The Week in Patriarchy is a weekly roundup of what’s happening in the world of feminism and sexism. If you’re not already receiving it by email, make sure to subscribe.
The divide on abortion in this country may not be quite so evenly split in coming years. A new survey from the Public Religion Research Institute shows that younger people have markedly more pro-choice views than their older counterparts. Only 44% of younger Americans report that abortion is against their personal beliefs (as opposed to 60% of those over 65 years old), and two-thirds of young people believe that abortion should be legal in most or all cases.
It’s good, but not surprising, news for the pro-choice movement – as with other social issues, the dinosaurs are dying out and progress is winning. Or, it will.
In the meantime, women are still being punished and their rights restricted – so it’s hard to get too optimistic. But during a time when it feels like we have few wins, I’m going to take my good news where I can.
Glass half full
The kids, still marching, are alright.
What I’m RTing
Trip down memory lane: When number of women in Congress rose above 10% in 92, one of the old men there told Pat Schroeder “I really hope you're happy. This is beginning to look like a shopping mall.” https://t.co/MoHaM7eNVB
— Rebecca Traister (@rtraister) April 19, 2018
Wow! This Man Who Thinks Women Matter Doesn’t Even Have Daughters: https://t.co/kzBaaZ8LWp pic.twitter.com/UqROvrIZwk
— Reductress (@Reductress) April 18, 2018
As recently as 2009, female senators couldn’t use the pool in the congressional gym because some of their male colleagues liked to swim naked. https://t.co/Jx1kYNQ3XJ pic.twitter.com/YzThnkSKrW
— Lauren Kelley (@lauren_kelley) April 16, 2018
This is how #prolife politics work around the world: Wealthy and well-connected men treat abortion restrictions as political leverage because it's not their lives, and they know they can always rely on the procedure for women in their lives who need it. https://t.co/V2ZUZjlhHq
— Jill Filipovic (@JillFilipovic) April 13, 2018
Who I’m reading
Jenna Wortham on Janelle Monáe; Jamil Smith asking “Where Can We Be Black?”; and this conversation on being black in public with Tressie McMillan Cottom, Aisha Harris, Gene Demby and Jamelle Bouie.
What I’m watching
Student and activist David Hogg explains how he beats the right-wing smear machine that’s been after him since he survived the Parkland school shooting.
How outraged I am
The Trump administration is taking their abstinence-only hypocrisy international, pushing the idea that all women in other countries need to learn to avoid unwanted pregnancies and STIs is “sexual refusal skills”. On a scale of one to 10, I’m at a full nine.
How I’m making it through this week
Four words: Hamster in a hoodie.
