Congress is back in session, and feminists are making clear: Gender equity must be a priority. A coalition of top women’s rights- and reproductive rights-focused groups outlined their vision for the future of U.S. gender equality and the steps the 118th Congress can take, in a letter sent to leaders in both the U.S. House and Senate, as well as relevant committee chairs.
Tag: Gender
Jacinda Ardern Showed the Power of Women’s Leadership—And the Urgent Need for More
“The resignation of Jacinda Ardern reminds us that women continue to face barriers in politics, and that it is essential to build governmental workplaces that enable all to participate and succeed,” said Cynthia Richie Terrell, executive director and founder of RepresentWomen. “Even as leaders like Ardern have advanced women’s political representation, the pace of progress remains unacceptably sluggish.”
New U.S. Global Gender-Based Violence Strategy Says All The Right Things—But Action Is Next
On Dec. 12, the U.S. government launched its updated and long-awaited Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender-Based Violence Globally. On paper, the strategy looks great. But, as always, the questions we’re left with are: What does the U.S. government do with this document now? How is it implemented? Will funding increase and be sustained?
As the halfway mark of this administration’s current term approaches, we need to ensure that words are backed up with action.
‘Why We Still Love Zora’: Irma McClaurin on PBS Documentary ‘Claiming a Space’ and Zora Neale Hurston’s Legacy
PBS’ American Experience premieres documentary film on pioneering writer and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960). Directed by Tracy Heather Strain, Zora Neale Hurston: Claiming a Space is the first film to explore Hurston’s life and ethnographic work in great detail.
“Anthropology only started looking at the literary styles of novels and non-scholarly writing in the late ’80s. But Zora had already been there and done that,” said Irma McClaurin, Black feminist poet, anthropologist and Hurston expert.
Landmark Global Biodiversity Agreement Enshrines Rights of Indigenous Peoples—Providing Hope for Bolivia’s Guarani
After more than four years of negotiations, on Dec.19, 2022, nearly 200 nations adopted the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework—a binding agreement to protect at least 30 percent of the world’s biodiversity within 2030. The agreement represents a significant step forward towards rights-based, gender just and socially equitable biodiversity conservation.
There is hope that the agreement will help to return stolen lands to communities and ensure the rights of Indigenous peoples—like the Guaraní of Laguna Chica, Bolivia, located in the Yaku Agüa territory by Bolivia’s southern border with Argentina.
The Eyebrow of the Beholder
Tunkel’s expository essay chronicles their personal relationship with their hairiness and the ways in which it coincides with their gender identity and normative beauty standards.
How We Avoid the Rise of Another ‘Andrew Tate’
Most of Andrew Tate’s alleged criminal conduct took place in private. But his rise to fame—or infamy—took place in full public view. It is important to understand how and why all of this happened. Here are four “teachable moment” topics raised by the Andrew Tate saga:
1. Tate’s normalization of misogyny harms girls and young women.
2. The ideal of “manhood” Tate promotes harms boys and young men.
3. 3. For many uninformed young men, feminism is a hostile philosophy and feminists are caricatured villains.
4. There is a strong connection between misogyny and right-wing politics.
I’m Sounding the Alarm Now About Media’s Response to Rihanna’s Super Bowl Halftime Show
The Super Bowl Halftime Show is a time-honored but impossible set-up. Women artists have experienced especially harsh post-show takes. So what will it be in Rihanna’s case?
There’s a tremendous amount of pressure on her performance post-baby, her first live appearance since 2018. The gendered expectations and sexist labeling of women in music vary by individual, and racism has a significant impact in certain cases. But this abuse in all cases works to enforce norms of behavior expected of women.
Perhaps if we recognize the cycle, we might better tune out the toxic takes to come.
She Wins: Here’s to Powerful Black Women Leaders on Screens
The 80th Golden Globes is days away. Viola Davis is the only Black female actor nominated in the Motion Pictures-Drama category.
In The Woman King, Davis plays the Agojie general of an all-female warrior unit and embodies the fierceness of this leader, while delivering a performance characterized by maternal softness and emotional vulnerability—traits often reserved on screen for white femininity. While not nominated for any Golden Globes this year, Bridgerton received 15 Emmy Award nominations in 2022 and this spring another powerful Black woman graces the screen, Queen Charlotte. Bridgerton is an opportunity to reevaluate diversity, equity and inclusion on the screen. Casting people of color provides jobs to talented actors who would otherwise be overlooked, but mere “inclusion” in the frame is insufficient.
We Need to Push Harder for Women’s Representation in Leadership
Yes, it’s great that we have three more women governors now, a new record. And that an additional two seats in Congress will be held by women.
But when you look at those numbers more closely, the picture isn’t quite so bright: Women are still nowhere near where we deserve to be. More than 50 percent of the U.S. population is female, so it begs the question: Why are we still so underrepresented in these influential roles? And more importantly, what can we do to ensure that we finally achieve equal representation?