In the words of the venerable ’90s hip-hop sensation Salt-N-Pepa: “Let’s talk about sex, baby. Let’s talk about you and me.” Okay, take a minute. Now that you’ve stopped singing, let’s get serious for a second. While yesterday’s post dealt with the negative sexualization of women and girls, it’s equally important to encourage a positive outlook […]
Future of Feminism Series
Future of Feminism: No More Media Sexualization of Women
It’s hard to ignore the sexualization of women and girls in the media these days; it’s everywhere, from Carl’s Jr. ads to films supposedly meant to empower women. Dr. Jean Kilbourne, creator of the film series Killing Us Softly (1979-2010), has been tracking advertising images of women since the late 1960s. In a recent interview with […]
Future of Feminism: 50 Global Solutions for Women and Girls
Just in time to honor International Women’s Day, the nonprofit Women Deliver announced its 50 top ideas and solutions for women and girls. While the list–which began with more than 500 nominations from 103 countries and ended with over 6,000 online votes–does include some already well-known (and oft challenged) global institutions such as the UN, […]
Future of Feminism: Music To Our Ears
For every little girl who grew up fantasizing of becoming a fairytale princess, there was another who dreamed of being a rock ‘n’ roll queen. Thankfully, there are organizations popping up across the country who help girls explore such musical dreams, the Institute for Musical Arts (IMA) in Western Massachusetts being one of them. Founded […]
The Future of Feminism: Not Your Ordinary Mother’s Blog
Mommy Bloggers. Just uttering that phrase brings forth mixed reactions. Some women wear the moniker with pride; others shrug it off with disdain, upset over being pigeon-holed. Personal feelings over the phrase aside, the phenomenon of Mommy Bloggers is a very real thing: Blogs devoted to parenting are a rapidly growing (and revenue-producing) area of […]
Future of Feminism: The Pen is Mightier Than the Sword
The fact that blogging and social media have become such prominent avenues for discourse is of vital importance to the future of feminism. A powerfully articulated idea can spread like wildfire. Social media allows us to do in just a few days what physical protests and boycotts might have taken weeks or months to accomplish–take, […]
Future of Feminism: Building Bridges to World Peace
As children we’re taught that even those who seem different from us share, at heart, the same hopes and dreams. We learn in school that world peace and equality are the ultimate of aspirations. But by the time we’re adults, most of us are more cynical, even jaded: World peace is nothing more than the […]
Future of Feminism: Ending Rape As A Tool of War
Sexual assault and rape during wartime cannot–and should not–be brushed off as mere collateral damage. Rather, rape has long been a systematic tool of strategic violence against women. The public and policy makers should know this in order to help prevent future violence–and that’s the mission of the newly launched Women Under Siege, a Women’s Media […]
Future of Feminism: Flipping the Gender Script for Reproductive Justice
Political and cultural debates over contraception and abortion loom large in the news these days, with a notable new twist. Instead of feminists being the butt of ridicule, the tables have turned. Comedians, pundits and even legislators are satirizing the extremism and sexism of anti-woman bills by flipping the gender script. Here are some recent […]
Welcome to the Future of Feminism!
As a reader of and writer for Ms. and a women’s studies professor, I, like many of us, believe that the study and celebration of women’s history shouldn’t be relegated to just one month. Still, President Jimmy Carter designated a Women’s History Week in 1980, and then, in 1987, the month of March became officially […]