[See Update at bottom] Can men be feminists? Absolutely. But recent media maneuvers and blogosphere blow-ups have put this confident answer to the test. For those outside the feminist bubble, here is the nutshell version: One self-identified feminist man with a history of confused intent and mental illness hijacked an extraordinary amount of attention. That […]
Author: Shira Tarrant
Shira Tarrant is an unconventional feminist redefining gender rights. She is the author of Men and Feminism (Seal Press), When Sex Became Gender (Routledge), and editor of the provocative anthology Men Speak Out: Views on Gender, Sex and Power (Routledge). Her newest book, Fashion Talks: Undressing the Power of Style (SUNY Press, with Marjorie Jolles), will be published in 2012. Shira Tarrant's writing appears in Bitch Magazine, BUST, Ms. Magazine, Women’s Studies Quarterly, Huffington Post, and in various anthologies, blogs, and encyclopedias. Shira Tarrant is a popular speaker at college campuses and public venues across the country and she is quoted widely in print, radio, television, and online media. Shira Tarrant received her doctorate in political science from the University of California, Los Angeles. She is an associate professor in the Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies Department at California State University, Long Beach. Read more at http://shiratarrant.com.
Students Speak Out: 5 Ways to Stop Online Harassment
Online harassment is an ongoing problem that threatens women into silence in online communities and has offline consequences that should not be dismissed.
Sh*t Men Say To Men About Street Harassment
For too many women—as well as LGBTQ folks and men who don’t “blend in”—crossing the street, riding a bus or running in the park involve the risk of catcalls, groping, leering or even violence. Studies show that nearly 90 percent of women have been harassed in public by the age of 19. Not to mention, […]
It’s a Dress, Not a Yes
“It’s a dress, not a yes,” is a rallying cry at the SlutWalk marches, which demand an end to rape and victim blaming. The movement started in January 2011, when a Toronto constable warned students that to avoid getting raped they shouldn’t dress like sluts. Within months, anti-rape activists began taking to the streets in […]
Misogynist T-Shirt Removed Thanks to Online Activism!
In December 2010, Ms. Blogger Caroline Heldman reported on a galling T-shirt sold by Tilly’s, the popular surf and skate clothing chain. The LRG-brand T-shirt, as Heldman explained, features a woman, nude from the shoulders up, with tape over her mouth, captioned “enjoy the silence,” and, below in parentheses, “drawing of girl with tape on […]
Silence and Sexual Assault on College Campuses
Last spring I was hired by Drake University to provide recommendations about their campus sexual assault prevention and response policies. Today I face a moral dilemma. In August 2010, Drake University student Anthony Bertolone was charged with third-degree felony sexual abuse for assaulting a Sigma Chi fraternity brother. According to police reports, the victim was […]
Own Your Power To Make Change: Ms. Interviews Gloria Feldt
Women must be fearless in wielding power. This is the point of Gloria Feldt’s new book, No Excuses: 9 Ways Women Can Change the Way We think About Power and Leadership (Seal Press). “The most confounding problem facing women today,” Feldt writes, is that doors of opportunity are open, but “not enough women are walking […]
Is Pornography Racist?
In her new book Pornland (Beacon Press) author Gail Dines argues that our sexuality is hijacked by the multi-billion-dollar-a-year porn industry. (See my three-part interview with Gail here, here, and here.) Dines also argues that pornography is racist. But not everyone agrees. In the Pornland chapter titled “Racy Sex, Sexy Racism!” Dines writes that women […]
Porn: Pleasure or Profit? Ms. Interviews Gail Dines, Part III
This third installment of Ms.’s interview series with Gail Dines continues the conversation with the Wheelock College professor of sociology and women’s studies and chair of the American Studies Department. Dines recently briefed members of Congress on the harms of pornography, arguing for greater enforcement of existing obscenity laws. Staunchly anti-porn, she argues that this […]
Porn: Pleasure or Profit? Ms. Interviews Gail Dines, Part II
In Part I of my interview with Gail Dines, the self-described anti-porn feminist discussed sexual freedom, coercion, safety and harm. Part II continues the conversation. And this time, porn actors respond. Shira Tarrant/Ms.: Your new book, PORNLAND: How Porn Has Hijacked our Sexuality (Beacon Press), is out this month. When readers pick up this book, […]