Women and girls used the #MeToo hashtag more than 12 million times on Facebook in one day in October. It marked the rise of a new feminist consciousness and solidarity.
The share house may be taken for granted now, but before the late 1960s it was hard for women to live independently of families or husbands. For some, communal housing was life-changing.
South Africa has changed since Jacob Zuma’s 2006 rape trial. In recent years, a new and assertive feminist movement has emerged and attacks on the president have become common cause.
Just as Playboy was emerging as a cultural phenomenon in the United States, a German entrepreneur named Beate Uhse was building a sex business of her own – centered on the pleasure of women.
With the recent death of Hugh Hefner, come questions about his impact on sexual culture: Did his empire broaden the sexual landscape or did it usher in a pitiful era of objectification of women?
Hefner’s iconic Playmates, a scholar argues, need to be understood within their historical context, when men and especially women were expected to uphold strict standards of sexual propriety.
Rape jokes are among the most controversial that comedians can tell, but a Concordia professor says laughing at the absurdity of a world that silences survivors is also an act of support and solidarity.
Hugh Hefner, founder of Playboy magazine, has died age 91. While many have pointed to Playboy’s problematic relationship with women, when it first appeared in 1953 the magazine was a challenge to Cold War men.
The international media and her supporters continue to hoist Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf up as the matron of African women’s rights. But she does not deserve this title.
The women’s magazine formula runs deep in many online publications branded as ‘feminist’. While the personal was once deemed political, the emphasis now is on adapting to the status quo - not changing it.
From Kill Bill to The Hunger Games, women have been kicking butt in films (and in real life) forever. But we still act surprised when they do, because deep down we still see women as the passive sex.
Dame Roma Mitchell is remembered as Australia’s first female judge. But Queenslander May Lahey beat her to the punch when she became a judge in Los Angeles in 1928. Her lack of recognition is symptomatic of how Australia remembers expats, particularly women.
All three female contenders for the presidency of the ANC and South Africa have strong liberation struggle credentials and have also contributed to democracy. But, are they up to the job?
Honorary (Senior Fellow) School of Culture and Communication University of Melbourne. Editor in Chief, Design and Art of Australia Online, The University of Melbourne