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.
This week was International Women’s Day (IWD), and while the holiday usually calls for celebrating, this year I’m just ... tired. Exhausted, really. This is probably the most active IWD we’ve had in recent history – we’re talking, writing and taking action on feminism more than ever. Which would be great if not for the reason that we have to. Things are just that bad.
The Trump administration has made everything feel more urgent, to the point where we don’t even have a minute to breathe. And while holidays like this one are meant to celebrate women and their accomplishments, the truth is that I’d rather just have a day off from thinking about it all.
Glass half full
This video of Kelda Roys, candidate for Wisconsin governor, breastfeeding her baby while talking about her political platform, made the world a little brighter this week.
What I’m RTing
Yesterday I stopped to pet a dog, and as the owner walked away I heard him say to her, "You see? Everybody loves you! And you don't even love yourself!!!" and I'm going to be thinking about it for the next five years
— Liz Watson (@watsontots) March 5, 2018
YES @michaelb4jordan . This is how change happens. When we commit to making it. #InclusionRider https://t.co/kBiRVFWcem
— Tessa Thompson (@TessaThompson_x) March 7, 2018
Father of Parkland victim slams NRA videos:
— ABC News (@ABC) March 7, 2018
"If this was put out by a terrorist organization, we would be raising the terror threat level in this country. Why are we letting this lobby have anything to do with DC? I don't understand it!" https://t.co/9eh7udBMsx pic.twitter.com/FZeTqvTRmK
A lot of children depend on free school lunches, so the West Virginia teachers made food packages for them before going on strike and have continued to try to feed them. This is our dystopian welfare state: severely underpaid teachers trying to keep poverty-stricken kids alive.
— Barbara Ehrenreich (@B_Ehrenreich) March 4, 2018
Who I’m reading
The New York Times’ new project, Overlooked, where the paper finally writes the obituaries of notable women that it long ignored, an anonymous account from a woman pleading with the #MeToo movement to recognize sexual assault within marriages, and Tressie McMillan Cottom on how the real threat to campuses isn’t “PC culture” (as some opinion writers would have us believe), but racism.
What I’m writing
So much feminist focus - understandably - has been on #MeToo. But we can’t ignore how the Trump administration is trying to bring back abstinence only education right under our noses.
How outraged I am
The Women’s Media Center released a report looking at the status of women of color in the media and the results are just about as bad as you might expect. These are the sorts of stats that should horrify and embarrass industry leaders – so I’m about a nine out of 10.
How I’m making it through this week
Watching this bunny try to jump into the bath with his human is pretty much the best thing I’ve seen all month.
