If you haven't seen this video yet, watch it. It's remarkable how much it captures of present-day sexist society. Continue reading

Hi all! It's been a while! Hope everyone had a good Thankgiving celebration if you celebrate it, or at least some days off. There have been lots of cool things happening at St. Olaf's campus, so read on! Last week, our Students for Reproductive Health and Choice held an event where Reverend Kelli Clement from Minnesota Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice talked about being religious and pro-choice. It was wonderful! She spoke eloquently about the importance of a woman's choice in when she begins parenting. So often we get stuck on the issue of when life begins, whether at conception... Continue reading

Article from http://defamer.gawker.com/evan-rachel-wood-tells-the-mpaa-women-dont-just-have-1472893497 "Missives intended to shock are nothing surprising from the former Mrs. Marilyn Manson, but Evan Rachel Wood's Twitter rant today could not be more on point. On the heels of producers cutting a scene where Wood receives oral sex, solely to secure an R-rating from the Motion Picture Association of America, Wood took to social media to express her displeasure." Her tweets: After seeing the new cut of #CharlieCountryman I would like 2 share my disappointment with the MPAA, who thought it was necessary to censor a womans sexuality once again. The scene where the two main... Continue reading

Fellow feminist Chandler's new blog, everyone! Matriarch of the Midwest - matriarchofthemidwest.wordpress.com: Feminisms of a 20-something midwesterner. Continue reading

Last weekend I woke up at 6 am in order to gather with the Choice group at my campus and drive to the city to escort women safely up to the doors of a clinic so they can access their healthcare. Why do women need escorts, you may ask? Some do not agree with their decisions of what to do with their body and the way the rest of their lives will go. These people take up posts protesting outside of abortion clinics, either yelling at patients about killing their babies or encouraging them to reconsider and offering them resources... Continue reading

Abortion. It's a difficult topic. Some cringe at the word. Yet it is a reality in the lives of so many women (1.2 million per year), and we can't continue to stigmatize it or blame these women or criticize the right to choice. You can start to engage in this thought by reading the stories of many women here. These women's stories deserve to be heard, and deserve to be respected, AND they deserve, in the future, the respect to not even HAVE to make this choice. No one wants abort a fetus, but in the end, individuals will do... Continue reading

So the word feminism gets a lot of backlash. I may have blogged about this before but I just see so much backlash from all these people who I really expected to know more about it. People, women included, reject it, despite their full support of gender equality. This happens when they don't really know what feminism is. And we, as feminists, are here to educate them. Let's begin with the simple definition brought to us by the great bell hooks. "Feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression." Pretty simple, right? I'd say most of us... Continue reading

“People feel removed from sexism. “I’m not a sexist, but I’m not a feminist.” They think there’s this fuzzy middle ground. There’s no fuzzy middle ground. You either believe that women are people or you don’t. It’s that simple.” ~ Joss Whedon, in a gripping, insightful exploration of the word “feminist” Love this guy! People need a better understanding of what feminism actually is. It is gender equality. Some people say, "I'm a humanist," but humanism was a movement led by white men promoting philosophical/secular thinking starting in the 13th century/renaissance time. It is NOT a word for social change... Continue reading

Yesterday, I (Chloe, CFC intern at St. Olaf) held an event called Why Do We Need Feminism? and asked students/community members to write why they need feminism on a piece of paper. I then snapped their photo with it. The photos will go up in our main advertising hallway November 18-24. Everyone gave permission for use of their photo, and over 50 people stopped by in one hour to write their bit. The table was jam-packed! So many students thought carefully for several minutes before deciding what to write. They said there was so much they could write, but it... Continue reading

Watch!: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xwu5r3_tough-guise-violence-media-and-the-crisis-in-masculinity_tech Although this documentary is mostly the man telling us information with examples, clips, and pictures, it is interesting and true information that we all see in life and media but that people don't necessarily realize. This topic of violence in men was first introduced to me when I read something…I don't remember what it was and if I was reading it for a class….that said "if men stopped committing violent acts, violence and murder would essentially be wiped out of our society. Some women do kill or hurt, but the percentage is so small that it is insignificant.... Continue reading

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Dig Deep: Beyond Lean In thefeministwire.com By bell hooks Editors' Note: Though some of the fanfare surrounding Sheryl Sandberg (of Facebook and Lean In fame) has died down, Sandberg is back with her neoliberal feminism, or what bell hooks describes below as “faux feminism.” After weeks of traveling the nation hocking books (and thousands u... "Sandberg’s definition of feminism begins and ends with the notion that it’s all about gender equality within the existing social system. From this perspective, the structures of imperialist white supremacist capitalist patriarchy need not be challenged. And she makes it seem that privileged white men... Continue reading

Iceland is still the best place to live if you're a woman. (The US is in 23rd place.) http://jezebel.com/iceland-is-the-still-best-place-to-live-if-youre-a-wom-1453325277 More info on these rankings--Gender Gap Report 2013: http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GenderGap_Report_2013.pdf Continue reading

No words for this awful costume.... What does this say about our society? http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/24/anna-rexia-costume_n_4155987.html Continue reading

To abort or to not abort? In the documentary by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, that is the essential question for numerous women traveling to the intersection of 12th and Delaware in the state of Florida. Located on opposite sides of the street are an abortion clinic and a pregnancy care center. Obviously, tensions run high at this intersection, with pro-life protesters constantly in front of the abortion clinic, trying to deter women from following through with an abortion. The documentary presents facts, dialogue, interviews, and observations, yet it remains remarkably unbiased. The individuals speak for themselves through their actions... Continue reading

Here are some more articles you might enjoy! http://jezebel.com/men-who-insist-you-change-your-name-make-terrible-husba-1446543344 Women changing their last names to match their husbands = tradition. You can definitely choose that, but it should be a choice, not an expectation. The possibility of the husband changing his name to the wife's name should not be appalling, either. (I am referring to heterosexual couples in this example.) Some things the author says in this article may be questionable, but feel free to have your own take on it. And consider what you might do if you get married and face this choice! http://www.themorningnews.org/gallery/my-harassers This gallery is not... Continue reading

There have been some awesome events on my campus lately that relate to feminism. Last night, at the PAC's Women in Leadership Panel, three diverse women who went to law school and have worked in various jobs talked about their obstacles and successes as a woman facing sexism in the workplace. It was wonderful to hear their insight and also very disappointing to hear how blatantly and implicitly they individually experienced sexism, or about difficulties in family vs home life with which men traditionally have an easier time. Also last night, there was a breast cancer awareness panel. I couldn't... Continue reading

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month! So show off those tatas! ...What? Yes, interestingly enough, that is the technique of many campaigns to raise awareness about breast cancer. Is it effective? Definitely - everyone loves breasts! Does it objectify women more and raise the platter on which breasts seem to have always been? Ummmm...maybe? But women involved in these campaigns are consentual to using the female anatomy as a marketing tool in this case, and it's for such a good cause! So in general I don't have a problem with it. But did these gentlemen go too far?: Three guys... Continue reading

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So, Melissa Gorga's new book! Have you read it? For those who don't watch Real Housewives (like me), she is a star in that show. If you do watch it, don't worry, we all have guilty pleasures-don't judge yourself too harshly. Read this article--all of it. It's important to remember that it's not only some men who believe in equality and promote sexism, but also some women. Yes, her views are partly cultural, and it is not fair of us to judge her situation based on our possibly limited knowledge of traditional Italian culture, but I think it's fair to... Continue reading

OMG. This website. I can't even comprehend. "Return Of Kings is a blog for heterosexual, masculine men. Women and homosexuals are prohibited from commenting here. They will be immediately banned." "Women are sluts if they sleep around, but men are not. This fact is due to the biological differences in gender. A woman’s value is mainly determined by her fertility and beauty. A man’s value is mainly determined by his resources, intellect, and character. Elimination of traditional gender roles and the promotion of unlimited mating choice in women unleashes their promiscuity and other negative behaviors that block family formation. Socialism,... Continue reading

Hey people! Chloe here, on contraception. It's important to learn about different options for contraception and to practice safe sex -- both to prevent unwanted pregnancy if you are not ready for children, and to protect against STIs (sexually transmitted infections). Pairing the use of a condom with another form of birth control, such as the pill, can be very effective while practicing safe sex. It's also important to realize that while condoms do a better job of protecting against STIs and of preventing pregnancy, it's not 100%. So please, educate yourselves, and practice safe sex if you choose to... Continue reading

People are blowing up over Miley, for several different reasons. Inappropriateness, cultural appropriation, racism---all of these have been heard in relation to her recent performances and videos. Now, do I like to see her tongue out all the time? No, not really. And I do feel bad for her young fans who knew her as Hannah Montana and feel like they've lost a role model and may not understand her actions in the way she intends. However, that picture on the web of her nude underwear halfway up her butt? Yeah, that's not okay. That's called slut-shaming, and we do... Continue reading

Hey feminists! My name is Chloe, and I'm a senior at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. I am interning with CFC this year, so you'll be hearing a lot from me! I concentrate in Women's and Gender Studies (my school has concentrations instead of minors), as well as Latin American and Race/Ethnic Studies, and I major in English and Spanish. Sounds like a lot but there was a lot of overlap in all of those studies, so it worked out well. How did I become more active in gender equality, you may ask? I have been passionate about equality... Continue reading

After a traumatic event, such as rape or sexual assault, often victims suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD. I wanted to research how common the disorder is in events like this. This disorder affects nine to fifteen percent of the general population, and close to fifty percent of women who have reported being raped. In the 1989 U.S. Bureau of the Census, the estimated population of U.S. adult women was 96,056,000. Of those women, thirteen percent (12,151,084) women reported experiencing complete rape and fourteen percent reported experiencing other sexual assault (13,755,219). Of those women, sixty percent reported PTSD symptoms after... Continue reading