BY VALERIE SCHLOREDT “Protect and Survive,” an information campaign published by the British government in 1980, informed the public of how “to make your home and your family as safe as possible under nuclear attack.” Part of the plan advised civilians to prop suitcases against the walls, stuffed with clothes and books “to absorb the radiation.” In the event of incoming nuclear missiles, the government would … Continue reading Women Against the Bomb: Mothers of the Revolution

Rosalind Gill, City, University of London and Shani Orgad, London School of Economics and Political Science With Valentine’s Day around the corner, advice about confidence is proliferating. British Vogue enjoins women to boost their sexual confidence with slogans like “feel good in your body” and say goodbye to negative talk. Meanwhile Selfridges promises shoppers a sex and relationship “MOT”, in which “confidence coaching” for women … Continue reading Confidence culture tells women to be more self-assured – but ignores the real problems

BY LEILA HAWKINS Selma James, author of “Our Time Is Now: Sex, Race, Class, and Caring for People and Planet”PHOTO COURTESY OF CROSSROADS AV COLLECTIVE When I arrive at Crossroads Women’s Centre in North London to interview Selma James, she is in a meeting for Support Not Separation, a campaign to end the unfair separation of children from their birth mothers by British courts. It is one … Continue reading 60 Years of Intersectional Feminism: An Interview with Selma James

Kimberley Brownlee, University of British Columbia https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/u-s–abortion-bans-compel-women-to-be-not-just-good-samaritans–but–splendid–ones If a music lovers’ society kidnaps you and attaches you at the kidneys to a famous violinist with a fatal disease, are you required to stay and keep him alive for nine months until he recovers? This is the well-known thought experiment posed by the late American philosopher Judith Jarvis Thomson in “A Defense of Abortion.” The essay … Continue reading U.S. abortion bans compel women to be not just Good Samaritans, but ‘splendid’ ones