The recent U.S.

presidential election elucidated the massive amount of social,

political, economic and environmental work that remains to be done in the world.
For me, the issue that hits closest to home is gender inequality, also known as
women’s rights, or feminism.

Women’s Rights Aren’t Just About Women

Not only do women’s rights affect the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual
health of women–an aspect of feminism that interests me greatly as a women’s
health practitioner–women’s rights also affect men and children.
In fact, women’s rights affect the entire world. After all, women make up half the
population on the planet.
Anyone who has ever felt marginalized sees the world through that oppressed
lens.
They possess a hypersensitivity that those who have not felt marginalized do not
possess–whether due to the color of their skin, sexuality, gender, physical
capability, country of origin or any other state of being.

Men And Women Need To Communicate About

Feminism
I am struck by the inherent ways that my husband and I view and process the
world around us.
I am consistently pointing out ways in which the media belittles, shames, or
simply ignores women and girls, and I am acutely aware of the messages we are
sending our young daughters in the words we speak and don’t speak.
Gender inequality is the lens through which I view the world and always have.
If men don’t become aware of this lens, we will never experience gender
equality.
Unless you are from one of the six matriarchal or matrilineal modern societies
that exist in rural parts of the world today (see list below), then you live in a
male-dominated world, aka the patriarchy.
This means that women aren’t valued equally to men, the results of which
permeate every aspect of our society.
Women’s stories, voices, work, opinions, contributions, efforts, bodies, and more
are not valued or respected equally to men’s in our culture.

If Not Now, When?

Feminist activism is just as imperative and relevant as it’s ever been, but this U.S.
presidential election was a wake up call for many people around the world.
I am more motivated and committed than I’ve ever been of using my voice and
my talents to lift women up and to spread awareness of the importance not only
of women’s rights, but of women’s equality and inherent value.
This post is my attempt to give you a variety of tools to start the conversation in
your circles of influence about feminism–what it is, why it’s important, and what
you can do to help advance the feminist movement and gender equality.
I am awake, I will stay vigilant. I hope you will, too.
Without further ado, drawing upon my Women’s Studies background and lifelong
passion for women’s equality…

What Is A Feminist?
A feminist is anyone who believes in and supports equal rights for
women and men socially, politically, and economically.
Men can be feminists, too. In fact, if we’re every going to experience gender
equality, men need to become feminists.
If you click on nothing else in this list, watch Emma Watson’s moving UN speech
where extends a formal invitation to men to join the feminist movement.
Here’s a link to the HeForShe campaign that Emma talks about in her speech.

The Male Gaze

A crucial concept for men to begin to understand how women experience the
world is the “male gaze,” a term coined in 1975 by feminist film critic Laura
Mulvey.
The Wikipedia definition of the male gaze is “the way in which the visual arts and
literature depict the world and women from a masculine point of view, presenting
women as objects of male pleasure.”
I believe the male gaze is important for men and women to be aware of because
the media strongly influences the way we view the world.
In other words, the media’s portrayal of women shapes the way women and men
view women.
When you know this, you can question it and look for more diverse viewpoints.
What is the “male gaze”?
What does the male gaze mean and what about the female gaze?
The female gaze (podcast)
What would advertising look like without objectification?
Matriarchal and Matrilineal Modern
Societies
If we’re living in a patriarchy, what does living in a matriarchy look like?
The differences are fascinating to me and worth thinking and talking about. Tons
of conversational material here!
Modern societies where women literally rule
Five things we know about societies run by women

Poignant Podcast Episodes

One of my all-time favorite podcasts is Dear Sugar, based on the advice
column by the same name, and hosted by Cheryl Strayed and Steve Almond.
In the first episode listed below, Cheryl and Steve discuss the issues that arose in
Cheryl’s marriage following the wildly successful (pun intended) publication of
her book, Wild.
Cheryl’s husband calls in to give his point of view.
In the second episode below, pay special attention to the second letter writer’s
conundrum who is a “bi-sexual, colored, immigrant woman living in the U.S. who
has recently gotten into a relationship with a heterosexual, white man.”
She asks the Sugars how she can help him understand what he’ll never
experience.
Powerful women and the men who love them
When your loved ones just don’t ‘get it’

Feminist Clothing For Him And Her

Need something to wear to the Women’s March on January 21st? Or any time for
that matter.
You’ll see my favorite pair of underwear, gifted to me by my best friend. Sooooo
comfortable. Gentlemen, great gift idea.
And what better way to show your support than sporting a feminist t-shirt
yourself?
Feminist underwear
Feminist t-shirts
Unisex feminist t-shirts
Feminist Reading List (Books
+ Articles)
10 years of Feminism Is For Everybody
Feminism Is For Everybody: Passionate Politics by Bell Hooks
Men can be feminists too
Why men need feminism

Feminist TED Talks

I recently attended the TEDx MileHi Women event in Denver, Colorado, where I
listened to a full day of TEDx talks centered on women and women’s issues.
My only regret was not bringing my husband and other men in my life.
Two talks stood out to me as being particularly relevant to include in the ongoing
feminist dialogue between women and men.
One was an eye-opening and controversial talk by gender equalist Betsy Cairo, a
reproductive biologist and professor at University of Northern Colorado, who
posed the idea that we need a different word for feminism, which seems to elicit
anger and increase the gender divide.
That word is equalism.
The other talk was given by birthing rights activist, writer, and doula Miriam
Zoila Perez (which was live-streamed from the TED Women conference in San
Francisco) about the success of a new medical model that eliminates the stress of
racial, economic, and gender prejudiced treatment of pregnant patients, and how
it positively affected their babies’ birth weights.
I loved Perez’s talk because it gave concrete, tangible evidence of how women–
specifically, women of color and women who are economically disadvantaged–
experience oppression in their bodies, which is something I would love for men to
understand.
Unfortunately, Perez’s talk is not yet released on video, but keep checking back to
her website (listed below) to watch it when it becomes available.
Miriam Z Perez’s website
Why I’m not a feminist with Dr. Betsy Cairo
Water is a woman’s issue, here’s why
Feminist TED talks
5 talks for Women’s Equality Day
Violence against women, it’s a men’s issue

Feminist Films
Next time you watch a movie, ask yourself these three questions:
1) Does this movie have more than one female character in it (who also have
names)?
2) Do the female characters talk to each other?
3) Do they talk to each other about something other than a man?
You will be AMAZED by how many films do not meet these extremely
low requirements, also known as the Bechdel test.
Bechdel test for women in the movies
What really makes a film feminist?
Bechdel test needs an update
The 15 best feminist films of 2015
23 movies every feminist should see at least once

Feminist Magazines
Selfish magazine
Ms. magazine
Feminist magazines
Feminist zines
15 women’s magazines that don’t suck

Gender Balanced Search Engine

Plugin
The fact that this exists should be a wake-up call in and of itself.
Re-search

This list is by no means exhaustive, I would love for you to add any links or
resources in the comments below.
Please share with the women and men in your life and let’s keep the conversation
going.