feminism

Netflix’s Trans Employees Plan Walk Out to Protest New Dave Chappelle Special

"Leadership has shown us they do not uphold the values to which we are held,” Netflix's trans employees wrote in an organizing memo.

Apple Accused of Retaliation After Workers Spoke Out on Pay, Harassment

The U.S. labor agency is investigating claims filed by two Apple employees.

The Sexist Legacy in Star Trek’s Progressive Universe

In the fourth episode of Star Trek: Picard, a familiar face storms onto the scene. With plenty of legacy characters, this might just be another day at the (space) office. But this is Seven of Nine, beloved, iconic, even more badass than she was during her time on Voyager—and she was always pretty badass. “You…

Shelley Duvall’s Faerie Tale Theatre Was Some Next Level Whimsical Madness

There comes a moment in every fairytale lover’s life when you realize that many of the stories you grew up learning in children’s books—and perhaps a little later in children’s movies—were infused with a fair amount of garden variety sexism and small-mindedness packaged as fantastical parables. Shelley Duvall’s Faerie Tale Theatre took those stories and troubled…

The OA Co-Creator Brit Marling Wants More than ‘Strong Female Leads’

One of the biggest criticisms of Brit Marling’s Netflix series The OA was the way that the story—people hopping across dimensions—placed more emphasis on emotional intelligence and the power of empathy (and, yes, interpretative dance), rather than “traditional” super-science and the kinds of action we’ve been conditioned to expect from sci-fi narratives. Prairie, Marling’s character,…

14 Women Directing Genre Movies We’re Excited to Watch

The Oscars (and most Hollywood awards, for that matter) might be notorious for ignoring women directors but fortunately, genre cinema doesn’t feel the same way. In fact, some of our most anticipated superhero, fantasy, sci-fi, and horror films are directed by women. Imagine that! Not all of these are being released this year, but here…

Report: Apple Won’t Let Siri Say Feminism

The Guardian is reporting that internal documentation governing Apple’s voice assistant, Siri, was rewritten to specifically avoid the word feminism. The company told the Guardian “[o]ur approach is to be factual with inclusive responses rather than offer opinions.” The opinion here being… feminism is okay. https://gizmodo.com/apple-contractors-reportedly-overhear-sensitive-informa-1836760314 Presumably, the employees of Apple have no beef with…

This Fabulous Video Series Unpacks the Gender Dynamics of Mad Max: Fury Road

What kind of characters are in Mad Max: Fury Road, and why do they fight? That’s the question at the heart of Innuendo Studios’ fascinating new video series on the film, which dives into the history of women in action movies to shape a nuanced take on what Fury Road does with its women and…

This Artist Reimagined Disney Princesses as Badass Earth Scientists

Growing up, I confess I wasn’t exactly a Disney princess fan. My quirky, nature-loving childhood self could relate to the mud-wallowing jungle creatures in The Lion King, but unattainably beautiful women in spectacular dresses with castles and suitors? Not so much. Disney princesses who are also Earth and environmental scientists, though, I can totally dig.…

To Offset Sexism in Tech, These Female Cofounders Invented a Fake Male Partner: Keith Mann 

LA-based entrepreneurs Penelope Gazin and Kate Dwyer wanted to create Witchsy, an online marketplace for their feminist-centered, darkly comic fashion accessories. But along with the usual woes that come with getting a startup off the ground, they had another problem: men. Talking to Fast Company, the duo discussed the phallus-shaped hurdles that stood between them…

The Geek Feminist Revolution is an Essential Commentary For the Geek World

Kameron Hurley’s latest book, Geek Feminist Revolution, is going to piss some people off, and that’s a good thing. It’s an extremely relevant commentary on the larger geek world that needs to be read as widely as possible. Hurley has been writing since 2003, receiving acclaim for her Bel Dame Apocrypha and Worldbreaker sagas, and…

The Truly Awful Descriptions Casting Calls Write for Women

Between pay inequality, ageism, limited opportunities, and a laundry list of other problems, being a woman in Hollywood sucks. Thanks to Casting Call The Project, now we know the never ending shit-storm of abuse starts before these actors even set foot on set. In the video, several actors read actual casting calls for female roles,…

In Defence of Sex Machines: Why Trying to Ban Sex Robots is Wrong

A recent campaign argues that a ban should be placed on the development of sex robots. While well-intentioned, it’s a shortsighted idea that fails to recognize the ways in which these technologies will help us explore new ideas of inclusivity, legality, and social change. “Ban sex robots!” scream the tech headlines, as if they’re heralding…

Facebook’s New Icons Bring a Little Feminism to Your Friendships

The internet doesn’t always do a very good job with gender equality. But a designer at Facebook has taken control of the social network’s icons to bring a little more balance to its website. You may have never looked closely at Facebook’s friends icons. But on arriving at the social network to assume the role…

John Oliver Explains Why the Internet Sucks For Women

“Congratulations on your white penis — because if you have one of those, you probably have a very different experience of the internet,” explained Jon Oliver on last night’s Last Week Tonight. And in this 15-minute video, he explains why that’s the case. With his usual combination of brutal honestly and biting satire, he explores…

Did you know a feminist named Lizzie Magie created Monopoly in 1904 to “to teach the world about single tax theory and the idea that land — and only land — should be taxed”? Read more about the history and evolution of the 100-year-old board game in this profile. Contact the author at [email protected].

Many Female Scientists Of Color Say They Have Been Mistaken For Janitors

A new study on gender bias against women of color in science has found that “100 percent of the 60 scientists interviewed reported experiencing bias and discrimination.” Incredibly, it gets worse; 48 percent of African-Americans and 46.9 percent of Latinas also reported being “mistaken for administrative or custodial staff.” Photo by Flickr user the Wandering…

Why Did WNYC Delete Its Podcast on the Male “Expert” on Women in Tech?

An episode of WNYC’s On the Media podcast TLDR was unceremoniously removed from the On the Media website today, and people are not at all happy. Rightly so. (UPDATED: This post was updated on 2/13, to include comments from WNYC.) The TLDR episode featured tech blogger Amelia Greenhall criticizing male “women in tech expert” Vivek…

Get To Know The Uber-Inspiring Woman Dubbed “The Superhero’s Shrink”

The Atlantic has a long-form profile of psychologist, comic-book and cosplay enthusiast, and Under the Mask blogger Andrea Letamendi, discussing her background as an academic who slowly allowed her geeky passions to infiltrate her professional life. Of particular interest, Letamendi discusses her relationship with Batgirl author Gail Simone, who made her a character in the…

Why Early Wonder Woman Was A Champion Of Feminism… And Bondage

Looking back, Wonder Woman’s earliest adventures are a little…strange. The first Wonder Woman comics were filled with bondage, submission, and domination — and even spanking games with small children. How was this supposed to be feminist? A new book analyzes those early Wonder Woman comics. All images courtesy of Noah Berlatsy at The Hooded Utilitarian.…