We need to be clear about who we are trying to be equal to. In her blog post Arielle Loren asserts that most women do not identify as being feminists even if they share its core ideologies, that there has been a shift in the contemporary agenda for women’s equality and that women are tired of rhetoric […]
Glowing in the Dark: Being Feminist At the Movies
Last night, we went to see Jumping the Broom, but this is not about that movie. I don’t have energy to waste on telling Salim Akil to do better (again); I don’t have enough energy to show the ways in which Tyler Perry and T.D. Jakes are cinematic bedfellows, conspiring in the dark to teach […]
Ode to Dark (Skinned) Girls
My melanin proficiency has often led to color complex(ion) issues brought on by my country (rural) upbringing in a community (and country) fascinated (via the hegemonic influences of beauty) with my yellow-skinned sister with looooooooooooooooooooong hair and generally ambivalent with me (and my dark skin and short/er hair). They (the adults and other children in […]
On Kreayshawn and the Utility of Black Women
“De nigger woman is de mule uh de world…”- Zora Neale Hurston I grew up in a white suburban/rural community where I was one of a few black kids and the only one in my classes and social circle. In high school, we had this habit of waxing nostalgic for our not so distant youth […]
Man Down: On Rihanna, Rape, and Violence
Earlier this week, Rihanna released the video for her song “Man Down” in which her character struggles with the choice to kill her rapist. In Hip Hop and pop culture where rape is glorified and celebrated, this is a welcome intervention. The video reinforces a very basic point: the choice to be sexual and sensual […]
These Days I Hate Going to the Gynecologist
Oftentimes women complain that they hate going to the gynecologist because they don’t like the procedures. Sometimes it is likened to going to the dentist but more uncomfortable and personal. I can’t say that my reasons are related to the procedures. In fact, what makes me most uncomfortable about the speculum is the historical […]
SlutWalks v. Ho Strolls
Today, we had initially planned to bring you a review of the new groundbreaking book Hey Shorty: A Guide to Combatting Sexual Harassment in Schools and on the Streets. And you can read it here. But in light of the SlutWalk movement that broke out in Toronto earlier this year and the embrace of the […]
Making Schools and Streets Safer for Girls
We are excited to bring you this guest post from journalist and friend of the CFC Elizabeth Mendez Berry! It is hard to envision a school without sexual harassment. However, if one existed, I imagine it would be a place where kids can excel as students instead of having to worry about what is going to be […]
The Ugly Truth: Today’s Psychologies of Racism and Sexism
By now, most of you have heard of the blog article that appeared in yesterday’s issue of Psychology Today asserting that Black women are objectively less attractive than women of all other races. The piece was removed after a bad attempt at re-titling it, but here’s a repost. Here’s a truth: Objectivity is the originary […]
It Gets Wetter: A Message to Women Who Frequently Have Horrible, Rushed Sex (NSFW)
Here’s a bold truth: I don’t enjoy penetration of any kind unless I’m wet enough to drown a dolphin. And this truth wouldn’t be a problem if sex weren’t always about penetration. One sex therapist put it best when she said, “If most women don’t have orgasms during ‘sex,’ but do have orgasms, perhaps we […]