Rethinking Work: sex work as labor
This is the first in Sarah Jaffe's series, Rethinking Work. See her introduction for more information. When rethinking work and what we consider work, many jobs that come to mind. Yet few are as...
Category: Feminism
Reflecting on Sheema Kermani: nostalgia and struggle in Pakistani feminism
It's an amazing thing, watching a woman's rights activist from my parents' generation in action. The passion that those women had at the height of the women's movement in the 80s when they were...
FEMEN’s Anna Gutsol on sex tourism and short skirts in Ukraine
When I first started hearing about FEMEN, a Ukrainian women's organization, I got the impression of a curious hybrid between short skirts and progressive politics - an aggressively visual movement...
Miyazaki’s “Ponyo”: gorgeous and subtly progressive
Hayao Miyazaki’s "Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea" is another perfect illustration of why he may well be the most quietly influential feminist filmmaker out there right now. Unlike previous works...
A “feminist wedding” is an oxymoron
Summer is the most popular time for weddings. Driving by a church on a Saturday afternoon will most often mean watching a bride and groom pose for pictures while families smile with what is in some...
Food, fat & progressive politics: a saga
America's foremost food evangelist, Michael Pollan, has a new article in the New York Times Magazine, decrying the decline of cooking in America and the outsourcing of our meals to corporations. He...
Bridget Jones 3: Bridget wants a baby
The sequel has become a quick way for the movie industry to draw in viewers. With the cost of production studios are reluctant to take chances and instead fall back on cookie cutter plots that seldom...
Tina Brown and Hillary Clinton’s burqa
Tina Brown’s ploys for self-promotion are numerous, but her latest piece, along with a follow-up interview on CNN, takes the cake. Brown, former editor for noted U.S. magazines such as Vanity Fair,...
Michelle Obama and the Pope: on veiling as debasement
Today we associate the veil strictly with the Muslim faith, forgetting that it has a rich tradition in Christian theology as well. After all, I Corinthians 11, verse 5 states: But every woman that...
Is Jenny Sanford a feminist hero?
Unlike other western politicians, American legislators are expected to lead lives of sexual purity. When they step outside of their marital vows, it triggers a feeding frenzy in which members of the...