woman-at-war-with-lifestyle-feminism

Ivanka Trump using feminism to cover for her father’s bigotry is reprehensible

Ivanka Trump and Kellyanne Conway sure are working hard to convince us that the president isn’t a misogynist. While Conway tweets about Trump’s commitment to “women’s health” and covers for his bigotry on the cable news circuit, the first daughter continues her mission to present the softer side of a man whose best-known quote on gender involves “grabbing pussies.”

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/mar/02/ivanka-trump-feminism-father-cover-bigotry?

37 Politicians Get a Mural Dedicated to Their Most Shameful Comments About Women

During the 2016 presidential campaign, audio surfaced of then-presidential hopeful Donald J. Trump telling Billy Bush that his celebrity status allowed him to “grab” women “by the pussy” at will. The revelation sent shockwaves around the country, but for artists Zoë Buckman and Natalie Frank, it was yet another line in an all-too-familiar history of disgusting comments made—on the political level—against women. The shameful sound bite inspired a new, 30-foot long mural titled, We Hold These Truths To Be Self-Evident, now on view at New York Live Arts, that makes art out of quotes from nearly 40 politicians who have, for decades, made odious public remarks about women’s bodies and rights.

https://creators.vice.com/en_us/article/buckman-frank-politicians-shameful-comments-about-women-mural