February 24, 2014 - "Toxic Twitter" or Toxic Racism?

Prison abolitionist and feminist blogger Mariame Kaba, co-author of "Interlopers on Social Media: Feminism, Women of Color and Oppression" responds to anti-Black assumptions in Michelle Goldberg's article, "Feminism’s Toxic Twitter Wars".  Goldberg's article unleashed a firestorm of critique and counter-critique after its publication in The Nation in January.

 

"In many cultures, it's a sign of respect for someone to call you out directly on your crap," Kaba says.  Rather than seeing women of color, and particularly Black women, as interlopers into a formerly safe space, she suggests, white feminists need to recognize that "the good old days for white folks were bad old days for us."  Kaba sees the intensity and passion of the debate as a positive development, indicating that feminism is more vibrant and including more voices than ever before.

Listen now (33:16)

Also on this show, Maria Guillen: A Life in Labor

Listen to the full show, including a sneak peek at Pratibha Parmar's film, "Alice Walker: Beauty in Truth", available through the end of February from PBS's American Masters series.

Women's Magazine April 29, 2013: Daily Sexism

When Deborah Copaken Kogan learned she was long-listed for Britain's Women's Prize for Fiction, she looked it up and found that it was nearly always preceded with the words "prestigious" and "controversial."  What's the controversy?  Some people think the time for separate literary prizes for men and women is past; women are equal in fiction, right?  Not so, says the author of The Red Book and Shutterbabe.  She speaks with Kate Raphael about the "little paper cuts" of sexism from the literary establishment and her article "My So-Called Feminist Life in Arts and Letters" published in the April 13 issue of The Nation.  Listen now:


Get MP3 (27:29)

And as May Day approaches, we hear from Aileen Clarke Hernandez, second president of the National Organization for Women, labor organizer and the first woman appointed to the EEOC.  Hernandez talks about the role of radical economic justice activists in creating what we think of as liberal middle-class feminism.  Listen below:



Get MP3 (27:29)

Listen to entire show, including music by Joan Baez and spoken word by Yazmin Monet Watkins.