For all those badasses trying to catch up on the headlines, here are a few highlights from the past week. As always, join in the conversation using #TheFemWord and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. #FemNews
First off... HAPPY NEW YEAR! We at The Fem Word are looking forward to making 2019 our most badass year yet. Cheers! xoxo
1. January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. Human trafficking is a $150 billion dollar industry that robs 25 million people globally of their freedom. Throughout this month, The Fem Word will be sharing interviews and articles to raise awareness about the pervasiveness of human trafficking. Know the facts and join the fight to end modern day slavery.
The National Trafficking Hotline is 1-888-373-7888.
2. Clad in Versace tartan and wearing a breast pump, actress Rachel McAdams slays in a badass photoshoot for Girls. Girls. Girls. magazine. According to photographer Claire Rothstein’s Instagram, the photoshoot took place about six months after McAdams gave birth to her first child. Between takes, the actress was expressing and pumping breast milk. While it’s under debate whose idea it was to take the photo with the breast pump, it’s undeniable that this powerful image punches back against social stigmas about breastfeeding.
“Breastfeeding is the most normal thing in the world and I can’t for the life of me imagine why or how it is ever frowned upon or scared of. I don’t even think it needs explaining but just wanted to put this out there, as if it even changes one person’s perception of something so natural, so normal, so amazing then that’s great.” - Claire Rothstein
3. Two badass Indian women became the first to enter the Sabarimala Temple in centuries, defying cultural and religious taboos surrounding the “impurity” of women of menstruating age. While India’s Supreme Court ruled the shrine’s ban on women ages 10 through 50 discriminatory back in September 2018, the holy site is still a contentious place for women. Accompanied by plainclothes police officers, Bindu, 42, and Kanakadurga, 44, embarked on a secret two-hour trek to pray at the shrine in the state of Kerala in the middle of the night.
As the news of Bindu and Kanakadurga's trek to the shrine spread, religious devotees were outraged. But on January 1, 2019, a reported crowd of five million female protestors gathered in Kerala to protest gender discrimination by forming a 385-mile human wall. FIGHT ON, badasses.
4. Have you seen On the Basis of Sex yet? The film stars Felicity Jones as Supreme Court Justice and all-around notorious badass Ruth Bader Ginsburg as she takes on a groundbreaking case that would change her life, her career, and the way the law views gender discrimination.
While critics note the film has its flaws, Washington Post columnist Monica Hesse shared one of her biggest takeaways: the portrayal of RBG’s husband Marty Ginsburg as a supportive champion of his wife’s talents, career, and dreams. Take your daughters to see it, says Hesse, “but more important, take your sons.”
5. Fake porn videos are being used to harass women and everyone is a target -- thanks, internet. These “deepfake” videos use artificial intelligence technology to combine and superimpose existing images and videos on source videos to create fake, nonconsensual pornography and media.
Creators of deepfake videos have targeted everyone from celebrities (like Scarlett Johansson) and politicians to journalists and everyday people, and the phenomenon doesn’t seem to be fading as technology becomes more advanced and continues to embolden internet misogynists.
6. It’s 2019 and California’s newest #MeToo-inspired law has officially gone into effect.
The law targets a common weapon many powerful men use to skirt claims of wrongdoing and silence their victims: the nondisclosure agreement (NDA for short).
By banning NDA provisions in claims involving sexual assault, sexual harassment, or discrimination on the basis of sex, the Los Angeles Times reports, this new law joins a bevy of of legislation aimed at halting abuses of power across a host of industries.
7. On December 31, 2019, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren announced she is forming a an exploratory committee for a 2020 presidential run. A progressive populist running on a anti-corruption platform, Warren is the first candidate to formally oppose President Donald Trump's re-election bid. The diverse field of 2020 hopefuls could include badasses like Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), Sen. Kristen Gillibrand (D-NY), and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN).
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