If you don’t like a name, don’t give it to your child. But don’t disparage another parent for choosing a name simply because you don’t understand it. What makes a name “ghetto”? Is it the name itself, the person receiving the name, or is the threshold based on the person giving the name? Take, for […]
Would you ask a male CEO how his fatherhood would affect his career? Unlikely. Women who appear to have overcome the pitfalls of sexism and gender bias through their success and advancement are not exempt from being subjected to it. When people—who are also female—are in positions of power, pressure, and a high level of […]
Just because the David Beckham underwear billboards and hottest goalkeeper countdowns aren’t as pervasive as the sexed up portrayals of women, doesn’t mean the content isn’t damaging. Four years ago, the last time World Cup fever made the rounds, I used as my desktop background a picture of Carlos Bocanegra, the former captain of the U.S. […]
Here’s the truth: Making space for more female heroes opens a corresponding space for more female villains. A famous footballer has been arrested on domestic violence charges after a family gathering got out of control, BleacherReport revealed on Saturday. That’s unfortunately not an uncommon headline, until you take into account that that footballer is a […]
In a country where women’s bodies are regularly legislated, it should come as no surprise that we legislate what’s on them too. If any female feels she needs anything beyond herself to legitimate and validate her existence, she is already giving away her power to be self-defining, her agency. – bell hooks It is 1994. […]
Given how common an experience abortion is, the mainstream stories are few and far between, and the ones that are the most memorable are half a century old. As of today, Obvious Child, the Jenny Slate “abortion rom-com” about a New York City comedian who has an abortion after a one-night-stand-that-maybe-won’t-be-a-one-night-stand, is 119th on the box office charts for […]
If a campaign for #Jolie2016 kicked off tomorrow, I would instantly uproot myself to D.C. to cold-call voters and eat cold pizza on campaign busses for the next 17 months on her behalf. Angelina Jolie certainly does not lack for admirers, and last week Queen Elizabeth II made clear that she’s one of them, conferring […]
The issue with saying women “here” have it better than women “there.” Here’s an idea: If you hear about a horrific injustice perpetrated against girls and women, try not to use that story as a weapon to silence other women who are fighting their own battles against violence and discrimination. This is all the rage. Take […]
