Dare To Be A Feminist

Photographer Sebastiano Tomada Piccolomini brings us more great work from the forefront of the Syrian conflict, this time showcasing women from an all-female fighting unit of the Free Syrian Army based in Aleppo.

FARGO — As the abortion debate spotlight shines on North Dakota, the state’s only clinic that provides abortions will go to court this week to challenge a 2011 law it claims would effectively ban medication abortions.

Her feisty Avengers alter-ego would have karate-kicked any man who dared patronise her.

But it appears that when it comes to equality of the sexes, Diana Rigg is much less strident in real life.

Despite being an icon to women’s rights campaigners since the Sixties, the 74-year-old actress has denied being a feminist, saying she likes it when a man displays old-fashioned courtesy.

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Her character was hailed by feminists for her intelligence, independence and martial arts skills.

But Dame Diana denied she was a feminist icon, telling the Radio Times: ‘I was thought to be, but never was really.

‘I kept my mouth shut for the most part. It’s a question of economics. If you’re paid the same as a man, which now you are in this profession, you’re equal. If a man holds a door open for me or pulls back a chair so that this old bag can sit down, I’m delighted.

As a student at Yale, MacKinnon first learned about systematic sexual abuse in a consciousness raising group. Upon hearing the stories of secretaries and wives of graduate students in the group, MacKinnon recalls that "No one really knew what was going on with women" and the sexual abuse happening beneath the surface. She made it her life's work to fight for women's legal rights.

When it comes to authority, there is no equality. You say, “How does your home run?” A dictatorship. Any questions? It’s a monarchy, okay? Mono. One boss. Okay? That’s how my home is run. That’s how every biblical home is run, by the way, okay? And you say, “Oh, your wife must hate you!” No, women love that. Because they were born to fill that role. Just like I was born to be the husband and the leader, my wife was born to be the wife and to be submissive and subject to me. And she’s gonna be most happier doing what God created her to do, just like I’m going to be most happy doing what God created me to do!

And, you know, you say, “Well, that’s not true, because I talk to all these women that are just, you know, they just want to be a feminist and stuff…” You know what? Here’s what I’ve found over the years: The women who are screaming the loudest that they want to be a feminist and that they don’t want a man telling them what to do, on the inside, are really screaming the loudest, please tell me what to do. Please put me in my place. And, you know what? If you don’t believe that? You’re just ignorant. It’s that simple.

And, yeah, I’m sure that there are some reprobate lesbians out there that have a different view. But let me tell you something: A normal woman, on the inside, wants to follow a leader. She wants to follow a husband. She wants a man there that she can look up to, not look down on…

This is a story about intersectionality. It's going to displease a few people who don't know what intersectionality is, annoy a few people who do, and enrage a load of people who don't use Twitter. But I checked with my privilege, and my privilege said it was OK. (Don't know what "check your privilege" means? This might turn out to be a problem for you, too).

Last week, an argument on Twitter started in the manner characteristic of, possibly unique to, that medium. Someone called historian Mary Beard a racist. Helen Lewis, the deputy editor of the New Statesman, asked what made Beard a racist. A small but persistent Twitter intersectionality-core rounded on Lewis, accusing her of mindlessly defending the establishment against outsiders, effectively using her platform in the mainstream to defend racists within feminism from the critical voices whom feminism ought properly to champion and defend.

April 9 is Equal Pay Day--a reminder that women workers still make less than their male counterparts. Around this time of year, my university's Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance usually holds a Pay Equity Bake Sale to highlight the wage disparities between men and women. The price of each baked good varies by customer to reflect the wage gap. In the United States, women make about $0.77 for every $1 earned by male colleagues; therefore, female students pay $0.77 for a brownie while male students pay $1. Some people love this event, others hate it. What I have always liked about the bake sale is that it not only reflects wage differences between sexes, but races as well.