Feminist Current

Many of us already know that the world is biased in favour of men — we’ve been aware that patriarchy exists for some now… But what does this mean in real life? In her new book, Invisible Women, Caroline Criado Perez finds that everything from transportation systems, to medical devices and treatments, to tax structures, to smartphones are made for men, not women. And this is more than just inconvenient. It can be deadly. Cars built for men are more dangerous for women to drive. Not recognizing women’s heart attack symptoms mean we are more likely to die. And not understanding how certain chemicals or drugs impact the female body vs the male body is similarly dangerous. The list goes on.

Caroline is a british writer, campaigner, and consultant. She won the Liberty Human Rights Campaigner of the Year Award 2013 and in 2015 she was named an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours. Her first book, Do It Like A Woman, was published by Portobello Books in May 2015. Her second book, Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men, was published in March 2019 by Chatto & Windus (UK) and Abrams (US). I spoke with her over the phone from her home in London.

We hear the word “feminism” a lot. But what does it really mean? And, in our modern times, why do we still need it? In her new book, Feminism: A Brief Introduction to the Ideas, Debates, and Politics of the Movement, Deborah Cameron considers feminism as an idea, a theoretical approach, and a political movement, addressing seven key issues in feminism: domination, rights, work, femininity, sex, culture, and the future. The book is now available in the US, published by the University of Chicago press.

In this episode, I speak with her about the book, her perspective on today’s feminist movement, and more.

Deborah is a feminist linguist who currently holds the Rupert Murdoch Professorship in Language and Communication at Worcester College, Oxford University. She is the author of The Myth of Mars And Venus: Do Men and Women Really Speak Different Languages. You can find more of Deborah’s work online at debuk.wordpress.com/

We often talk about women’s unpaid labour — the work women do in the home, in terms of child rearing, cleaning, cooking, grocery shopping, and so on and so forth, that not only is uncompensated, but is, too often, unappreciated. Not only do many women today go to work outside the home, for a paycheque, but then they have to come home and take on an extra shift that their male partners simply aren’t expected to do. But what about women’s emotional labour?

“Emotional labour” might strike you as a strange term. We don’t necessarily want to think about emotions as “work,” or being thoughtful and considerate as “labour.” But what the concept speaks to is something real, that many women struggle with — particularly women in heterosexual relationships.

In a 2017 article for Harper’s Bazaar, Gemma Hartley wrote about the way in which women are socialized to pick up so much extra labour in terms of holding relationships together, planning trips, remembering events and birthdays, scheduling social and extracurricular activities, planning meals, etc. — generally thinking ahead, and taking care of life. And when we try to bring this up with our partners, we are accused of being nags, or of complaining. “I want a partner with equal initiative,” Gemma wrote.

Gemma is a journalist and the author of Fed Up: Emotional Labour, Women, and the Way Forward. I spoke with her over Skype about the mental and emotional load women take on, why we do it, and how we can address it.

To learn more about Gemma’s work, visit gemmahartley.com. Follow her on Twitter @gemmahartley.

The conflict between trans activists and lesbians is reaching new heights, as lesbians are being shut out of their own events, movements, and spaces. Moreover, lesbianism in and of itself is being disappeared by gender identity ideology, as the word “woman” is said to be undefinable, and a category that can include males. What is a lesbian, if not a female homosexual?

But lesbians are pushing back against this activism and ideology, and fighting for lesbian visibility. On today’s episode, I speak with Angela C. Wild, a member of #GetTheLOut, who recently published, “Lesbians At Ground Zero: How Trans Ideology is Conquering the Female Body,” a study looking at how gender identity ideology and trans activism impact lesbians.

Angela C. Wild is one of the organizers behind the #GetTheLOut protest, which took place during Pride in London last year. She is a lesbian feminist activist, a writer, and a political artist based in the UK. Her work focuses particularly on challenging institutions such as compulsory heterosexuality and motherhood, on protecting and creating women-only spaces, and promoting lesbian rights and visibility.

 

A key concern many share about the issue of “trans youth” is that minors are too young to make such a big and impactful decision to transition, and that they could, as adults, realize they made a mistake only after it’s too late. Detransitioners — that is, people who transition to live as the “opposite sex” only to later transition back to living as their biological sex — are controversial in the realm of trans activism, and often not heard from in terms of discussions around the trans trend.

Dagny, 22, is one of four founders of The Pique Resilience Project, an initiative created to spread awareness about detransition. From the age of 15 to 19 Dagny identified as non-binary and as a transman, before transitioning back to living as a woman. I spoke with her recently about her experience transitioning, then detransitioning, and about her perspectives on how the transgender trend is impacting youth.

Dagny will be appearing on a panel alongside myself and Dr. Ken Zucker on May 9th at the Croatian Cultural Centre in Vancouver, BC. Tickets to #GIDYVR Still Talking: Gender Identity and Kids are available at Eventbrite.

I have nothing against anyone who wishes 2be transgender. However I believe there is a fundamental difference between the binary sex u r born with & the gender u may identify as. To protect women’s sport those with a male sex advantage should not be able 2compete in women’s sport

— Sharron Davies MBE (@sharrond62) March 1, 2019

As sports bodies and organizations around the world have begun to adopt policies allowing males who identify as transgender to compete against and among female athletes, people have begun to speak out. Female athletes are particularly concerned.

Notably Martina Navratilova, one of the greatest female tennis players of all time, called this practice “unfair” and a form of “cheating.” Sharron Davies — a two-time Commonwealth Games gold medalist and Olympic silver medalist in swimming — has also called to “protect women’s sport,” arguing that those with a “male sex advantage” should not be allowed to compete in women’s sport.

In order to learn more about the reasons behind sex-segregated sport, why women’s sport matters, and how male and female bodies differ, in terms of physical strength, build, and athletic ability, I spoke with Linda Blade.

Linda is a former Canadian Champion and NCAA All American in the heptathlon (a track and field combined events contest made up of seven events). She has a PhD in Kinesiology from Simon Fraser University and Chartered Professional Coach designation in track and field. Linda has spent the past 25 years working as Sport Performance Professional, designing and implementing training programs for athletes in over 15 sports. She is also the President of Athletics Alberta (the not-for-profit sport governing body for Athletics for the Province of Alberta) and is currently drafting a Transgender Athlete Policy for the organization. Follow her on Twitter @coachblade.

 

March 8th is International Women’s Day — a day to honour women as well as to acknowledge the work we still have to do, in terms of fighting for our liberation.

This year, Asian Women for Equality and Fertile Ground Institute for Social and Environmental Justice have partnered to specifically address the experience and oppression of women of colour and Indigenous women under patriarchy. These two organizations will be hosting Dominique Christina — the author of four books and the only person to ever become a two-time world champion in slam poetry — and Cherry Smiley, a feminist activist, scholar, and artist from the Nlaka’pamux (Thompson) and Dine (Navajo) nations. These two women will be speaking at an event called Indigenous and Women’s of Colour Rise, which will take place at the Seattle Central Library in downtown Seattle, Washington.

To learn more about the event and the need for such an event to take place in today’s climate, I spoke with two of the organizers, Suzanne Jay and Saba Malik.

Suzanne is a feminist activist and a member of Asian Women for Equality — a grassroots feminist group working to change societal attitudes towards women, especially women of Asian descent; to advance equality for Asian women; and to create opportunities for Asian women to have meaningful participation and to take leadership roles in civil society.

Saba is a radical revolutionary, a therapist, herbalist, and mother. She is a board member of the Fertile Ground Institute, a non-profit working for ecological and social justice.

You can get tickets for Indigenous and Women of Colour Rise, taking place on Friday, March 8th, at brownpapertickets.com.

 

Julia Beck, Jennifer Chavez, Kara Dansky, and Hacsi Horvath speak on a panel hosted by The Heritage Foundation on January 28, 2019

The question of whether it is useful or destructive for feminists to engage with, work with, sit on panels with, or ally with right wing individuals or groups is a contentious one. Some believe we should try to reach as many people as possible, regardless of their political persuasions. Others believe the optics of sharing panels with, speaking with, or working with those who, on many issues, are political opponents, will hurt the feminist movement. This debate has heated up, in light of a recent panel hosted by right wing think tank, The Heritage Foundation, wherein left wing feminists shared their concerns about gender identity legislation.

In an effort to bridge the gap, and try to facilitate understanding among those on different ends of this debate, I spoke with Kathleen Stock, a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Sussex who has been writing about gender identity ideology and trans activism on Medium, and Natasha Chart, board chair of Women’s Liberation Front (WoLF) and a member of the cross-partisan Hands Across The Aisle Coalition.

Porn is everywhere nowadays. It is one of the primary ways young people learn about sex, it is fully mainstreamed — we see pornographic imagery in music, advertising, and young women’s instagram selfies — and it is accepted, generally, as a perfectly normal, harmless (even empowering for women!) pastime. Yet it’s also one of the most difficult things to talk about. Women who challenge or criticize pornography are called uptight, anti-sex, prudish, and jealous. In heterosexual relationships, women are pressured to perform acts their partners see in porn. Men who are avid porn consumers often find their intimate relationships and sex lives impacted negatively. Women who are troubled by their partners’ porn use often feel silenced, as their attempts to discuss this with the men in their lives are met with derision, dismissals, or mockery. But considering how ubiquitous porn is and the vast impact it has had on society and individuals, we do need to be talking about it.

Rebecca Whisnant is professor and chair of the philosophy department at the University of Dayton. She is co-editor of Not For Sale: Feminists Resisting Prostitution and Pornography and of Global Feminist Ethics. Her recent articles on pornography include “Pornography, humiliation, and consent” and “But what about feminist porn?: Examining the work of Tristan Taormino.” Rebecca is also a board member of Culture Reframed, a nonprofit organization addressing pornography as the public health crisis of the digital age.  Rebecca will be speaking, alongside myself and Robert Jensen, in Chicago on February 13th, at the DePaul Humanities Center, at an event called, “XXX: Love and Life in a Post-Porn World.” This event is free and open to the public.

In this episode, I speak with Rebecca about the impact of porn on men and women, why it is so readily accepted as harmless, and why it is so difficult to challenge.

Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull — aka Posie Parker — is the founder of Standing For Women, a global women’s rights campaign group, and the creator of Women Stand Up, a week of activism set to take place January 26-February 2.

Posie’s activism has never been without controversy. Her first action, a billboard with the definition of woman on it, was removed after trans activists labelled Standing for Women a “hate group.” In response to a complaint filed by Susie Green, CEO of Mermaids, the Yorkshire police interrogated Posie on account of tweets she posted in 2016 and 2017. In October, her personal information was posted online, including the address of her family home and videos of her children. Yet she has remained determined to keep fighting.

In this episode, I speak with Posie about her activism, the controversies surrounding her, and the upcoming week of action in Washington.