Feminist Current

Born in 1933, in Oklahoma, Carol Downer is nothing less than a legend. She is not only a lawyer and an author, but she revolutionized the women’s health movement, learning how to perform abortions and vaginal self-examinations, and teaching other women how to, as well. In the early 70s, at a time when abortion, birth control, and fertility information was not widely available to women, Carol and s...

We know that companies have been putting toxic chemicals in things like cigarettes, and are beginning to get tuned into the fact many other products we buy and use also contain carcinogens. But to what extent? Many women wear up to 20 products a day — from lotions, to makeup, to hair products. But do we know what’s in the things we put on our faces and bodies daily? The frightening truth is that m...

Fiona Mackenzie There have been a rash of media reports, in recent years, about women who were killed due to “sex gone wrong.” As of August , there were 57 women in the UK killed by men who used the excuse of “sex game gone wrong” as part of their defence. In some cases, judges have determined that, even in cases of horrific violence, “consensual” sex somehow vindicates perpetrators. In response t...

Despite all of our modern medicine and science, knowledge about the female body is seriously lacking. Myths abound, and even women themselves often don’t understand how their bodies work, thanks to men’s takeover of what is now known as the medical establishment. It is because of these myths and misunderstandings — everything from the idea that that pubic hair is dirty to the belief that having se...

“Coercive control” is something we’ve only just begun to hear about, yet it plays a key role in domestic abuse. Campaigner and journalist Julie Bindel reports that “Coercive control is now the most common form of abuse for which female victims seek help at domestic violence charities.” But when people think about abusive relationships, their imaginations often limit their understanding to the over...

Massive social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook have come under criticism, of late, for censorship, as well as for failing to support women’s interests. Recently, Twitter has taken to suspending users for criticizing gender identity ideology and for discussing basic biological facts about men and women. We do not have a public social media platform where we are free to challenge and ask q...

Many of us already know that the world is biased in favour of men — we’ve been aware that patriarchy exists for some now… But what does this mean in real life? In her new book, Invisible Women , Caroline Criado Perez finds that everything from transportation systems, to medical devices and treatments, to tax structures, to smartphones are made for men, not women. And this is more than just inconve...

We hear the word “feminism” a lot. But what does it really mean? And, in our modern times, why do we still need it? In her new book, Feminism : A Brief Introduction to the Ideas, Debates, and Politics of the Movement , Deborah Cameron considers feminism as an idea, a theoretical approach, and a political movement, addressing seven key issues in feminism: domination, rights, work, femininity, sex,...

We often talk about women’s unpaid labour — the work women do in the home, in terms of child rearing, cleaning, cooking, grocery shopping, and so on and so forth, that not only is uncompensated, but is, too often, unappreciated. Not only do many women today go to work outside the home, for a paycheque, but then they have to come home and take on an extra shift that their male partners simply aren’...

The conflict between trans activists and lesbians is reaching new heights, as lesbians are being shut out of their own events, movements, and spaces. Moreover, lesbianism in and of itself is being disappeared by gender identity ideology, as the word “woman” is said to be undefinable, and a category that can include males. What is a lesbian, if not a female homosexual? But lesbians are pushing back...

  A key concern many share about the issue of “trans youth” is that minors are too young to make such a big and impactful decision to transition, and that they could, as adults, realize they made a mistake only after it’s too late. Detransitioners — that is, people who transition to live as the “opposite sex” only to later transition back to living as their biological sex — are controversial...

I have nothing against anyone who wishes 2be transgender. However I believe there is a fundamental difference between the binary sex u r born with & the gender u may identify as. To protect women’s sport those with a male sex advantage should not be able 2compete in women’s sport — Sharron Davies MBE (@sharrond62) March 1, 2019 As sports bodies and organizations around the world have begun to...

  March 8 th is International Women’s Day — a day to honour women as well as to acknowledge the work we still have to do, in terms of fighting for our liberation. This year, Asian Women for Equality and Fertile Ground Institute for Social and Environmental Justice have partnered to specifically address the experience and oppression of women of colour and Indigenous women under patriarchy. The...

Julia Beck, Jennifer Chavez, Kara Dansky, and Hacsi Horvath speak on a panel hosted by The Heritage Foundation on January 28, 2019 The question of whether it is useful or destructive for feminists to engage with, work with, sit on panels with, or ally with right wing individuals or groups is a contentious one. Some believe we should try to reach as many people as possible, regardless of their poli...

Porn is everywhere nowadays. It is one of the primary ways young people learn about sex, it is fully mainstreamed — we see pornographic imagery in music, advertising, and young women’s instagram selfies — and it is accepted, generally, as a perfectly normal, harmless (even empowering for women!) pastime. Yet it’s also one of the most difficult things to talk about. Women who challenge or criticize...

Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull — aka Posie Parker — is the founder of Standing For Women , a global women’s rights campaign group, and the creator of Women Stand Up , a week of activism set to take place January 26-February 2. Posie’s activism has never been without controversy. Her first action, a billboard with the definition of woman on it, was removed after trans activists labelled Standing for Wome...

Phyllis Chesler is a best-selling author, a longtime feminist activist, and a retired psychotherapist. She has organized political, legal, religious, and human rights campaigns across the world. Yet she, like so many other second wave feminists, is being erased by mainstream media, academia, and third wave feminism. The author of 18 books and a central figure in the women’s liberation movement of...

Nicole Jardim Women’s bodies are complex — our hormones, our fertility, our periods, the way our bodies function and change depending on what point we are at during our cycles, as well as throughout our lives, as we go through perimenopause and menopause. All this can impact our health, energy, sleep, libidos, mood, and more. Yet many of us know so little about our own bodies and cycles, as well a...

  In 2017, Dawn Wilcox founded Women Count USA , a national database and femicide census of all women and girls murdered by men in the United States. The numbers are shocking. When I spoke to Dawn in July, she’d counted 805 women killed by men since January 2018. As of today, the number has reached 1037. Too often, when men kill women, we hear that “it was an isolated incident” or that a man...

Earlier this month, a number of media outlets published pieces about a new “lesbian-run church” having been officially recognized by the IRS as 501(c)(3) organization and a church, giving it tax exempt status. But the news wasn’t only of interest to the media for tax purposes… At Forbes , Peter J. Reilly explained that the Pussy Church of Modern Witchcraft was controversial on account of an ongoin...

Embed from Getty Images Many people are rightly horrified by the Trump administration’s recent move to begin separating children from their asylum-seeking parents when they cross the US-Mexico border. Recently, the US government also determined that domestic violence and gang violence no longer qualify as grounds for asylum — a change that has particularly harmful impacts on women in Central Ame...

The Liberal Party of Canada recently introduced Bill C-78, which proposes a number of changes to Canada’s Divorce Act, including better addressing what is referred to as “family violence,” changes to terminology like “custody” and “access,” and encouraging parties to use family dispute mediation services as an alternative to court. Divorce law has always had particular impacts on women, and though...

Embed from Getty Images A decade ago, Serah Gazali escaped Saudi Arabia, leaving behind a life where her every move was monitored and controlled. She acquired refugee status while in Mexico, based on her sex, and her application set a precedent in Latin American UNHCR case law. She is now living in Vancouver, and has not had contact with any of her family members since she left. Serah is an MA gra...

The notion that sex matters, in terms of the law, is a fairly new one. It wasn’t until recently that discrimination against pregnant women was considered to be discrimination against women , specifically. In 1974, an American court case, Geduldig v. Aiello , determined that differential treatment based on pregnancy only distinguishes between a group consisting of “pregnant women” and a group consi...

Embed from Getty Images As the debate around gender identity intensifies, it seems more and more people are asking questions about the impact of transgender ideology and legislation on women, children, and our understanding of gender under patriarchy, more broadly. At the same time, those who do speak out or challenge the ideology behind the concept of transgenderism (or connected policies and pra...