December 30th brought more than the end of 2015. Bill Cosby, the 78-year-old comedian, was arrested at 4PM (EST) for the aggravated sexual assault of Andrea Constand. Cosby was released on a $1 million bail. As a self-identified woman, as a feminist, as an American I had exactly one reaction to this momentous news: “HELL […]
Why All-Male Minions Really Do Matter for Children
Earlier this week, Margot Mogowan, founder of Reel Girls, a web site dedicated to media equity, wrote a post lambasting the movie Minions for its dullard sensibility and disappointingly routine sexism. Most families taking kids to the movies aren’t giving sexism a second thought, preferring instead to just get out of the summer heat and […]
#DespiteBeingAWoman, Why “_______ woman” Isn’t a Compliment At All, and Why Being a Woman Isn’t a Handicap
It was the misinterpreted compliment heard around the world that made Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi the type of famous he never wanted to be; four words that blew a giant hole in the pro-women rhetoric he’s been spewing since being elected. Despite being a woman, Modi’s Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina had declared that she had […]
Anti-Street Harassment Campaign Exposes Campus Rejection of Progressive Dialogue
The Women’s Center at North Seattle College joined in celebrating April 12-18th as International Anti-Street Harassment week. As a member of the Women’s Center I can attest that our goals for the week were to raise awareness of: – What street harassment is (it’s never a compliment, it’s always unwanted attention); – The incredibly high […]
Sexism is Not Sexy
As I walk down the street, I’m surrounded. Surrounded by images, curated by large conglomerates, political structures, and social infrastructures. We are surrounded, by these images, and their constant whispers. The question is what to do about it. My answer, is to write, to share, to sing and love as hard as I can, and […]
Her Body, Her Choice: Nicki Minaj’s “Anaconda”
Unsurprisingly the revelation of the cover artwork for Nicki Minaj’s upcoming single “Anaconda” was met with shock, debate, and criticism. The picture itself is relatively simple: it features Nicki Minaj crouched down looking over her shoulder. She just happens to be wearing a thong that shows her enviable cheeks. But it’s not as though our […]
Recapping Obama’s 2014 State of the Union
President Obama gave us a surprisingly hopeful State of the Union address tonight. I say surprising because he has faced intractable opposition from a GOP determined to undermine his every move. Indeed, both houses of Congress have demonstrated a keen desire to toil less on “prosperity [that] is widely shared,” as the president proffered tonight, […]
‘Too Much Estrogen’: The Golden Globes, Chris Christie and Men Who Don’t Want to Share Culture
Brit Hume thinks Chris Christie is paying for a “feminized atmosphere,” in which his naturally tough guy (read: male) behavior has been erroneously cast as bullying. Meanwhile, the NY Post’s film critic Kyle Smith’s take on the Golden Globes was that there was just “too much estrogren.” These are just this weekend’s examples of men […]
Men Are 32x More Likely to Be Killed By Lightning than Falsely Accused of Rape
In a variety of ways, it’s been said to me for as long as I can remember: “Be careful about what girls you sleep with. They might accuse you of raping them.” “Did you hear about that chick accusing so-and-so of raping her? What a cunt.” “Don’t stick your dick in crazy.” It starts early, […]