To compare the female experience of oppression to the black experience of oppression is to ignore that there is still a population of people who experience both simultaneously. By Maryline Dossou In 1972, John Lennon and Yoko Ono release a song titled, “Woman is the Nigger of the World.” The tune, Lennon unapologetically explained, was...
Category: Feminism
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Harvey Weinstein, Abusers, and the Price of Silence
Sexual predators prey on the powerless in order to exert control, and use sex as a means to do so because the connections between sex and power are palpable. Weinstein is no anomaly. [TW — This essay contains discussion of sexual violence] Harvey Weinstein has fled to Europe. Supposedly, he now seeks treatment for sex...
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Sex Is A Good Enough Reason For Birth Control
The impact of listing all the uses of birth control except it’s original use is playing into respectability politics. Trump and his administration hate women. Whether he is bragging about grabbing women’s genitals, calling for the firing of a Black sports anchor, or heckling his former rival via Twitter, Trump has shown time and again...
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Anarcha-Feminists of the Past and Present are an Inspiration for Today
For anarcha-feminists, the struggle against patriarchy is an inherent part of the struggle to abolish the state and abolish capitalism, since the state itself is a patriarchal structure. Although there is a rich, global history of people of color and/or feminist anarchist movements, within the U.S., it’s not uncommon for anarchist spaces to suffer major...
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How Many More: On Kenneka Jenkins and The Value of Black Girls
Kenneka’s death shows that so many weeks, months, and years later since #SayHerName was first spoken, we are still no closer to uplifting and valuing the lives of Black girls, women, and femmes. Here we are again. Far too soon. It wasn’t that long ago that I wrote about the ways that violence and misogynoir against...
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Do We Really Believe That Black Girls Rock?
The annual award show honoring the accomplishments of Black women was a highlight of 2017, but who in the hell invited Tyrese? By McKensie Mack I’m a comedian. A lot of people think the job of a comedian is to make people laugh. But it isn’t, the job of the comedian is to build a...
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Feminism 101: A Cheat Sheet on Sexism, Misogyny, Misogynoir and More
When it is all said and done, both male and female identified people need feminism. From ‘Ain’t I a Woman’ by Sojourner Truth to “Who Run the World” by Beyonce, feminism is a word that sparks contrasting feelings globally. And depending on which country you are living in, feminism can often be dangerous. Take Malala...
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Intersectionality Ain’t For White Women
The claim that “intersectionality” should be used universally to speak for everyone’s experiences is simply an extension of the anti-Black violence we already experience. Remember that 2007 movie, Freedom Writers? In the film, Hilary Swank plays well-to-do naive teacher Erin Gruwell, who goes to teach 10th graders at Woodrow Wilson High School. In a scene...
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The Body Positive Movement Needs More Than Robbie Tripp’s Faux-Allyship
We really shouldn’t be applauding men for finding their wives attractive while we regularly deride fat women who love themselves without the male gaze. BY TIFFANIE WOODS It only took 5 minutes for me to hate the newest viral sensation that hit the interwebs last week in the form of Robbie Tripp. If you’ve been...
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Misogyny Against Black And Brown Women & Femmes Is Still Celebrated
It’s past time that we see misogyny for what it is and begin to take it seriously. The other day as I was riding the subway, I saw an advertisement for a new television series centering on Natalee Holloway, the 18-year-old who disappeared when she was on a high school graduation to Aruba in May...