Ah, 2015. The year feminist declarations were too many to count, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg ruled the Supreme Court (and our hearts), Hollywood sexism came under fire, feminist films filled the big screen and so much more. In no particular order, check out 15 of the best feminist moments of 2015! 1. The White House battled sexual […]
Shonda Rhimes
We Heart: Shonda Rhimes Taking On Pay Inequity
In a fabulously feminist moment on Grey’s Anatomy last week, Miranda Bailey, newly appointed chief of surgery at the fictional Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital, and Richard Webber, her predecessor, have it out over pay equity. Accusing Bailey of failing to pay Meredith Grey as much as a male surgeon receives, Webber tells the chief, “I would […]
Shonda Rhimes and Jenji Kohan Honored at 2015 Global Women’s Rights Awards
The Feminist Majority Foundation’s 10th annual Global Women’s Rights Awards on May 18 were a star-studded affair. Actors from Grey’s Anatomy, Orange Is the New Black, Scandal, How To Get Away With Murder and more showed their love for showrunners Shonda Rhimes and Jenji Kohan, who were being honored by FMF for changing the face of […]
This Is What a Feminist Looks Like
On Monday night, the Feminist Majority Foundation (publisher of Ms.) held its 10th annual Eleanor Roosevelt Global Women’s Rights Awards honoring showrunners Shonda Rhimes and Jenji Kohan. The organization recognized the two women for changing the face of media and presenting female characters who defy stereotypes and reflect real women’s lives. Cast members from the women’s series—including Scandal, […]
Honoring the Women Who Are Changing TV for the Better
On Monday May 18, the Feminist Majority Foundation (publisher of Ms.) will honor showrunners Jenji Kohan and Shonda Rhimes at its 10th annual Global Women’s Rights Awards. The award is the highest honor given by the organization. Rhimes and Kohan are being recognized for their innovative programming that breaks sex and racial stereotypes, and gives voice to […]
The Women Who Run the Show
This article appears in the Spring 2015 issue of Ms. To read our exclusive interviews with Shonda Rhimes and Jill Soloway, subscribe today! Back in 1973, when Linda Bloodworth-Thomason was hired as a writer on TV’s M*A*S*H, the only thing she knew for sure is that her work couldn’t be ordinary. “It was the case then and it’s […]
6 Feminist TV Shows You Can Watch Right Now
Sick of male protagonists saturating your television screen? It wouldn’t surprise us. Studies show that female characters in television shows only make up less than 40 percent of speaking roles—and when they do, those roles are too often trope-saturated, hypersexualized caricatures of real women. But the last couple of years have brought us a handful of […]
Kerry Washington’s “Professional” Hair
Scandal has been lauded, and rightfully so, for its decision to give us a rare look at Kerry Washington’s natural curls in its fourth season premiere last September. But little has been said regarding the brevity, content or meaning behind the hit television show’s portrayal of Washington’s hair. So let’s lay it out. September’s season premiere […]
Diversity Wins Big at SAG Awards
In the wake of #OscarsSoWhite and Ava DuVernay’s Academy Awards snub, there was a bit of good news for women of color in Hollywood Sunday night. At the annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, not one but two African American women actors snagged SAG awards for their leading roles. Viola Davis won Outstanding Performance by a […]
Gender, Race, and the Supernatural: Appreciating Sleepy Hollow‘s Abbie Mills
Just before the start of the fall TV season, New York Times writer Alessandra Stanley caused a stir online for misrepresenting TV showrunner Shonda Rhimes and all of her fictitious Black women characters as “angry Black women.” Of course, many in the feminist blogosphere rushed to defend both Rhimes and her Black heroines, Olivia Pope of […]