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Women of Today’s Revolution

  • I always thought Jane Fonda was a woman of the revolution until I learned that it took her thirty years to get feminismBut I’m glad and grateful that it’s a revolution she eventually embraced

When I turned 60 and entered my third and final act, I decided that I needed to heal the wounds patriarchy had dealt me. I didn’t want to come to the end of my life without doing all I could to become a whole, full-voiced woman.

  • When an Australian left behind a surfboard in the Bangladeshi coastal town of Cox’s Bazar 25 years ago, surfing became a thing. Then in 2013 a young local girl, Shoma Akthar, decided that she wanted to learn to surf. When she won $40 for third place in a local surfing competition, Shoma’s mother realised she could be more valuable independently than if she were sent off to work as a housekeeper, or to get married.

My life before was making jewellery at home, work, sleep, making jewelry, work, sleep. When I started surfing, I began thinking about my dreams.

  • April marked 108 years since the birth of Bette Davis. This article from Vanity Fair speaks to how Ms Davis became a revolutionary Hollywood icon by refusing to conform at every turn. Which I loveTweet This

I had presented to me quite a few things to overcome. But without things to overcome, you don’t become much of a person. Do you?

  • Sonita Alizadeh is an Afghan rapper and activist who has been vocal against forced marriages. Alizadeh first gained attention when she released “Brides for Sale,” a video in which she raps about daughters being sold into marriage by their families. In April Sonita Alizadeh performed live in New York City at the Women in the World conference.
  • Jia Tolentino, deputy editor at Jezebel, penned a powerful essay on empowermentFour decades ago ’empowerment’ was associated with Latin American liberation theory, then emerging in marginalised American black communities before being commoditised as something for women to buy. Tweet This

The new empowerment doesn’t increase potential so much as it assures you that your potential is just fine. Even when the thing being described as “empowering” is personal and mildly defiant what’s being mar­keted is a certain identity. And no matter what, the intent of this new empowerment is always to sell.

I hate the word empowerment because its paradigm assumes power is externally given. When, actually, each of us has intrinsic worth.

  • What will the tampon of the future look like? Ridhi Tariyal has patented a method for capturing menstrual flow and transforming it into medical samples. Women drop off tampons that can be mined for uterine cells; the cells are then scanned for genomic changes that are associated with disease. Tweet This

Of the 200 patents, granted since 1976, related to tampons three out of every four of the inventors behind those patents were men. Men have exerted an enormous amount of control over the look and feel of menstrual products.

  • Amanda Foreman is the historian behind the BBC/Netflix’s docuseries ‘The Ascent of Woman’ which places women’s rights in a powerful new context. The series explores what we don’t know, and what we think we know, when it comes to understanding the evolution of women’s liberation. [tweetthis]The Ascent of Woman explores what we think we know, when it comes to understanding the evolution of women’s liberation. [/tweetthis]

Who invented the veil? When did patriarchy come into being? Who produced the first literature? When did the notion of “the second sex’” take hold? The answers are revealed in the show and may surprise you. “If you don’t know it,” says Foreman, “others will make up that history for you.”

What if everything you were told about the female was wrong?

  • The weekend after Prince’s passing I was listening non-stop to his music. It was all I could do. And then Beyonce released Lemonade. At first I was cranky as I didn’t want to be dealing with Bey at the same time I was processing Prince’s passing until I realised there was a poetic beauty in its timing. Prince valued creativity and Beyonce’s ‘Lemonade’ is a remarkable and creative revolutionary work of black feminism. Tweet This

Beyoncé celebrates the beauty and strength of black womanhood by featuring black women who have stood tall despite constant persecution for their blackness.

 

On ‘Lemonade’ Beyonce explores the poetry of renowned black feminist, Warsan Shire. Click here to listen to Warsan’s 1:34 minutes recitation of ‘The Unbearable Weight of Staying – The End of the Relationship’.

  • The Women of the Revolution: From early on in Prince’s career, he championed female musicians and artists including Wendy and Lisa, Sheila E, Susanna Hoffs, Chaka Khan, Stevie Nicks, Toni Braxton, Sheryl Crow and Misty Copeland. Watch this nine and a half minute clip of Prince singing ‘Motherless Child’ and you’ll be in awe, and thankful that you were alive during Prince’s purple reign. 
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