A Feminist Outlook on Global Politics. Tech & Apple Fan.
Recent years terrorist attacks has led to a political ‘fight against terrorism’, which is fuelling a European populist and nationalist image of a secular and progressive western culture that is being threatened by Islam and migration. LGBT-people and women are being used as part of neoliberal rhetoric to argue that these groups have to be defended by modern nationalism, writes Sörberg.
Why should you care about the Muslim head scarf ban? One could argue that I shouldn’t bother as at it does not concern me. Some would say Muslims would not agree with my Jewish background, sexual orientation, or my lack of religious faith. I care because when we speak up against discrimination and exclusion of others, we speak up for ourselves too.
War cannot be fought and peace cannot be built without women. Women have demonstrated the advantage of their gender; by accessing unique intelligence from half the population, and providing for women and children’s security. Gayle Tzemach Lemmon interesting biography ‘Ashley’s War’ tell the story of first Lieutenant Ashley White who was among the trailblazers deployed to an American military special operations.
Whether you are into tech or not, Tarah Wheeler Van Vlack provides the most honest and straightforward career advices, useful for many – not only for ‘Women in Tech’. I am sharing some of her tips I found most valuable when reading her book.
Recently I met an old friend back in Sweden, Claes Schmidt/Sara Lund. Yes, he has a male name and a female name because he is a transvestite. Why? Because from time to time he wants to ‘get out of a man’s gender role’ or put differently, stretch the gender role of a man, which he considers too narrow.
Today I went to see the Broadway play ’Eclipsed’, a remarkable piece about women and war, by an entirely black female cast and creative team. If you have a chance to be in New York before mid-June I recommend you to go and see it. All performances are dedicated to the abducted schoolgirls in northern Nigeria.
My mother taught me her prejudice as well as her pride. I am a feminist, because in theory she wasn’t and in practice she was. In my childhood worldview, she was invincible and unbeatable, and I was taught to believe I could dream anything and achieve everything. As a grew up did I understand she was just protecting me from reality.
My friend said: Imagine that you are running a race against olympic medal winning athletes. You would like to win, although against your competitors you know you won’t have a chance. Yet, people around are cheering you on, saying ‘you can win, just run faster and you’ll make it’. This is the reality of many people experience discrimination.
How wide is the world web? We rarely read more than 140 characters, and rather watch videos or photos. We use apps, with algorithms and advertisement that present us with tailored and biased feed. At the same time, we can connect and reconnect with people we otherwise would have left behind, or never interacted with in the first place.
I just read a fascinating book, telling the story of parents in Afghanistan raising their daughters up until puberty disguised as boys, in a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ manner. At first glance this is about how families with only daughters can gain the societal status and pride that comes with having sons. A closer look it is more to it.
