Month: August 2018

World Wide (Conversation) – These days, the health of a woman seems to be less about the absence of illness and more about being someone who works on their body and mind in order to meet modern society’s expectations of looks and abilities. This is not just a neat observation, but something we found while researching our new book, Postfeminism and Health. We analysed a range of research and media – including advice in self-help literature, government promotion of healthy weight, and the way surgeons and their patients talk about…

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United States (Conversation) – If you were worried that the #MeToo movement might fade away, fear not. It has been carved into one of the most immovable objects in human history. Legal boilerplate. And not just any boilerplate. But the language in giant merger agreements, used when one company is buying out another company. Basically, corporate lawyers have been adding a sentence that forces companies to disclose allegations of sexual harassment. On Wall Street, it has come to be known as the “Weinstein clause.” That’s new. In my years as…

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United States (TexasTribune) – President Donald Trump’s administration is working to dramatically ramp up its capacity to detain immigrants — especially in Texas. Despite protests, several facilities have opened to hold more migrant adults and children this summer, and there are proposals that would nearly double the total number of beds at authorized centers. For family detention and child-only shelters, the capacity would nearly triple. The vast majority of the requested increase would hold children and families on two Texas military bases. The federal government has made initial requests for up to…

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World Wide (Conversation) – As you pack for your holidays, don’t forget to pack your flip-flops – and treat them with respect, they may have travelled more than you and witnessed things you cannot see. Flip flops may look simple and cheap, but they are part of a bigger and more complicated story. Flip-flops are the world’s highest selling shoe – outselling even trainers. Uncounted billions of them are made every year, often in small factories in China. Flip-flop sales rise with world population. As one billion people globally still…

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Ugandan (GV) – Ugandan member of parliament Sylvia Rwabwogo had just emerged from a months-long nightmare during which she received daily text messages and calls from a stranger, professing his love to her. When a magistrate court in Kampala, Uganda handed down a two-year prison sentence to 25-year-old Brian Isiko on charges of cyber harassment and offensive communication, the MP thought she could finally find some peace. But her torment continued when some Ugandan citizens lashed out against the ruling, saying it was “too harsh”. Local mainstream media minimized the seriousness of the case by…

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Chile (OpenDemocracy) – The feminist movement at Chilean universities this 2018 originally emerged due to some cases of harassment by teachers students had reported in several national university schools. Firstly it was an isolated rumor, and then almost an open secret about teachers who were known for their bad practices with female students or who, using their position of power, tried to get some kind of sentimental and/or sexual approach with them. Then, several female students began to report such actions to the media. The scandal at the University of Chile’s School…

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