Can Women Stand Their Ground? Depends On the Target. Marissa Alexander was a battered woman who was trained to use a weapon, had a concealed carry permit, and had a court injunction against her husband. She was sentenced to 20 years in prison for firing a warning shot at the ceiling – a shot that … Read more
I found this set of photos interesting, particularly because it shows women defying previous “cultural norms.” Women in these photos are seen and portrayed as doing tasks and occupations that men usually have done in the past. There is one in particular that shows the contrast of the woman holding the baby and working and … Read more
Teenage filmmaker Kiri Davis created a short film about race and young women in America. She recreated the “doll test” that was used by Dr. Kenneth Clark to settle Brown vs. Board of Education. She documents the result in her 7 minute documentary. This video reminded me of a time I was helping out with … Read more
Gender inequalities do not discriminate by age. Recently, a 7-year-old girl named Charlotte Benjamin wrote a letter to the Lego company to complain about the differences in not just the dominant ratio of male Lego people to female Lego people, but their roles in the games, as well. Charlotte mentions that the male Lego people … Read more
The film, It’s A Girl (available now on Netflix watch instantly), casts a light on the way girls in India and China are discriminated against because of their sex. According to the film’s website, the UN estimates as many as 200 million girls are missing because of female infanticide. The film also explores dowry and … Read more
When I began to think of topics that would interest our entire class, I immediately thought of this video. Compiled by the Alliance 4 Justice, this video address the issue of Reproductive Justice. Many think of FGM or other extremes when you hear anything referring to injustices against women and control over their reproduction on … Read more
In this article, Amy Leiberman discusses the outcomes of this year’s UN Global Gathering of Women. While the gathering did produce conclusions via a 17 page document on the issue of violence against women, it is heavily criticized by many within gender and women’s rights. Many individuals say that the meeting has turned into a battleground over rights, rather than a public forum. … Read more
Sarah El Deeb’s article discusses the opposition that a UN Women’s document has received from the Islamic Brotherhood in Egypt. The group has opposed this document because of clauses within it that they consider incompatible with the tenants of Islam. Actual details of the document have yet to be released pending negotiations. Officials are remaining … Read more
http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/7159.html In this Harvard Business School article, researches ponder the question why there are so few women holding board seats at the 1500 S&P businesses (only 14% of board seats are held by women). The results of their research are very interesting in some aspects (the similarities in how men and women in business think) and was completely … Read more
This Cuban Hip Hop group is interesting: Remember the critique that many black women in the US have of white feminists, and so they prefer the term “womanist” to “feminist”? Check out this group’s discussion of this issue and how they are framing themselves: Black Cuban Feminist Hip Hop Band Also a reminder of … Read more