“She’s just ruining Jameis’ good character.” That’s what I overhear a young mother, decked out in a garnet top and dream-catcher earrings, telling her teenage daughter at a Mexican restaurant here in Tallahassee. Her daughter, also clad in Florida State colors, nods in eager agreement. I cringe, glad that my toddler is too young to […]
Author: Stassa Edwards
Stassa Edwards is a very tired new mom. Follow her on Twitter @stasssaedwards.
McConnell and Judd: What It Means When We Talk About Gender and Mental Health
On Tuesday, Mother Jones released an audio recording of Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) speaking with members of his reelection staff. Much of the conversation focused on actor Ashley Judd, who, until recently, was rumored to be mulling a run against the current Senate GOP leader. For the most part, the recording is typical opposition research. […]
Thinking About the Steubenville Rape and Raising a Son
The Steubenville rape case proved we need to do more than just “flip the script.” We all have a stake in creating a new cultural curriculum.
When Isabel Met Kavita and Talked About Militarism
Last week I had the pleasure of attending the Global Fund for Women’s event “Resist, Reclaim, Restore,” which featured a conversation between Kavita Ramdas, the former president and CEO of the GFW, and Chilean-American author Isabel Allende. The GFW’s progressive approach to empowering women attracted a diverse set of women who gathered that evening in […]
Vote No on Sexist Politics
“Man up,” “Get your man-pants on,” and “Whore.” These are some of the finer examples of sexist rhetoric that infiltrated the midterm elections. Though the media dubiously declared this political season the “Year of the Woman,” the midterms seemed to be a tipping point for public declarations and acceptance of sexism. The disturbing language wasn’t […]
Sex Trafficking: Is There An App For That?
When Craigslist shuttered the doors of their adult services section, the feminist blogosphere was divided: Was it a victory for anti-sex trafficking campaigns or a setback for sex worker activists? Regardless of their particular disagreements over the services provided by Craigslist’s adult section, most agreed that the deletion of the section would not stop the […]
Candied Katy Perry Says “Eat Me”
Katy Perry’s California Gurls is, without doubt, the it pop-song of the summer. It’s everything a summer pop song should be–sweet and easy to digest. The accompanying video lays bare, well, both Perry and the candy-like nature of her pop. Directed by Matthew Cullen, the video features Perry in a literal Candyland (called Candyfornia), lying nude on […]
On the Anniversary of “To Kill a Mockingbird”: Going Beyond a “Conversation on Race”
When I sat down last week to start my post about the 50th anniversary of Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird, I was initially going to contest the criticism that Mockingbird has recently endured. But in the midst of my research—rereading Malcolm Gladwell’s critique, Allen Barra’s dismissal of Lee’s book and Jenna […]
Chrissie Hynde at Almost 60: No Pretending
A 50-something rock n’ roller with a 20-something girlfriend hanging off his arm: You know the scene, it’s as old as Keith Richards. But what if we invert it? How about a 50-something rock n’ roller with a 20-something boyfriend hanging off her arm? Cue Chrissie Hynde. In her first full album without the Pretenders, […]
Will Elisabeth Badinter’s New Book Rile Oprah Mommies?
Élisabeth Badinter’s new book, Le Conflit: la femme et la mère (Conflict: the woman and the mother) is causing quite a stir on the European continent. Badinter, a French feminist and philosophy professor at the prestigious École Polytechnique, is no stranger to controversy. In her previous book, Fausse route (Wrong Way), she blamed American feminists Andrea Dworkin […]