Category Archives: Feminism

It’s Not an Anti-Trump Rally, Says Padma Lakshmi of the Women’s March on Washington – The Ladies FingerThe Ladies Finger

Marches like these are happening all across the world (they’re called ‘Sister Marches’). iFundWomen, a crowdfunding platform for women entrepreneurs, is planning to take a break from the startup and head to the march in Washington. Founder Karen Cahn had made this decision after Hillary Clinton lost the election to Donald Trump and talk of marches started taking place. Cahn isn’t the only female entrepreneur marching, she has company in Molly Hayward (who launched an organic tampon company) and Gretchen Jones (a fashion designer) among others.At a time like this, it’s heartwarming to hope that feminism can one day Trump the world.

Source: It’s Not an Anti-Trump Rally, Says Padma Lakshmi of the Women’s March on Washington – The Ladies FingerThe Ladies Finger

Thousands fill Loop after Women’s March rally in Chicago draws 250,000 – Chicago Tribune

The rally began with light-hearted music but quickly moved into difficult discussions on racism, homophobia, xenophobia and gun violence. Samantha Marie Ware, a Chicago cast member of ‘Hamilton,’ became emotional on stage recalling how she, as a black woman, once felt as though she couldn’t accomplish her goals because of her race. She encouraged the women before her to stand up.

Source: Thousands fill Loop after Women’s March rally in Chicago draws 250,000 – Chicago Tribune

No, I Will Not Give Trump a Chance | Dame Magazine

There’s no giving a chance to a man who doesn’t understand the basic principles of the U.S. Constitution. Who threatens Americans their citizenship or prison for burning the flag.Not only will I refuse to participate in my own soul murder of a foul man who takes a Victory Tour that got rebranded a “Thank-you” tour while visiting only states where he “won,” but that foulness doesn’t get a chance.There’s not a person on the planet who gets a chance after allowing “Lock her up” chants or racial and imperialistic violence at his rallies to win a seat to work for us.No influential person worth his salt gets a chance after messing in the business dealings of Carrier or Toyota or General Motors or who influences stocks to fall when he publicly pouts about their loyalty. No one who affects Boeing stock and causes it to plummet after lying about the cost of it compared to Air Force 1, gets a chance.There’s no giving a chance to a man who sides with a murderous leader like the Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte. DUTERTE.

Source: No, I Will Not Give Trump a Chance | Dame Magazine

This Vermont CEO is picking up the tab for employees attending the Women’s March

Do

nna Carpenter, the co-owner and CEO of Burton Snowboards, is a huge proponent of women’s rights and she has the receipts to prove it. When word spread about the upcoming Women’s March in Washington, D.C. she knew that many of her employees would be making the trek from Vermont. That’s why she offered to cover two nights hotel and $250 towards a plane ticket for any worker planning on attending the march. As a proponent of women’s equality, she wanted to do her part to help with the March’s numbers and help her employees’ experience. In an interview with Cosmopolitan she said, “Having a hotel room makes all the difference.” (As someone who has traveled a lot for work, I totally agree. This woman has a heart of gold.)Carpenter’s interview is a great read if you’re especially interested in gender equity issues in the workplace. This woman has made a tremendous effort to practice what she preaches by working to make Burton a great place to work for everyone. And it seems she’s doing a pretty good job. Carpenter explained:

Source: This Vermont CEO is picking up the tab for employees attending the Women’s March

Polanski to preside at French Oscars: ‘We feel sick’, say French feminists – The Local

Foul!

“Making Polanski president is a snub to rape and sexual assault victims. Some people say that he is a great film-maker, that everything is relative.   “The quality of his work counts for nothing when confronted with the crime he committed, his escape from justice and his refusal to face up to his responsibilities,” she added.   Polanski, who was 43 at the time, was accused of drugging the girl before having sex with her. ‘It was 40 years ago’    He pleaded guilty to unlawful sex with a minor, or statutory rape, as part of a plea bargain under which he served 42 days in detention while undergoing psychiatric evaluation.   But in 1978, convinced that a judge was going to scrap the deal and hand him a hefty prison sentence, Polanski fled to France.

Source: Polanski to preside at French Oscars: ‘We feel sick’, say French feminists – The Local

Is the GOP Trying to Kill Americans? | Dame Magazine

I’m cussing a lot because I’m furious. Like millions of Americans (despite my Welsh birth, I’m about to become an American citizen) I have never had an employer who paid for my health care. (Actually, I had one employer, who was mandated to provide me with health care for a year through the Writers Guild.) But now this kind of bullshit is back. Donald Trump and the Republicans’ attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act is not a way to curb a bureaucratic mess, but an out and out war on the American people. Because repealing the ACA would mean everyone with a preexisting condition will no longer be able to get health-care coverage. It means those of you middle-income people without health care provided by an employer, but unable to qualify for Medicare, will have to dig deep and find $200 to $300 a month to give to an insurance company who will squabble over each and every doctor’s visit, every dime you spend, every minor symptom you have.After the birth of my son and a horrible divorce, I was crippled with depression and anxiety and PTSD. I credit mental-health-care services—weekly visits to a therapist at $40 a pop even with insurance, monthly visits to a psychiatrist at $50, monthly prescriptions at $20—with saving my life. I am a healthy person. I do yoga, I dance, I eat healthy, I’m active. Being felled by MRSA, a retained placenta, mental-health issues could and would have killed me without insurance.Living in America is prohibitively expensive, and in a big city, even more so. Rent, traffic tickets, tickets for having you dog off leash, tickets for overtaking in the fast lane—it never fucking ends. I often feel like white men are masticating me as they try to suck the sinews off my bones to make stock for their fucking stew. This country is a devastating and unfriendly place to be, and yet here we all are, trying to make the best of it, faced with little choice but to wake up, day after day, work in jobs we hate for pennies our employers argue over, paying rent for homes owned by people who see us as cash cows. I knew this was happening, but the reality of it has devastated me more than I can say. In my ten years of American living, moving here during the Bush era, I began to see real change, and now I am bearing witness to a perilous plunge into a new, worse horror.We need to do everything we can to stop it. Start by picking up the phone: Call. Your. Senator.

Source: Is the GOP Trying to Kill Americans? | Dame Magazine

Egypt Drops Case Against Mob That Attacked Christian Woman – ABC News

“The government is allowing the oppressors to walk free on the streets,” Thabet told the TV channel. “This is our village that we were born and raised in … How can we be the victims and not be able to return to our village and homes?”

Source: Egypt Drops Case Against Mob That Attacked Christian Woman – ABC News

Russia Passes a New Bill to Decriminalise Domestic Violence – The Ladies Finger

The bill was introduced by Yelena Mizulina, a senator in the Federation Council, Russia’s upper chamber of Parliament. “You don’t want people to be imprisoned for two years and labelled a criminal for the rest of their lives for a slap,” she had said back in August 2016, when she had first introduced the bill in Parliament. She went on to argue that traditional power dynamics of families should be reflected in the law — and told the Moscow Times that the law must not, “contradict the system of social values that society holds on to.” Mizulina had previously campaigned for anti-LGBTQ legislature against “gay propaganda”. But it has been reported that the bill was not a priority until Vladimir Putin intervened. Apart from starting the change.org petition, Popova also condemned the bill on a Facebook post, arguing that the bill will mean that, “an offender will now beat [his relatives] and pay a small fine.”

Source: Russia Passes a New Bill to Decriminalise Domestic Violence – The Ladies FingerThe Ladies Finger

Why Women Aren’t Welcome on the Internet – Amanda Hess

My harasser finally acquiesced to the protection order when my lawyer showed him that we knew the blog comments were coming from his computer — he had made a valiant attempt to obscure his comments, but he’d slipped up in a couple of instances, and we could prove the rape threats were his. When the judge approved the order, she instructed my harasser that he was not allowed to contact me in any way — not by email, Twitter, phone, blog comment, or by hiring a hot air balloon to float over my house with a message, she said. And he had to stay at least 100 feet away from me at all times. The restraining order would last one year.Soon after the order expired, he sent an email to my new workplace.

Source: Why Women Aren’t Welcome on the Internet

Men and women who threaten and/or incite criminal abuse against others on the internet and other digital and analog devices should not be allowed to do so. All organizations participating in facilitating the transmission of such abuse should be held financially accountable for the harm caused by such communications. Each transmission of such a message should constitute an individual criminal act.