This month, as 2015’s LGBTQ Pride celebrations kick off around the world, trans activist Reina Gossett and filmmaker Sasha Wortzel begin production on Happy Birthday, Marsha!, a narrative short film celebrating trans justice pioneers and lifelong friends Marsha P. (“Pay It No Mind”) Johnson and Sylvia Rivera. The Ms. Blog caught up with Gossett, Wortzel […]
Author: Kitty Lindsay
Kitty Lindsay is a Ms. blogger and works at the Feminist Majority Foundation. She is also creator and host of Feminist Crush, a weekly podcast featuring conversations with feminist artists and activists. Follow her on Twitter!
Radical Monarchs: A Social-Justice Twist on the Girl Scouts
The following is a reprint from the Spring 2015 issue of Ms. Click here to get your copy! They are not your mother’s Brownies. Oakland’s Radical Brownies —now known as the Radical Monarchs—are a revolutionary twist on the traditional girls club (though they’re not affiliated with Girl Scouts of the USA). Sporting brown berets in […]
Taking On Twitter’s Worst Trolls
Any woman who’s ever been on Twitter knows harassment is de rigueur—and a new study from Women, Action and the Media (WAM!) confirms that once and for all. The study found that women on Twitter are subject to many forms of harassment, including threats of violence and revenge porn, but endure hate speech (sexist, racist and homophobic […]
Deflategate v. Domestic Violence: The NFL Fumbles (Again!)
On Tuesday, in the wake of National Football League mega scandal Deflategate, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey mused, “I sure wish that the NFL would spend about a tenth of the time that it’s spending on this on issues of domestic violence and sexual assault.” She has a point. On the one hand, deflating a […]
Warrior Women: Breaking New Ground on the Battlefield
This Memorial Day, as we honor the United States servicemen and servicewomen killed in our country’s history, the debate surrounding women’s role in combat rages on. From World War I and II to Vietnam to the Persian Gulf War, women have demonstrated time and again their ability to hold their own on the battlefield. And […]
NEWSFLASH: Campus Sexual Assault Complaints Are on the Rise
Reports of sexual violence on college campuses are on the rise, according to new data compiled by the Department of Education. In a letter to Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) released by her office Tuesday, the Department’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR), which oversees the enforcement of Title IX, details a surge in Title IX-related sexual […]
We Heart: Google’s Celebration of Feminist Badass Nellie Bly
Oh Nellie, take us all around the world and break those rules cos you’re our girl! May 5 marks pioneering journalist and world traveler Nellie Bly’s 151st birthday and as a tribute to the remarkable life of this extraordinary woman, Google designed a delightful Doodle featuring a cartoon Bly and the sweet vocal stylings of […]
‘Til Death Do Us Part: Inside the Pulitzer Prize-Winning Domestic Violence Exposé
This week, The Post and Courier, a family-owned and operated newspaper in Charleston, South Carolina, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize Public Service gold medal for their in-depth investigation into the devastation wrought by domestic violence in their state. In seven heart-wrenching installments, “‘Til Death Do Us Part” explores the roles culture, patriarchy, law enforcement and legislation play […]
Ava DuVernay: Focusing the Lens on Equality
This March, for Women’s History Month, the Ms. Blog is profiling Wonder Women who have made history—and those who are making history right now. Join us each day as we bring you the stories of iconic and soon-to-be-famous feminist change-makers. Fusing social consciousness and stunning artistry, director, writer and producer Ava DuVernay‘s well of emotionally […]
The Year of the Fighter: The Top 10 Feminist Films of 2014
Hollywood has long been a boy’s club, but this year, women made a dent in the door. From bow-wielding revolutionaries to outspoken intellectuals to ordinary women with the will to change the world, women warriors, both onscreen and off, challenged audiences to reimagine women as masters of their own destinies. Though the battle is far […]