A queer feminist anthropologist exploring the realities of culture, gender, and sexuality in contemporary Asia
Reframing how we think about menstrual hygiene and the body While periods are mostly viewed as a normal part of healthy lifestyle for many people, the blood they expel from the body is often considered dirty. We treat it as something disgusting, to be hidden, disposed of, and never talked about. Keeping periods invisible is [...]
Contrary to (mainly western) feminist paradigms, for Chinese women the advent of birth control is not automatically synonymous with “freedom”. Within the collective cultural memory, family planning holds the cultural weight of painful state control, as legislation to reduce family sizes in the early Maoist period was enforced through forceful means.
A woman’s perceived value is tied up in her fertility and her physical appearance. The biological clock has supposedly ruled women’s lives for generations. In many industries, a woman’s sex appeal can equate to her recognition and success. So how does the notion of a “sell-by date” affect real women’s lives? For generations, the average woman has lived her entire life with the overpowering idea that one day, her eggs will suddenly run out and she’ll be immediately infertile. Thankfully, the biological clock is a myth.
I have bursts of being a 'lady', but it doesn't last long. Shelley Winters (b.1920 – d.2006) was an American film, television and stage actress. Her career spanned over 50 years, and her first movie was What a Woman! in 1943. Winters won Academy Awards for The Diary of Anne Frank and A Patch of Blue, and received [...]
Xingping, China, July 2015 © ZhendeGender The 20 yuan (renminbi) image is the view from Xingping, China Xingping, China, July 2015 © ZhendeGender
If feminism is a movement to end sexist oppression, and depriving females of reproductive rights is a form of sexist oppression, then one cannot be anti-choice and be feminist. A woman can insist she would never choose to have an abortion while affirming her support of the right of women to choose and still be an [...]
Visual artist Tatyana Fazlalizadeh spoke recently with Jessica Valenti about public art, the pressure to produce political pieces and how artists will survive. Listen to their interview on the latest episode of Guardian podcast, What Would A Feminist Do? You can see more of Fazlalizadeh's work on her website and more about Stop Telling Women To Smile [...]
Why is it that men are permitted to be obsessed about their work, but women are only permitted to be obsessed about men? Barbra Streisand (b. 1942) is American singer, songwriter, actor, and filmmaker. In a career spanning six decades, Streisand is among the ten best-selling female artists of all time in the US music industry. She [...]
Pyone Thet Thet Kyaw can be found at the British Embassy, working for the Department for International Development (DFID) in Yangon from 9-5, and leading her own dressmaking start-up, Virya Couture, on 39th Street every evening, juggling two completely different careers but pursuing one dream. Pyone spans sectors while securing rights for her fellow women [...]
Women belong in all places where decisions are being made... It shouldn't be that women are the exception. Ruth Bader Ginsburg (b. 1933) is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Ginsburg was appointed by President Clinton, took the oath of office on 10th August 1993, and is still serving today. [...]
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