#thefemcolumn

[thefemcolumn-blog]

Beyoncé: Radical or Liberal?

Beyoncé is not revolutionary.

Published: February 9, 2016 at 1:00 am

New York, New York (TFC) — ​The Superbowl halftime became the talk of the night after Beyoncé’s performance of her new single ‘Formation’ in which she lyrically revels in her blackness and womanhood. Visually however, Beyoncé attempted to take a radical approach.

The performance by Beyoncé was visually impacting, with her backup dancers wearing iconic black berets reminiscent of the Black Panther Party and forming a large ‘X’ on the field, supposedly as a nod to Malcolm X on national TV. This was followed by an ad for her upcoming ‘Formation’ tour in which the proceeds of the tour would supposedly support Flint, Michigan’s water crisis victims.

The music video portrays Beyoncé in the south and had scenes reflective of the Katrina aftermath, showing police officers lined up in front of a child and ‘stop shooting us’ scrawled across a wall.

The internet is split over this, part of the internet boycotting her over her music video’s reference to police brutality while the other part has been championing this song and music video as a revolutionary act.

Read More

[thefemcolumn-blog]

Liberal feminism is a branch of feminism that’s highly individualist, which focuses on personal empowerment rather than collective liberation by putting the wants and needs of the individual womyn above those of womyn as a whole. This puts the onus on womyn to create their own sense of equality through their own actions, rather than eradicating misogyny by dismantling oppressive power structures.

Rowan Thomson

[thefemcolumn-blog]

Choice and Neoliberal Feminism

Third Wave feminism.

Published: February 9, 2016 at 1:00 am

Peterborough, ON (TFC) – Neoliberal feminism, also known as third wave or liberal feminism, is often defined as “the radical notion that womyn are people, too” or “the political, economic, and social equality between all genders.” The first definition, fine – womyn weren’t considered people in the eyes of the law until relatively recently. However, the second definition is far broader and is, I think, purposefully vague. What is equality, and what is gender? Who gets to define these things? How are these concepts and ideas actually applied? Although this seemingly innocuous general definition of feminism would appear on the surface to be progressive and helpful, the exact opposite is true.

Read More

[thefemcolumn-blog]

International women-centered news update

Charles Rae lists recent headlines in women-centered news as a 2016 update. These recaps will come at the beginning of every month. Follow along for women-centered news updates and testimonies.

Published: February 3, 2016 at 4:26 am

Raleigh, NC (TFC) – What’s been going on in the international worlds of women? TFC’s The Fem Column gives you a list of updates on news that’s impacting women around the world from January 2016.

Read More

[thefemcolumn-blog]

I thought I was born in the wrong body

Charles Rae writes about growing up in the “wrong body,” and debunks the trans myth with her testimony about male/female stereotypes, and the need to assimilate.

Published: February 2, 2016 at 2:51 am

Raleigh, NC (TFC) – When I hear about people “being born in the wrong body” I have flashbacks to my childhood. My mother always told me she thought I was going to be a boy because her pregnancy with me was so different than the one with my sister. Also, in my family, there are three sets of cousins, the older sibling is a girl and the younger is a boy…except for me. I was told from a young age that “I should have been a boy”. I had no idea what this meant, but I wished I was one. I wanted to hang out with the boys and do “boy things”, and I didn’t like being the girl, or a girl. I thought I was supposed to be a boy and something had gone wrong.

I remember this feeling of thinking I should have been born a boy as long as I can remember. My whole family was split down the line of male/female. Everyone. The boys all did one thing, the girls did another. I always chose to go with the boys, and I was the only outlier in either group. The boys and girls both made fun of me, as did the men and women, and it became a normal thing to joke about: that I should have been born a boy.

Read More

[thefemcolumn-blog]

Why I Don’t Say “But Patriarchy Hurts Men Too!”

Patriarchy doesn't have to hurt men for us to care about women.

Published: January 24, 2016 at 1:10 am

Washington, DC (TFC) – Most of us have heard this little bit of phrasing at some point in our lives. What does it mean? What does it imply? How does it affect us? How are men being hurt? When men find themselves to be victim of some kind of injustice, it is not because they are men, rather they are impoverished, disabled, a person of color, etcetera. Either that or they are subjected to what I call oppressive recoil.

Read More

[thefemcolumn-blog]

If you are interested in writing for FEM email a sample of your work to [email protected]