# data[].attributes.body
The toys children play with should not be based on if they are a boy or a girl, but if they like the toy

# data[].attributes.body
People care more about the sex of the baby than they do if it is a healthy baby.

# data[].attributes.body
It is not something that is wrong with them, it was just how they were born.

# data[].attributes.body
One boy's story about his early life before transitioning.

# data[].attributes.body
This video made by a 13 year old girl, shows how ridiculous gender stereotypes are by reversing them.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Stereo - a film about reversed gender stereotypes

# data[].attributes.body
This article talks about a report from UNICEF that found girls spend 40% more time on household chores than boys.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Girls Spend 40% More Time on Chores Than Boys: UNICEF

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
According to a new report by UNICEF, girls spend 40% more hours on household work than boys of the same age

# data[].attributes.body
This article talks about gendered language, and the decline of female authorsand female charaters after the 19th century.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Women in novels have tended to "feel", while men "get"; women smile or laugh, while men grin or chuckle. An analysis of more than 100,000 novels spanning more than 200 years shows how gendered even seemingly innocuous words can be - as well as revealing an unexpected decline in the proportion of female novelists from the mid-19th to the mid-20th century.

Academics from the universities of Illinois and California at Berkeley used an algorithm to examine 104,000 works of fiction dating from 1780 to 2007, drawn mostly from HathiTrust Digital Library. The algorithm identified both author and character genders. The academics expected to see an increase in the prominence of female characters in literature across the two centuries. Instead, "from the 19th century through the early 1960s we see a story of steady decline," write Ted Underwood, David Bamman and Sabrina Lee in their paper The Transformation of Gender in English-Language Fiction, which has just been published in the Journal of Cultural Analytics.

As well as the drop in the number of characters who are women or girls, they also found "a fairly stunning decline" in the number of books written by women in the first half of the 20th century, writing that "the proportion of fiction actually written by women ... drops by half (from roughly 50% of titles to roughly 25%) as we move from 1850 to 1950."

No one has been willing to advance the dismal suggestion that the whole story from 1800 to 1960 was a story of decline

The Transformation of Gender in English-Language Fiction

The academics were so surprised by these findings, "in the very period when we might expect to see the effects of first-wave feminism", that they initially suspected an error in their methods. They ran further tests, and found they tallied.

"Women go from representing almost half the authors of fiction to barely a quarter. If this trend is real, it is an important fact about literary history that ought to be foregrounded even, say, in anthology introductions. But the story has not been widely publicised," they write. "It appears that scholars of each period are able to see the possibility that female authorship was declining in their own period. But no one has been willing to advance the dismal suggestion that the whole story from 1800 to 1960 was a story of decline."

The academics speculate that one reason for the drop of female authors, which reversed around 1970, could be the "gentrification" of the novel. In the mid-19th century, novel-writing was not a "high-status career", but as it increasingly became so, it became more desirable to male writers. They also point out that while representation of women in fiction declined over the period, other categories of writing such as non-fiction saw "an enormous expansion" of female writers. "It is not hard to see how expanding opportunities on this scale might have lured women away from the novel," they write.

The decline in women writing is part of the reason for the drop in women characters. According to the academics' analysis, in books by men, women occupy on average just a quarter to a third of the character-space. In books by women, "the division is much closer to equal". The analysis finds: "This gap between the genders is depressingly stable across 200 years."

Kate Mosse, the bestselling historical novelist and founder of the Women's prize for fiction, said that she was not surprised by the results. "When we were setting up the prize, we discovered that when a book by a woman won a prize, it was more likely to have a male protagonist," she said. "This huge piece of research backs that up."

Mosse pointed to "a sea change from the Enlightenment through to Victorian values, so women are freer in the time of Jane Austen or Mary Shelley or Ann Radcliffe, but then Victorian values - the idea of the angel in the home - take over. And then criticism becomes a discipline. It's a male discipline, and it's therefore not surprising to me that women as writers lose their positions, because it's men writing about male writers, and it starts to inch out women. You see this in history, and in music - it's equal, and then when criticism starts to become important, women's contributions are undervalued."

'When criticism starts to become important, women's contributions are undervalued' ... Kate Mosse. Photograph: Andy Hall/The Observer

Analysing the 104,000 novels in the HathiTrust archive, and looking at vocabulary ascribed to characters, the researchers found that earlier volumes contained gendered language. In early 19th-century novels, men were more likely to have "houses" and "countries", while women had "private chambers", "apartments", or "rooms". By the late 20th century, however, "house" had become more associated with women characters. Words such as "heart", "tears", "sighs", "smiles", and "spirits", were "gendered feminine" in the 19th century, the algorithm revealed, with "only a few subjective nouns ascribed more often to men; the primary one is passion, which is sometimes a 19th-century euphemism for lust".

On average, men remain remarkably resistant to giving women more than a third of the character-space in their stories

The Transformation of Gender in English-Language Fiction

While both fictional men and fictional women were equally likely to "read", men have historically been more likely to have "got" things, and women more likely to have "felt". By the mid-20th century, words for mirth such as "smile" and "laugh" were more likely to be applied to female characters, while "mid-century men, apparently, can only grin and chuckle".

"This gendering of mirth peaks in the years before and after the second world war, and Raymond Chandler is a typical expression of its consequences for men. His male characters have a habit of grinning in an uneasy, laconic way. 'He grinned. His teeth had a freckled look,' in Red Wind. 'He grinned. His dentist was tired of waiting for him,' in The Pencil. Chandler's grins are commonly followed by a cynical chaser about the character's appearance, to make clear that masculine humour is a thin veneer stretched over menace," the academics write.

Overall, the researchers found that gender divisions between characters have "become less sharply marked" over the last two centuries, with "very different language" used for men and women in 19th-century novels compared to the present, when "the actions and attributes of characters are less clearly sorted into gender categories".

They reiterate, however, that this blurring of the boundaries of gender as fiction moves into the 20th century "doesn't seem to have been associated with greater emphasis on women as characters. On the contrary, their prominence declines across the same period." And "men remain - on average, as a group - remarkably resistant to giving women more than a third of the character-space in their stories."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Women better represented in Victorian novels than modern, finds study

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Analysis finds proportion of female authors and characters fell after 19th century, with male authors remaining 'remarkably resistant' to writing women

# data[].attributes.body
This video shows how the Fab Five have had to deal with "how to be a man" in their lives and what it means now and in the future.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Queer Eye Tell Us Where Men Are Going Wrong In 2018

# data[].attributes.body
This is America is a song by Childish Gambino. The music video for the song shows many examples of racism in America from the past and present.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Childish Gambino - This Is America (Official Video)

# data[].attributes.body
This is an article that gives 30 examples of the privileges for heterosexual people.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Following is a list of examples of heterosexual privilege. If you are straight, these are unearned benefits you receive as a result of the sexuality you were born with.

If you are straight (or in some cases, perceived to be), you can live without ever having to think twice, face, confront, engage, or cope with anything listed below. These privileges are granted to you, and many of them are things you've likely taken for granted. (Otherwise known as the "Why it's easier to be straight" list.)

1. Receiving public recognition and support for an intimate relationship (e.g., congratulations for an engagement).

2. Expressing affection in most social situations and not expecting hostile or violent reactions from others.

3. Living with your partner openly.

4. Expressing pain when a relationship ends from death or separation and receiving support from others.

5. Receiving social acceptance from neighbors, colleagues, and good friends.

6. Learning about romance and relationships from fictional movies and television shows.

7. Having role models of your gender and sexual orientation.

8. Having positive and accurate media images of people with whom you can identify.

9. Expecting to be around others of your sexuality most of the time. Not worrying about being the only one of your sexuality in a class, on a job, or in a social situation.

10. Talking openly about your relationship, vacations, and family planning you and your lover/partner are doing.

11. Easily finding a neighborhood in which residents will accept how you have constituted your household.

12. Raising, adopting, and teaching children without people believing that you will molest them or force them into your sexuality.

13. Working in a job dominated by people of your gender, but not feeling as though you are a representative/spokesperson for your sexuality.

14. Receiving paid leave from employment when grieving the death of your spouse.

15. Assuming strangers won't ask, "How does sex work for you?" or other too-personal questions.

16. Sharing health, auto, and homeowners' insurance policies at reduced rates.

17. Not having to hide or lie about women- or men-only social activities.

18. Acting, dressing, or talking as you choose without it being a reflection on people of your sexuality.

19. Freely teaching about lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals without being seen as having a bias because of your sexuality or forcing your "homosexual agenda" on students.

20. Having property laws work in your favor, filing joint tax returns, and automatically inheriting from your spouse under probate laws.

21. Sharing joint child custody.

22. Going wherever you wish knowing that you will not be harassed, beaten, or killed because of your sexuality.

23. Not worrying about being mistreated by the police nor victimized by the criminal justice system because of your sexuality.

24. Legally marrying the person you love, and not having that marriage questions or refuted in court.

25. Being granted immediate access to your loved one in case of accident or emergency.

26. Knowing that your basic civil rights will not be denied or outlawed because some people disapprove of your sexuality.

27. Expecting that your children will be given texts in school that support your kind of family unit and will not be taught that your sexuality is a "perversion."

28. Freely expressing your sexuality without fear of being prosecuted for breaking the law.

29. Belonging to the religious denomination of your choice and knowing that your sexuality will not be denounced by its religious leaders.

30. Knowing that you will not be fired from a job nor denied a promotion based on your sexuality.

31. Not being asked by your child's school to only send one parent to back-to-school night so as not to upset the other parents by having two same-sex partners in the class together.

32. Playing a professional sport and not worrying that your athletic ability will be overshadowed by your sexuality and the fact that you share a locker room with the same gender.

33. Not having to worry about being evicted if your landlord finds out about your sexuality.

34. Not having to "come out" (explain to people that you're straight, as they will most likely assume it).

35. Knowing that people aren't going to mutter about your sexuality behind your back.

36. Knowing that being open with your sexuality isn't going to change how people view you.

37. Being able to live anywhere in the world and find people like yourself, unlike gay people, who are limited geographically. (Even if the people in more rural areas aren't homophobic, living in a low-density population means social isolation, lack of a dating pool, etc., for queer folks. Even among urban areas, there are only a few cities in the world, relatively speaking, where gay people can live openly and without too much fear.)

38. Being able to have your partner from a different country obtain citizenship in your country through marriage.

39. Not having people think your sexuality is a mental health problem.

40. Not having to think about whether your kid's friend's parents will flip out when they pick their kid up from a play date and are greeted by you and your partner.

41. Not having to worry that people won't let their children play with your children because of your sexuality.

42. Not having to worry about where you can move, alone or with your spouse, and have equal job opportunities abroad.

43. Being able to move abroad with your children without sudden changes of your legal status and the possibly of even losing your children.

Consider jumping over and reading 30+ Examples of Cisgender Privilege now that you've read this list, and take stock of how the lists overlap and contrast.
Thanks to BGSU's Safe Zone Program for the beginnings of this list.
Important IP/Copyright/Credit Editorial Note: A reader brought it to my attention that many items in this list may have originated in the appendix of this book: Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice. The handout I started from, which I have had the "thanks to" message above for the past few years) was apparently based on that appendix without referencing it. I'm sorry for the misunderstanding.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
30+ Examples of Heterosexual (Straight) Privileges - ❤ It's Pronounced Metrosexual

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Following is a list of examples of heterosexual privilege. If you are straight, these are unearned benefits you receive as a result of the sexuality you were born with. If you are straight (or in some cases, perceived to be), you can live without ever having to think twice, face, confront, engage, or cope with anything listed below.

# data[].attributes.body
This clip from the movie Titanic, shows how the other passengers viewed the poorer character and made fun of him.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Titanic 3D - Movie Clip - First Class Dinner

# data[].attributes.body
This article talks about how a person's weight and their health are not always equal.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
By Brandy Smith, PhD (Diversity Coordinator and Interim Training Coordinator at Auburn University Student Counseling Services)
Have you or someone you know gone to the doctor and heard comments about your health without the provider ever talking about your genetics or your specific eating and physical activity habits? Unfortunately, many people, answer "yes" to that question. I have too often read about and heard people in my personal and professional life recount how a doctor told them they were not healthy because of being large bodied. This was without the doctor ever talking to them about their family history related to size, eating habits, or physical activity levels even when the diagnostic tests run at the appointment did not indicate anything physically unhealthy.

This type of experience can fit within the concept of sizism, a form of prejudice against people because of their size. While this particular experience may never have happened to you, it does happen frequently enough to raise concern. Perhaps a different example of sizism may be more relatable to you.

Take for instance comments (or even thoughts) that occur when simply seeing someone-about a big person not being able to control what they eat or that they must never exercise or that a petite person must be so healthy. All of these thoughts or comments occur without us actually knowing anything about the person or their behaviors.

Sizism implies that a person can be deemed healthy or not by a few factors that only represent part of the picture. It reflects the myth that the current state of our health can be determined by weight, and, far too often a person's weight becomes the primary and sometimes sole gauge of health within our society.

Part of the problem is the frequency with which those types of connections are made and how the pairing of size and health is so pervasively, sometimes subtly and other times more overtly, reinforced. Writers such as Bacon (2008), Abakoui & Simmons (2010), Berg & Rosencrans (2000), and Farrell (2011) have addressed concepts paired with size and the impact. Examples have included lazy/active, civilized/uncivilized, weak/strong, sexual/asexual, which lead people to view the size of their body and the number on a scale as THE focal points.

We perpetuate sizism in our individual conversations and in our news stories. Even medical personnel who may be well-intentioned often send the message that if you are a certain size, then that alone implies you are healthy/unhealthy.

Health is not directly related to a specific size; it is related to healthy behaviors. As part of the newly created Task Force on Feminist Perspectives on Sizism from APA's Society for the Psychology of Women, my colleagues and I are concerned that sizism has a negative impact on physical health along with emotional and psychological well-being.

Health at Every Size (HAES; Bacon, 2008) presents a more useful way to attend to health and offers a way to improve our culture on individual and systemic levels. HAES:

Includes a set point concept of weight, that is, the range at which the body comfortably maintains its weight (10-20 pound range)

Highlights research about the body's response to eating and exercise as genetically impacted rather than within complete personal control

Educates about the ills of dieting and how it is different from healthy eating

Encourages activity regardless of weight/size because of the overall health impact rather than focusing on weight loss

Emphasizes stress management because of the negative impact of high cortisol levels

Recommends an internal gauge of hunger (hunger/fullness cues) rather than an external gauge (eating what is on the plate)

Notes the importance of challenging negative self-talk

Asks people to live for the present instead of waiting until a certain size to do things

One criticism I and others who express concerns about sizism regularly encounter is that not focusing on weight equals not caring about what one eats or does activity-wise. Critics imply that we are encouraging a free-for-all approach that does not take into consideration a person's actions. Please know that is not the case, which I hope is evident from the HAES information presented above. The goals are:

to improve everyone's overall health with attention on actual health behaviors rather than an erroneous perception of health, and

to facilitate our ability to disconnect worth from size since that pairing is damaging on a multitude of levels.

References:
We encourage physical and mental health care providers to include as part of their routine health assessments questions about eating habits, as well as physical activity and other health behaviors. Here is to making progress toward those goals!

Abakoui, R., & Simmons, R. E. (2010). Sizeism: An unrecognized prejudice. In J. E. Cornish, B. A. Schreier, L. I. Nadkarni, L. H. Metzger, E. R. Rodolfa (Eds.) , Handbook of multicultural counseling competencies (pp. 317-349). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons Inc.

Bacon, L. (2008). Health at every size: The surprising truth about your weight. Dallas, TX, US: BenBella Books.

Berg, F. M., & Rosencrans, K. (2000). Women afraid to eat: Breaking free in today's weight-obsessed world. Hettinger, ND: Healthy Weight Network.
Biography:
Farrell, A. E. (2011). Fat shame: Stigma and the fat body in American culture. New York, NY: New York University Press.
Image source: Flickr user Ralph Alchinger via Creative Commons
Brandy Smith, PhD, is a licensed psychologist at Auburn University Student Counseling Services. She began working on topics of diversity during her undergraduate career at Mississippi University for Women then continued her diversity focus into her Masters and Doctorate programs at University of Memphis. Much of Brandy's work has focused on sexual orientation and gender identity, but she is committed to diversity broadly defined and makes efforts to use her feminist approach to create safe, empowering spaces for all.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Challenging Sizism: Health and Weight Don't Always Equate

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
By Brandy Smith, PhD (Diversity Coordinator and Interim Training Coordinator at Auburn University Student Counseling Services) Have you or someone you know gone to the doctor and heard comments about your health without the provider ever talking about your genetics or your specific eating and physical activity habits?

# data[].attributes.body
On the covers a marjoity of the people are white, male, young, and rich.

# data[].attributes.body
This video is about the straightest dude ever, but it shows the four dictates of masculinity that men are suppose to have.

# data[].attributes.body
This shows a picture of women from different races, ages, religions, and genders.

# data[].attributes.body
This image shows all the things that are involved in being a feminist.

# data[].attributes.body
This article talks about how people were outraged with this video but when Miley Cyrus twerked or other women did it, there is little to no backlash.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In the summer when America's racial wounds are rupturing , and the anger of the disenfranchised boils over from a hashtag into a movement, the possibility of real change dances in front of us. But the pop music world only wants to talk about one thing: black women's butts.

They're twerking all over Taylor Swift's new video, Shake It Off - she even crawls under them, mouth agape, gawking at her own cultural appropriation. They're also the focus of Nicki Minaj's Anaconda video - shimmying around her all-female jungle gym before teasing Drake, as he sits back in a chair.

In this sea of wobbling black flesh, a new report on sexism and racism in music published last week by three leading women's groups gives a directive: "Picture ... Jay Z, stripped down to a T-back bikini thong, sex kitten-ing his way through a boulevard of suited and booted women for their pleasure." You can't. But that's the point. Our inability to picture the hip-hop mogul in a thong, the report claims, is proof of a double standard endemic to music video culture, where men are sex beasts while women - especially women of colour - are reduced to blank receptacles of male desire.

Going further, the report cites experimental research where viewers who watch hypersexualised music videos become more tolerant of racist and sexist attitudes; some even are more likely to excuse a rapist's actions. It goes on to suggest that by reducing women to eye candy, music videos create "a conducive context for violence against women". The recommended solution: compulsory age ratings, and increased cautiousness when it comes to what music video "choose to portray".

It all sounds agreeable enough at first. But the report's implication that videos full of sexily writhing bodies are responsible for both rape culture and racism is fundamentally misguided. The subtext whispers: "Hide your butt cheeks, hide your breasts, because people cannot learn to respect women if they are sexual creatures."

The real problem, of course, is the assumption that displays of feminine sexuality are indicators of sexual availability. That, and the framework of (white) patriarchal privilege that paves the way for this logical misstep, this mental game of hopscotch where the lines are all drawn wrong.

It seems so painfully old-fashioned to think of women as either Madonna or whore - but that dichotomy has just been reconfigured for 2014 as "wifey" or a "thot." This troublingly simplistic mindset is why newspaper the Voice picked up on the same report with a headline that said, "How Stars Like Beyoncé Are Damaging Our Girls." It is why the owner of AllHipHop.com wrote an ostensibly "concerned" open letter to Nicki Minaj, asking "Is this the path you want to lead impressionable kids down?" It is why people blamed my short skirt when a sweaty old man followed me home from school.

Slapping a parental advisory warning on Nicki Minaj's bum will not change the way black women are exoticised. Banning videos by Robin Thicke, DJ Snake, and Calvin Harris, who use female bodies as trophies hard won of their overpowering masculinity, will not deflect the male gaze. Calling out Miley Cyrus' career-advancing performance of racial drag, or Lily Allen's casual racism is important, but what we really need is a broader spectrum of depictions of female sexuality - especially when it comes to women of colour - in mainstream culture.

Yes, we have pop stars such as Rihanna, who in her video for Pour It Up bucks patriarchal privilege by sitting on a throne surrounded by strippers - and exactly zero men. Meanwhile, Minaj is literally butting into Sir Mix-A-Lot's ode to buttocks with Anaconda, turning the classic song into a conversation, and refusing to let the camera objectify her lap dance by keeping it zoomed out, at a distance.

We also have Lana Del Rey's manifestation of how tedious it is to be a constantly Instagrammable girlfriend, Grimes refusing to be infantilised despite her petite frame, and FKA Twigs showing how feminine vulnerability can be a source of strength. But we need more.

Because the real problem is not that women of colour are over-sexualised in music videos, but rather how absent they usually are in the dominant culture as well as in discussions of cultural issues. Music videos shouldn't be the only ways that mainstream society gets a glimpse of "otherness" but all too often, they are. A friend, a black female poet living in New York, recently commented: "Maybe if we were represented in other ways, we wouldn't care so much about this." She's right.
Follow Michelle Lhooq on Twitter at twitter.com.michelleLHOOQ Topics

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Shocked and outraged by Nicki Minaj's Anaconda video? Perhaps you should butt out

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In the summer when America's racial wounds are rupturing , and the anger of the disenfranchised boils over from a hashtag into a movement, the possibility of real change dances in front of us. But the pop music world only wants to talk about one thing: black women's butts.

# data[].attributes.body
This video is about a pill called White Feminism that is meant just for white women who care only about their problems with the patriarchy.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Are you a white woman and a feminist? Do you have trouble focusing on the issues that affect only heterosexual cisgender women? Then White Feminism™ is the brand of feminism for you! Starring: Allie Kokesh, Rebekah Bentley, Carly Ann Filbin and Anna Roisman Writer: Allie Kokesh Directors: Sam Kahrar and Kristopher Knight Editor: Cory Zapatka Producer: Nathan Cykiert Subscribe to our channel!

# data[].attributes.body
A study done on movie scripts found that if you removed the female characters from the script, the plot was barely changed.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
It's no shocker that Hollywood movies have serious diversity issues: Sexism, ageism, sizeism, and racism seem to run rampant in studios and in the films that make it to the big screens. Contrary to what we see in most films, the world isn't populated by thin white male twenty- to forty-somethings. Unfortunately, a new study reported on Friday by The New York Times has confirmed that that is the world that most movies still live in: White males are still doing the majority of the talking in films, and women's roles are rarely central-or even important-to the plot.

The study, from the University of Southern California's Viterbi School of Engineering, is, findings aside, pretty interesting: Researchers used artificial intelligence to "read" and analyze almost 1,000 film scripts. Some results aren't surprising-films aren't likely to contain as many women or minority characters as white males is old news-but the actual numbers were shocking. Of 7,000 characters studied, just over 2,000 were women. And women were involved in less than half as much dialogue as men, with only 15,000 major speaking roles compared with men's 37,000.

It gets worse! The study also found that, by and large, when you removed a female character from a film, "the plot was not significantly disrupted." Yes, you read that right. When you erase us from films, it's no big deal, and the show goes on. The only exception? Horror movies, because we're all damsels in distress that need saving. Is it really any surprise that of the films analyzed, there were seven times more male writers, 12 times more male directors, and three times more male producers? With women writers in the picture, female character count increased by 50 percent.

But it's not just how often women speak, but what they say in movies, that reinforces harmful gender stereotypes. The study found that when women speak in films, it's often to talk about emotions (yawn) and family values ( zzzz) and be generally positive (whyyyy?!). When dudes speak, it's about achievement. Stereotyping and scripted dialogue also converge when it comes to race and age: African American characters were more likely to swear, and Latinx characters more likely to use words related to sex. Older characters, meanwhile, got the heft of religion-focused dialogue.

When it comes to the intersection of race and gender, things are dismal for women of color: Another USC study released recently found that of last year's top 100 films, only 28 had Hispanic female characters, just 34 had Asian female characters, and a mere 53 had any black female characters.

Alone or put together, these studies show that cultural biases and stereotypes are glaringly present in movies, which-dangerously-we often watch and absorb passively. It also makes a strong argument for more gender, race, and age diversity in Hollywood's writing rooms, director's chairs, and production teams, and it's one that's getting harder and harder to refute.

Related Stories:
- Meghan Markle Reveals What It's Like to Be a Biracial Woman in Hollywood
- OITNB Star Just Went on a Justified Twitter Rant About Ageism in Hollywood
- Olivia Wilde Calls out Hollywood for Sexism

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
This New Study About Female Movie Characters Will Infuriate You

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
It's no shocker that Hollywood movies have serious diversity issues: Sexism, ageism, sizeism, and racism seem to run rampant in studios and in the films that make it to the big screens. Contrary to what we see in most films, the world isn't populated by thin white male twenty- to forty-somethings.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Back

transcript

Women's March 2.0: Scenes of a Protest

A year after millions of women protested President Trump, marchers gathered across the country and the world.

"It is our duty to fight for our freedom. It is our duty to win. We must love each other and support each other. We have nothing to lose but our chains." "Trump can't read. Trump can't read. All he does is watch TV." "Tell me what democracy looks like. This is what democracy looks like." "Show me what democracy looks like. This is what democracy looks like." "And together let's make sure all young girls everywhere know that they have a voice. They can use it. One woman's voice is powerful. But all of our voices are completely unstoppable." "Well I went down to the White House and I took back what he stole from me." "Women's rights are human rights!"

A year after millions of women protested President Trump, marchers gathered across the country and the world. Credit Credit... Andrea Bruce for The New York Times

A year after millions of people turned out for the Women's March and took to the streets en masse to protest President Trump's inauguration, demonstrators gathered on Saturday in cities across the United States, galvanized by their disdain for Mr. Trump and his administration's policies.

A deluge of revelations about powerful men abusing women, leading to the #MeToo moment, has pushed activists to demand deeper social and political change. Progressive women are eager to build on the movement and translate their enthusiasm into electoral victories in this year's midterm elections.
Here are some highlights:
* More than 200,000 protesters attended the march in New York on Saturday, according to Mayor Bill de Blasio. Mayor Eric Garcetti of Los Angeles said 600,000 attended the march there, while organizers of the Chicago march said 300,000 attended that event. Thousands also turned out in Washington, Philadelphia, Austin and hundreds of other cities and towns around the country and world.

* Several speakers urged women to channel their energy into helping Democrats win races in the upcoming midterm elections. A rally called "Power to the Polls," organized by the leaders of last year's Women's March in Washington, will be held on Sunday in Las Vegas.

* President Trump said in a tweet that it was a "perfect day for all Women to March," while touting "unprecedented economic success and wealth creation" under his watch.

* Read our analysis of how activists have tried to sustain the energy from last year's marches - and the challenges they face next.

That's what Vanessa Medina, a 32-year-old nurse, said prompted her to participate this year, even though she didn't march last January. Ms. Medina, of Clifton, N.J., cited the Time's Up campaign against sexual harassment and Republicans' attempts to defund Planned Parenthood as her reasons for protesting.

"I want equal pay," her 11-year-old daughter, Xenaya, chimed in. "And equal rights."

Image

Ann Dee Allen of Wauwatosa, Wis., stood by a vendor table on 60th Street and Broadway, holding a T-shirt and a handful of buttons she had just bought for the demonstration.

"I feel differently about it this year," said Ms. Allen, 61, who works in communications for a health care organization. "Last year, I just felt kind of angry and impassioned. This year, I feel like I'm in it for the long haul."

Women filled Central Park West from 61st Street north as far as the eye could see. A D.J. spun songs. The wind kicked up.

Desiree Joy Frias, 24, of the Bronx, and her grandmother, Daisy Vanderhorst, wore red capes and curved white hoods - the telltale outfits of the enslaved child-bearers of "The Handmaid's Tale," which was recently adapted for television from Margaret Atwood's dystopian science fiction novel.

"We both watch the show," said Ms. Frias, a law school graduate who said she belongs to an activist group called the "Handmaid Coalition." "We're a group of men and women that believe fiction should not become reality."

In the middle of a park surrounded by gleaming downtown skyscrapers, hundreds of thousands of people assembled. Some hugged strangers. Others were still coloring in their signs.

"I'm done with men feeling like they have some sort of power over women, and I'm definitely done with having a president who believes that he has the power to take things from them, to take things that are provided - like Planned Parenthood - from women, when they deserve the same sort of health care as anybody else," said Amanda Kowalski, 28, who works in financial services.

Claudia Grubbs, a 42-year-old high school teacher, returned after marching last year, which she said spurred her into donating to organizations that support women in politics.

"Over the last year, every day when I read the news or watch the news, I'm horrified at the things that Trump and his administration are doing, and I feel like going to the march will help re-center me, refocus me and not make me feel like I don't know what is happening to our country," she said. "I feel like it'll help me gain a sense of balance and a sense of purpose, and help me pursue things that I want to pursue."

Ashley Bennett, a Democrat from Egg Harbor Township, N.J., unseated a longtime local Republican politician in her first campaign for office last November. She ran for Atlantic County freeholder against John L. Carman after he posted a meme on Facebook during last year's march asking, "Will the women's protest be over in time for them to cook dinner?"

Ms. Bennett told the crowd at Saturday's march in New York that she was scared to run at first, and that she asked herself, "Am I the right person? Can I really do this? But then I realized that if you wait until you feel ready, you may never take action."

In Washington, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California, took the stage with other legislators who arrived from the Capitol. She praised the women who have already launched campaigns, many for the first time.

"They marched, and now they have run for office, and some of them have already won their office," she said. "We want women to know their power in so many respects - by showing up not only on the day of the march, but in airports, in town halls."

"It's women who are holding our democracy together in these dangerous times," added Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Democrat of New York. "To change the system, we need to change the players and have women at the table."

On Twitter Saturday afternoon, the president seemed to celebrate the women's demonstrations, even though the protests across the country had a distinct anti-Trump message.

According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data, the unemployment rate for women aged 20 and older has been falling steadily since 2012, years before Mr. Trump took office.

On Friday, Mr. Trump addressed the thousands of anti-abortion protesters gathered in Washington for the March for Life.

"We are with you all the way," he said in remarks broadcast to the National Mall. The president, who once described himself as "very pro-choice," has used his executive powers to curtail abortion rights.

The federal government shutdown that took effect early Saturday did not dissuade marchers from taking to the streets.

One of the sticking points that led to the shutdown - disagreement over extending legal status to immigrants brought into the country illegally as children - has become a rallying cry for organizers.

On the Metro headed to the Smithsonian, participants on their way to the Lincoln Memorial wore the symbolic pink hats that became popular during last year's march.

Michelle Bloom, 52, a Washington teacher, held a sign as her daughter, Jenna, 14, repaired hers with duct tape. She had made it in her mother's classroom Friday, tracing the handprints of her classmates who couldn't make it to the march.

"It's inspiring to see young and old coming together like this," Michelle Bloom said. But, she added, "I thought there would be more."

Women lined the frozen reflecting pool and slowly filled the grassy areas, but there was still space for kickball games around the Washington Monument. And people jogged and biked around the Mall, which would have been impossible a year ago, when the crowd of marchers was bigger.

The organizers of last year's march in Washington focused their energy this year on putting together an event Sunday in Las Vegas. The event, Power to the Polls, will serve as an opening rally for a national voter registration campaign.

While the crowds in Washington were not quite as large as they were in 2017, the Mall was still teeming with people.

Garrett Regunberg, 32, pointed to the rallies against President Trump's travel ban as an example of ongoing activism that has made a difference.

"There was a lot done in the first year to limit the damage that could have been done," he said. "The resistance is alive."

Marchers packed into downtown Chicago to listen to speakers like billionaire Democratic donor Tom Steyer, who has urged Democrats to make the ouster of Mr. Trump a central campaign issue this year.

With midterm elections approaching, Mr. Steyer said, "We are going to have to be organized, we are going to have to be engaged and we are going to have to go to the polls and flip those seats."

Marchers shouted anti-Trump chants and carried signs saying, "Vote" and "Immigrants Make America Great."

"I'm an activist and an artist and I'm here to fight for women's equality and equality for all minorities," said Michelle Hartney, 39, of Chicago, who said she attended the Women's March in Washington last year.

Some women avoided the marches on Saturday because they felt they were too focused on electing Democrats, at the expense of other issues. They wanted the movement to be more inclusive of people of color and other marginalized groups.

Nadya Agrawal, 26, joined the big rally in Washington last year. "But it just wasn't what I thought it would be," she said. "It felt more like a commiseration rather than the start of a lot of work."

Gatherings like these, she added, were no substitute for more focused activism. "I hope that the women who are at this rally are also going to the next Black Lives Matter protest, or marching on behalf of DACA," she said.

Other gatherings across the country faced similar criticism on social media and in public statements. In Cincinnati, Black Lives Matter activists said on their website, the march was not welcoming to minorities and was "a poorly veiled campaign to elect more Democrats to 'resist Trump.'" In Philadelphia, activists criticized the rally in an open letter after they learned that the police would be on patrol. (Organizers said the security was normal for a large event and marginalized groups were well represented.)

Deandra Jefferson, 24, who helped write the letter, said in a phone interview on Saturday that the march "caters mostly toward middle class, straight white women," and was not an effective way to dismantle oppression.

"They should stop organizing these marches until they decide what they're going to do the other 364 days of the year," she added.

The shutdown kept the president from traveling as planned to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida this weekend.

Despite his absence, several hundred protesters gathered north of the mansion, on the beach in front of Worth Avenue. Many people waved "Impeach Trump" signs.

Organizers of the second Women's March in Ottawa shifted the focus to issues directly affecting Canadian women. Many marchers wore red scarves as a gesture of support for the large number of indigenous women whose murders or disappearances have received relatively little attention from the police.

The march, which began at the Parliament buildings, was one of about three dozen across Canada.

Among those who addressed the crowd in Ottawa was Catherine McKenna, the environment minister, who has been one of the leading international voices against President Trump's climate policies.

Late last year, Ms. McKenna confronted a reporter from a right-wing Canadian news outlet, Rebel Media, over its repeated references to her as Climate Barbie. Earlier, a Conservative member of Parliament apologized for describing her that way on Twitter.

"I realized that when I spoke out in my small case of being called Climate Barbie - when I did it I felt better, but I also saw that so many other people stood up for me and they also felt empowered," Ms. McKenna said in an interview outside of a concert venue at the end of the march.

Although Ms. McKenna credited Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who regularly describes himself as a feminist, for encouraging women to enter politics, she said their numbers still must increase, and not just in Canada.

"I really believe that we wouldn't have had an ambitious Paris climate agreement if we didn't have strong women negotiators," she said. "That's one of the untold stories."

The actress and director Asia Argento, one of the first women to publicly accuse Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault, has been mostly vilified by Italian commentators. But the several hundred women who congregated in a downtown Rome piazza on Saturday morning gave her a rousing welcome.

"I'd like to see how many of you today acknowledge that you have put up with abuse, by raising your hands. And not just sexual. Abuse of power. Because we are women, because we don't have power," said Ms. Argento, as numerous hands timidly rose from the crowd.

The women chanted slogans in Italian and English in solidarity with a global sisterhood whose vision "is in sharp contrast with the Donalds of the world and other self-proclaimed geniuses," said one of the keynote speakers, Loretta Bondi, of Rome's Casa Internazionale delle Donne, or International Women's Center.

Women also gathered in other corners of the world, including Frankfurt, Germany; Kampala, Uganda; and Osaka, Japan, where a small group chanted "Time's up!" in English and Japanese.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Women's March 2018: Protesters Take to the Streets for the Second Straight Year (Published 2018)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A year after millions of people turned out for the Women's March and took to the streets en masse to protest President Trump's inauguration, demonstrators gathered on Saturday in cities across the United States, galvanized by their disdain for Mr. Trump and his administration's policies.

# data[].attributes.body
A TED Talk about FGM

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Khadija Gbla: My mother's strange definition of empowerment

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Khadija Gbla grew up caught between two definitions of what it means to be an "empowered woman." While her Sierra Leonean mother thought that circumsizing her - and thus stifling her sexual urges - was the ultimate form of empowerment, her culture as a teenager in Australia told her that she deserved pleasure and that what happened to her was called "female genital mutilation."