Happy International Women’s Day!
It’s a good day to pick up a favorite feminist book or browse the net for good reads like:
- The Guardian’s 10 Best Feminists list – yes it’s a weird title but it highlights feminists past and present, and The Guardian plans to publish a follow-up list based on reader responses
- Time’s International Women’s Day Shows Awareness Is Not Enough post highlights a paltry but very important 4 areas where progress has been made since the Beijing Platform for Action was published 20 years ago. Take a moment to click through the slide show after the article of 17 of history’s most rebellious women.
- The Toronto Star reports on a march yesterday that drew 5,000 people commemorating the day and highlights a new video created by the provincial government urging viewers to take action against sexual violence. Premier Kathleen Wynne unveiled sweeping measures to curb sexual violence and harassment including a new law forcing colleges and universities to step up efforts to tackle the problem. Wynne said Friday that a new $41-million, three-year initiative would help to deal with a scourge that plagues every part of society.
- And, closer to home, the Winston-Salem Journal today includes several good reads, including a story about an interracial couple’s struggles to be wed by a magistrate in Forsyth County in the mid-70’s, who see direct parallels to NC Senate Bill 2 (allowing magistrates to refuse to wed anyone – meaning same-sex couples – based on their religious views) with their own struggles … the challenges to requiring colleges to report incidents of sexual assault on their campuses to law enforcement … and yesterday’s commemoration of the anniversary of civil rights activists’ march across Selma’s Edmund Pettus Bridge by America’s first black president. Inspiring.