Tag: Feminist History

Rest in Power: Peg Yorkin, Feminist Trailblazer and Supporter of Women in Politics

Peg Yorkin—leading U.S. feminist, philanthropist and strategist, as well as theater producer—died on Sunday, June 25, 2023, at the age of 96. In the midst of our collective grief, we honor and pay tribute to a co-founder as well as the one and only chair of the board of the Feminist Majority Foundation (FMF), publisher of Ms. Since the day FMF started in 1987, Peg Yorkin was important in conceptualizing the organization’s mission and potential significance in the struggle for equality and women’s rights.

“Peg was impatient. She wanted to see change now,” said Kathy Spillar, executive editor of Ms. and executive director of FMF. “She would constantly remind us of her age and wanted to see the changes in her lifetime. She thought big and had total confidence we could make a difference.”

BANNED: Gender, Race and Sexuality Studies

A new Florida law severely restricts gender, race and sexuality studies at state-funded colleges—and eliminates diversity programs altogether. Far from just a “Florida problem,” this is one piece of an alarming right-wing strategy spreading nationwide. Gender studies advocates warn, “Thiis is about to be the entire country’s problem. Every Republican-dominated state legislature is watching closely what is happening in Florida.”

Far-right conservatives fear that younger generations will be taught to think critically about the rampant misrepresentation and sanitization of American history and the continued discrimination against women, people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals.

The Patriarchs’ War on Women

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Assaults on women’s and LGBTQ+ rights—and attempts to put women “in their place”—constitute a backlash against feminist progress expanding women’s full inclusion in public life.

As women’s participation becomes more prominent in domestic and international politics, here’s why political sexism and gender policing are also becoming more virulent—and what to do about it.

(This essay is part of Women’s Rights and Backsliding Democracies project—a multimedia project made up of essays, video and podcast programming, presented by Ms., NYU Law’s Birnbaum Women’s Leadership Network and Rewire News Group.)

Title IX’s Generational Divide: Mother Denied, Daughter Empowered

For my daughter Gwen Jorgensen, the benefit of Title IX offered not only a gateway to activities. Gwen’s generation grew up with a belief system—a mindset that young women deserve the same as men.

The impact of Title IX presents a stark generational contrast between my daughter and me. Equal opportunity afforded her the chance to pursue sports in elementary school, high school, college and on the world stage. She grew up believing in herself, her talents and her skills.

How Feminists and Academics Are Fighting the Right’s ‘Anti-Woke’ Agenda

There are now 28 states that either limit how teachers can discuss issues about race and gender, or are considering passing legislation. Feminist teachers and academics have been viewing with increased alarm, anger and frustration these legislative efforts by Republicans to limit our academic freedom, censor the teaching of African American and gender studies, and place us in an untenable situation where we are forced to defend ourselves and our livelihood. The attack is personal. It is rooted in anti-Black racism, patriarchy, transphobia, whiteness and xenophobia—a propagandistic argument designed to whitewash our collective history. It is not simply a debate about curriculum; it is a fight about the direction of this country. It will not stop unless we stop it.

Join our teach-in at 12 p.m. ET on May 3.

Dr. Hannah Croasdale, Dartmouth’s First Tenured Woman Faculty Member: ‘Tell Them to Be Quiet and Wait’

In 1935, Dr. Hannah Croasdale started a new job at Dartmouth College—before the college accepted women. Despite her Ph.D., Croasdale started as a lab technician. To women of that generation, the whole world was a boys’ club. She finally received tenure—the first woman to do so at Dartmouth—almost three decades later.

I came to know Croasdale’s story my first summer at Dartmouth. I was never asked to be grateful for admission to a school like Dartmouth, even though I was in the first 50 classes of women.

Weekend Reading on Women’s Representation: Remembering Women Civil Rights Leaders; Toni Morrison’s New USPS Forever Stamp

Weekend Reading for Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation. 

This week: 15 women who were key figures in the Montgomery bus boycott; the U.S. Postal Service features writer Toni Morrison on a new forever stamp; what motivates women to consider running for office, and the systematic barriers they face; and more.

Feminists and Friends Reflect on Pat Schroeder’s Legacy

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Since the news broke about Pat Schroeder’s death on March 14, there have been thousands of tributes, obituaries, tweets and social media postings in her honor. They described her as a maverick, pioneer, feminist champion, trailblazer, fearlessly independent politician, and an icon and role model for many elected officials, men and women. We agree—but for the feminist movement, Pat Schroeder was much more. On March 22, 2023, the House of Representatives will honor Schroeder with a moment of silence. In honor of this one minute—60 seconds—of silence, we’ve compiled 60 stories from people who knew and admired Pat Schroeder.

“Pat was best known for being a fierce advocate for women. And many young women asked her for advice. She told them to make sure women were in rooms where decisions were being made. And if they were not, to kick the door down and hold the door open for those behind them.”