BBC Religion & Ethics - The re-birth of an icon: she can do it 11 February 2013Last updated at 17:18 By Flavia Di Consiglio BBC Religion and Ethics The "We Can Do It" poster is also known as "Rosie the Riveter" - but mistakenly so Seventy years ago, a poster featuring a young woman flexing her arm muscle was about to appear on the walls of an American factory. Today, she is a worldwide icon of female strength, struggle and empowerment. So why does this image keep coming back into popular culture? Doe eyes, pouted lips and a cheeky curl protruding from her headscarf: you will probably recognise her. The character is now known as "Rosie the Riveter". Our more recognisable Rosie is commonly regarded as a symbol of American women entering the workforce while their men were at war. In 1942 Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company commissioned the graphic artist J Howard Miller to produce a series of posters, each intended to be displayed for a limited amount of time. Continue reading the main story “Start Quote Marketing appeal Sponsored propaganda
Beyoncé samples Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's call to feminism Reading on mobile? Click to view The Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie makes a surprise appearance on Beyoncé's latest album, released on iTunes this morning, declaiming: "We teach girls to shrink themselves, to make themselves smaller. The novelist's intervention comes during the track ***Flawless, appearing as a series of samples from her impassioned TEDxEuston talk, "We should all be feminists". During the speech, the Orange prize-winning author argues that differing expectations of men and women damage economic and social prospects in Nigeria, and more generally around Africa and the world. Beyoncé has been particularly inspired by sections where Adichie explores attitudes towards marriage, sampling a passage where the novelist talks directly about aspirations. "Because I am a female, I am expected to aspire to marriage," Adichie says. Beyoncé has also used lines from a part of the speech where Adichie queries parents' attitudes towards young people's sexuality:
Katy Perry, Miley And Lorde: Did 2013 Move Feminism Backward? by Brenna Ehrlich 1/9/2014 Back in 2013, the “f” word seemed to be on everyone’s lips. And when we say “f” word, we don’t mean the term that gets bleeped out on TV — we mean “feminism.” Yup, people sure seemed to dig that word last year as it related to music, but the question that never seemed to really get resolved was: What was feminism’s deal in 2013? Perhaps it all started when Katy Perry took the stage at the end of 2012 at the Billboard Women in Music event and stated: “I am not a feminist.” But those weren’t the only murmurings of the word: Kathleen Hanna and Grimes praised Beyoncé for her inherent feminism during the VMA pre-show, months before Bey brought in feminist author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie to speak on her self-titled record. That’s not to mention, of course, the thousands of think pieces on the above events, as well as open letters from the likes of Grimes, Kitty Pryde and Chvrches’ Lauren Mayberry about the role of women in the music industry. “Forwards for Feminism.
Nigella Lawson says feminism is to blame for women's 'dread of the kitchen' Outburst by chef who filed for divorce from Charles Saatchi earlier this yearSays she recognises a reluctance among women to be 'tied to the stove'Lawson is filming British version of her US cookery programme The Taste By Laura Cox for the Daily Mail Published: 22:32 GMT, 20 October 2013 | Updated: 23:03 GMT, 20 October 2013 She can hardly be blamed for keeping quiet since filing for divorce from Charles Saatchi earlier this year. But what is perhaps surprising is how Nigella Lawson has chosen to break her silence – by blaming the feminist revolution for giving women a ‘sense of dread in the kitchen’. The unexpected outburst was made as the food writer, 53, gave an interview to a Sunday newspaper. Outburst: Nigella Lawson (pictured in a publicity photograph for her 2012 BBC TV show Nigellissima) has blamed the feminist revolution for giving women a 'sense of dread in the kitchen' Miss Lawson said: ‘Feeling comfortable in the kitchen is essential for everyone, male or female. Nigella Lawson
Julie Bishop says Julia Gillard 'turned herself into a victim' By Sarah Carty for Daily Mail Australia and Australian Associated Press Published: 14:48 GMT, 29 October 2014 | Updated: 15:12 GMT, 29 October 2014 Australia's only female cabinet minister Julie Bishop has revealed that she would not call herself a feminist and she believes Julia Gillard brought the victim persona upon herself. Launching the Women in Media networking club, the foreign minister told a group of women exactly what she thinks of the term feminist. 'It's not a term that I find particularly useful these days,' she said in Canberra on Wednesday. Ms Bishop - who has been touted as a future prime minister - said Ms Gillard turned herself into a victim, something she would never do. Australia's only female cabinet minister Julie Bishop has revealed that she would not call herself a feminist and she believes Julia Gillard brought the victim persona upon herself The Gillard-speech similarities did not stop there. But she did not reject the term entirely. 'Get over it.'
'Sweatshop' claims over Fawcett Society slogan T-shirt 1 November 2014Last updated at 21:35 ET Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband have been photographed wearing the shirt The charity behind a pro-feminism T-shirt worn by leading politicians has vowed to investigate claims that the item was made in sweatshop conditions. Equality campaigning group the Fawcett Society said it was "disappointed" to learn of the allegations. The Mail on Sunday reported the £45 "This is what a feminist looks like" shirt is made by women paid 62p an hour on the island of Mauritius. The Fawcett Society said it was told the garment would be made ethically. The T-shirt has been worn by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Labour leader Ed Miliband in promotional pictures - but Prime Minister David Cameron reportedly declined to be photographed in it. Deputy Labour leader Harriet Harman then wore it in the House of Commons during Prime Minister's Questions. Continue reading the main story “Start Quote End QuoteEva NeitzertThe Fawcett Society 'Ethical credentials queried'
A scientist's view: equality, feminism and men's rights | Andrew Holding | Science The world is against men. This week a man was turned away from Legoland for not having a child, apparently to protect the families and children that visit. Men are not allowed to sit next to unaccompanied children on planes because apparently they're all paedophiles-in-waiting. I've had my own experience of someone alerting the whole of John Lewis that my daughter was abandoned, because she wasn't near someone who looked like a mother. Then there's the old issue that only 8% of children in single parent families are with their fathers. When I was born, my father could rape my mother. If you think feminism is a dirty word, or some kind of female 'supremacist' movement, you've been had. There are individuals who dislike men, in a hand-wavingly general sort of way, but that does nothing TO men on the whole. So what about single fathers, young men committing suicide, or suggestions that every man is some kind of Schroedinger's paedophile? Feminism fights patriarchy.
Karl Lagerfeld’s new look for Chanel: feminist protest and slogans | Fashion Karl Lagerfeld, who once dismissed concerns over size-zero models as the whinings of “fat mommies with bags of crisps”, is an unlikely champion of feminism as a fashionable issue. How, then, to interpret his Chanel catwalk show at Paris fashion week, which closed with a megaphone-wielding Cara Delevingne leading a model army chanting for freedom, the Kardashian-clan catwalk star Kendall Jenner holding a banner reading Women’s Rights are More than Alright, and a sea of placards reading Ladies First, History is Her Story, We Can Match the Machos and Boys Should Get Pregnant Too? It is probably worth remembering that one of Lagerfeld’s many quotes is: “Everything I say is a joke. I myself am a joke.” For the Chanel catwalk show, the Grand Palais was transformed – elaborately (an adjective almost universally applicable to Lagerfeld’s actions) – into a re-creation of a Paris boulevard. At ground level, the scene was set for another typical aspect of French streetlife, the manifestation.
At The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, Feminism Was A Big Topic Of Conversation Backstage at the Victoria's Secret fashion show in London on Dec. 2, journalists wanted to know: do the models consider themselves feminists? The Independent claims that a journalist representing them interviewed a Victoria's Secret Angel about her favorite outfit from the show and her status as a model, but was prevented from asking about objectification or feminism: But the questions "some critics would say that the show objectifies women –- what would you say to that?" and "are you a feminist?", posed to Dutch Angel Romee Strijd, saw a PR representative swiftly step in and tell our journalist “can we maybe not ask that question." However, other outlets were successful in asking models about their views on feminism. “Of course!" The merit of asking public figures if they are feminists is often discussed, but it's interesting to see how women who make a living from representing "perfect" body types feel about being objectified, and how they define feminism.
Feminist Critics of Video Games Facing Threats in ‘GamerGate’ Campaign Photo Anita Sarkeesian, a feminist cultural critic, has for months received death and rape threats from opponents of her recent work challenging the stereotypes of women in video games. Bomb threats for her public talks are now routine. One detractor created a game in which players can click their mouse to punch an image of her face. Not until Tuesday, though, did Ms. “This will be the deadliest school shooting in American history, and I’m giving you a chance to stop it,” said the email, which bore the moniker Marc Lépine, the name of a man who killed 14 women in a mass shooting in Montreal in 1989 before taking his own life. The threats against Ms. Continue reading the main story While the online attacks on women have intensified in the last few months, the dynamics behind the harassment go back much further. “That sense of being marginalized by the rest of society, and that sense of triumph when you’re recognized,” said Raph Koster, a veteran game developer. Mr. While harassment of Ms.