Reprinted with permission from Ada: A Journal of Gender, New Media and Technology. Read the original here. With increasing frequency the ugliness of gamer culture is being put on display for the wider world to see. While I was writing this piece, for example, a Canadian blogger created a game where one can punch and […]
Month: July 2015
Hacking the Black/White Binary
Reprinted with permission from Ada: A Journal of Gender, New Media and Technology. Read the original here. We began discussions of this special issue on “Hacking the Black/White Binary,” less than one week after George Zimmerman was acquitted of killing Trayvon Martin, a 17 year old, unarmed Black teenager from Florida. The duration of our […]
Amazing Feminist Characters on TV Right Now
Rachel Goldberg, star of the new Lifetime TV series UnREAL, is introduced on the show lying down in a limo, her T-shirt’s proclamation plainly visible: “THIS IS WHAT A FEMINIST LOOKS LIKE.” Rachel may not exactly be a model feminist—her day job is “making grown women cry,” as another character puts it, on a Bachelor-esque reality TV show—but we started […]
When an Unwanted Pregnancy Lands You Behind Bars
Kenlissia Jones did what many women before her have done. Facing a pregnancy she could not or did not want to continue, Jones, a 23-year-old black woman from Georgia, went online in search of a solution. There, she purchased Cytotec, a prescription abortion-inducing pill, from a pharmaceutical company in Canada. She delivered a five and […]
New Study Shows Black Communities Want Clinic Access
Since January, 51 state-level abortion restrictions have been enacted, which brings the total to 282 since 2010. As reproductive health services continue to be cut, especially in the South, low-income women and women of color will be disproportionately affected. According to a survey conducted by In Our Own Voice—a newly formed coalition that seeks to amplify […]
After the Quake: Why Haiti Needs New Narratives
In her latest book, Why Haiti Needs New Narratives: A Post-Quake Chronicle, feminist artist, anthropologist, activist and Ms. writer Gina Athena Ulysse digs deep into Haiti’s history, exposing the myths surrounding the country’s cultural identity while offering new, more nuanced stories. With the centennial observance of the United States’ occupation of Haiti this month, the Ms. Blog seized the opportunity to […]
Advantageous: Feminist Science Fiction at its Best
A sighting of that rare bird called feminist science fiction is truly a thing to celebrate. It does exist, sometimes by accident (see Alien), and sometimes on purpose (see almost anything by Octavia Butler). With Advantageous, a film written by Jacqueline Kim and Jennifer Phang, directed by Phang and starring Kim, the feminism is entirely purposeful. Influenced […]
Rihanna Unchained
I must confess that Rihanna is a guilty pleasure of mine. While pop stars like Beyoncé and Taylor Swift have claimed feminist identities, Rihanna refuses to toe political lines, rejects respectability politics, and unabashedly engages in bad behavior. Our society expects oh-so-high standards for women and people of color who must self-present as “role models.” Rihanna is having none […]
Why the NBA’s #LeanInTogether Campaign Is Off-Balance
You’ve probably seen it: a commercial featuring NBA stars LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Stephen Curry alongside WNBA players Skylar Diggins, Swin Cash, Sue Bird and Elena Della Donne. There are prideful smiles as most of the male players hold up placards featuring the hashtag #LeanInTogether and a list of the women in […]
NEWSFLASH: Bill Cosby’s Latest Admission Is a “Game-Changer”
The Bill Cosby sexual-assault scandal took an eye-opening turn this week when it was revealed that Cosby once admitted to acquiring quaaludes, a popular ’70s recreational drug, with the intent of giving the pills to young women he hoped to have sex with. In a 2005 court deposition obtained by the Associated Press, Cosby replied “yes” when asked if […]