Feminist Current

Last week, the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark ruling that established the constitutional right to abortion in 1973. Why did this happen? Who is to blame? What does this mean for American women? How do we move forward? In this episode, Meghan Murphy speaks with Mary Lou Singleton, a family nurse practitioner and midwife who advocates for women's reproductive sovereignty, medical freedom, and bodily autonomy.

In 2018, Maya Forstater was subject to an internal investigation at her place of employment, the Center for Global Development, after complaints about her tweets. She lost her job as a result, accused of "transphobia."

Maya took the case to the Employment Tribunal, which resulted first in a judgment saying her "belief" that sex is real was "not worthy of respect in a democratic society."

Maya recently co-founded Sex Matters, a UK-based not-for-profit that works to promote clarity about sex in public policy, law, and culture, as well the “Respect My Sex if You Want My X” campaign.

In this episode, Meghan Murphy speaks with Maya about the tribunal, the campaigns she is working on in the UK, and her lunch with JK Rowling.

Maya tweets at @MForstater

Twitter has a history of banning those who fail to toe the line in terms of progressive political orthodoxy. In particular, the social media corporation has banned numerous people for challenging gender identity ideology — for saying things like ‘men aren’t women,’ for example. Does twitter have a woman problem? Or are there simply activists working behind the scene to present their ideas as more prominent than they actually are? Will things change now that Elon Musk has bought the company?

In this episode, Meghan Murphy speaks with Holly Lawford-Smith, an Associate Professor in Political Philosophy in the School of Historical and Philosophical Studies at the University of Melbourne, about Twitter’s treatment of women, the impact of social media censorship, what the Elon Musk takeover could mean for women, and her soon to be released book, “Gender Critical Feminism.”

Surrogacy has become a relatively mainstream practice. Celebrities and those with means treat surrogacy as a harmless option to aid women who cannot or do not wish to carry their own babies or to allow gay couples to have children. Few seem to consider the impact on mother and baby.

A new surrogacy bill in Quebec proposes changes to current legislation that would recognize surrogacy contracts, which are not currently enforceable under Quebec law. Surrogacy contracts, arguably, violate the individual human rights of both the mother and the baby. And even in countries like Canada, where women cannot technically be paid as surrogates, there are ways to financially compensate the women employed to carry these babies, meaning exploitation remains a factor.

These matters are complex, and often misunderstood by the general public, who tend to see surrogacy as a positive option connected to women’s rights and gay rights. This is why feminist groups like Pour des Femmes (PDF) Quebec are working to educate the public about the harms of surrogacy, and fighting against the surrogacy industry, working to ensure it does not become the surrogacy industry does not expand in Quebec.

I spoke with Clémence Trilling, a member of Pour Des Femmes Québec and WDI Quebec, about this issue, surrogacy laws, and the reforms currently being proposed in Quebec.

The stories of those who exited prostitution tend to be wildly different than those still working in the industry and identifying as "sex workers." And what men tend to believe about those working in prostitution tends to align with that "sex worker" narrative as well — that some women just really enjoy prostitution, that it is simply a job like any other, that these women are making such good money it is a fair trade… But when you speak to women freed from the trade, able to look back at their experiences clearly and honestly, you will hear a different truth.

Andrea Heinz is a Canadian feminist who, at the age of 22 and with tens of thousands of dollars in debt, entered the licensed commercial sex industry in Edmonton, Alberta. Andrea stayed in the industry for seven years, working as an escort, a dominatrix, and eventually a brothel owner. She left the industry in 2013 and is now a writer, speaker, and filmmaker working to raise awareness about commercial sexual exploitation, particularly the harms of “sex work” ideology.

Meghan Murphy speaks with her about her experiences and why prostitution is not "a job like any other."

Child marriage may be a thing of the past in many Western countries, but remains a reality for many girls in Mexico. While the law has changed, the practice remains, and one in four girls in Mexico are married before the age of 18. The persistence of this practice continues to have harmful impacts on Mexican girls, something Girls Not Brides: The Global Partnership to End Child Marriage is trying to change. 

In this episode, Meghan Murphy speaks with Elvira Pablo, regional Policy and Member Engagement Officer for Girls Not Brides in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Elvira is an indigenous lawyer from Oaxaca, Mexico. She collaborates with civil society organizations for the defense and promotion of human rights, on topics related to sexual and reproductive health and rights, violence prevention, political participation and indigenous peoples’ collective rights. She is part of the National Coordinator of Indigenous Women, the National Network of Indigenous Women Lawyers, and the Youth and Children Commission of the Continental Network of Indigenous Women from the Americas.

Milli Hill is a freelance journalist and author The Positive Birth Book, Give Birth like a Feminist, and a new book for preteens, My Period. She founded the Positive Birth Movement in 2012 and ran it until recently, when she was “cancelled” for defending women-centered language when talking about pregnancy and birth.

In this episode, Meghan Murphy speaks with her about "positive birth," why birth is a feminist issue, and how being attacked by her own community impacted her.