Periodical

one new subscriber wins a free pair of Thinx every day! see rules

one new subscriber wins a free pair of Thinx every day! see rules

TWIF: Vol. 29

thinx archive

·

5 min read

TWIF: Vol. 29 Photo

by Team Thinx | 02/10/2016

via GIPHY

Spicy like that hot sauce in your bag.

1. People Flipped Over the Super Bowl Beyoncé Blackout.

Nothing makes for a bigger or better middle finger to the white supremacist patriarchy than an expertly choreographed Beyoncé video upholding the power of black women. Except maybe an expertly choreographed (and costumed) Beyoncé Super Bowl halftime show upholding the power of black women. Lucky for us, this precious gift of a week gave us not one, but both of these glorious things, and full disclosure: we’re still a little loopy with Bey-drenaline. However, as with most middle fingers to the white supremacist patriarchy, there was sparked an outrage from white viewers--halftime show spectators were offended by Yoncé and company dressed as modern-day Black Panthers in celebration of the party’s 50th anniversary--who claimed our queen hath disrespected the police force. Twirling all her haters, Beyoncé announced that proceeds from her freshly-dropped Formation Tour will benefit victims of the Flint water crisis. Black history month done right. Slay.

(Also worth noting: our latest campaign is actually the Formation video. We're so proud of ourselves for being on the same wavelength on Bey, and we're not afraid to say it. See the crazy similarities here.)

2. UN Champions Repro Justice As Zika Invades Latin America.

A mosquito-borne illness linked to microcephaly (a condition that severely hinders brain development in fetuses and causes children to be born with abnormally small brains) called the Zika virus has invaded several Latin American countries and posed a massive health risk to people in surrounding areas--particularly pregnant women. Considering how Latin America is one of the most Catholic regions of the world, and thus one of the least friendly to reproductive justice and contraception, many outside observers are concerned. After various countries in the region asked women to simply practice abstinence for two years as a line of defense against the virus, the UN has asked affected countries to repeal anti-choice laws that would keep women from preventing and terminating pregnancies. Not only is it entirely unrealistic to expect entire nations of women to stop having sex on command (we aren’t programmed dolls, you know) (also, ever heard of sexual violence? Sometimes women don’t have a say about when they “sex”), but to put the entire burden on women is truly criminal. Many feminist activists within these nations have criticized their governments for solely addressing women, and have highlighted how just the idea of asking men for two years of abstinence is laughable, whereas its demanded of women, without any safety nets.

Image by Ms. Foundation for Women via Wikimedia Commons

3. Icons of Women's Lib Seem to Present a Twisted Message.

While this entire race to the nomination has felt for Hillary supporters like rafting through whitewater--cold, unpredictable, terrifying, but ultimately exhilarating--this past week has been akin to a trip through the rapids after the raft has capsized, and the only thing we could find to hold onto was a frisbee that was inside the boat--colder, less predictable, more terrifying, and equally as painful as it is exhilarating. And very wet. Yup, it’s been a rough week. It feels that one after the other (Gloria, Madeleine, and Bill), older Hillary advocates are coming out of the woodwork to express their frustrations toward Bernie supporters for complicating things for Hillary, and being less than respectful about their opposition to the former Secretary of State. Many young Sanders fans have taken special offense to the recent comments, highlighting how these three advocates seem to be out of touch with the youth vote. Check out more of my feelings about this here. And also, read this.

4. Megyn Kelly Trashes Feminism.

Our shared disapproval (understatement) of Donald Trump has uncovered a soft spot that we didn’t know we had for FOX News’s Megyn Kelly; but this week we were reminded of why we never really got along with Megyn before Trump came around. In an interview with Stephen Colbert about her rise to feminist sympathy, she came out and distanced herself from feminism, lambasting it as a movement for “shrill,” “harsh” women who are trying to empower themselves at the expense of men. Oy. Welcome to Facepalm Springs, population us. Now look, we fully adhere to the idea that every woman should be free to identify or not identify with feminism as she sees fit, but the one thing we ain’t OK with is when public figures use their publicity to fuel outdated, inaccurate, and offensive ideas about what feminism actually means. We hope Colbert took her backstage for a “This Is What a Feminist Looks Like” t-shirt photo-op after this trainwreck of a conversation.

5. Samantha Bee Goes Full Frontal.

For anyone else still mourning the loss of Samantha Bee from The Daily Show, the time has finally come for us to celebrate her new spot on late-night TV, with the release of her show Full Frontal with Samantha Bee! Not only is this a chance to watch a woman absolutely own the late-night scene, but it’s also a chance to appreciate cultural influencers like Samantha who hire a diverse staff. Not surprisingly, her writers’ room is made up of a group that is 50% female and 30% nonwhite--which is, like, 99% better than most other shows on TV. Icing on the cake? When she was asked how she could have possibly hired such a representative staff, she responded basically with a “you just f*cking hire them.” Equality is not that complicated, people. Classic Sam.

Bonus: A Love Letter to Feminist Kim Kardashian

by Team Thinx

discover more topics

more from thinx archive

Our Feminist Fall Reading List Photo

Our Feminist Fall Reading List

by Toni Brannagan

09/12/2019