Feminism

Why Does it matter?

Gender equality, equity, and protection of the rights of women are the central focus of feminist campaigns. Since its inception in the 18th century, different waves of feminism have emerged, but the aim remains speaking for the rights of women. Feminist demonstrations happen in multiple ways, and these have helped put national, transnational and global pressure on governments to create policies that protect the rights of women. Several feminist organizations have led feminist campaigns in the past years, some of the campaigns are the #MeToo, #YesAllWomen, #HeForShe, #NiUnaMenos, #SayHerName, among others. According to UN Women, "one in three women worldwide experience physical or sexual violence, mostly by an intimate partner. Violence against women and girls is a human rights violation, and the immediate and long-term physical, sexual, and mental consequences for women and girls can be devastating, including death. Violence negatively affects women’s general well-being and prevents women from fully participating in society. It impacts their families, their community, and the country at large. It has tremendous costs, from greater strains on health care to legal expenses and losses in productivity."

Feminist Campaigns

In 2017, the #metoo hashtag went viral and woke up the world to the magnitude of the problem of sexual violence.

HeForShe is UN Women’s solidarity movement for gender equality. HeForShe is changing the traditional gender equality narrative to be more inclusive, recognizing that gender equality is a benefit to all.

NiUnaMenos (Not one less) campaign is a movement against the murdering of women for the fact of being women or dissident bodies and points out forms of violence against women.

The #SayHerName campaign brings awareness to the often invisible names and stories of Black women and girls who have been victimized by racist police violence, and provides support to their families.

#YesAllWomen is a hashtag that was first used in online conversations about misogyny in May 2014. The hashtag was created in response to the Twitter hashtag #NotAllMen and the shooting spree by Elliot Rodger on Isla Vista, California. Within four days of its first use, the hashtag had been tweeted 1.2 million times.

Stories & Narratives

Stories of women killed by the police in the presence of their children.

Sexual Violence: Emily shares her story.

The Feminist Activists

We should all be feminists | Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie | TEDxEuston

Publications and Journals on Feminism

Peitho is the peer-reviewed journal of the Coalition of Feminist Scholars in the History of Rhetoric and Composition.

Published quarterly, Peitho seeks to encourage, advance, and publish original research in the history of rhetoric and composition. They invite article-length submissions on a wide range of topics related to feminist theories and gendered practices.

Feminist Review’s purpose is to hold space for conversations that rethink and reimagine feminist scholarship and praxis: the modes and contexts in which it operates, the questions it takes up, and with whom feminisms are in conversation.