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Confessionals | Media and Pop Culture | Cultural Issues | Politics and Laws | Religion | History
Confessionals
| Claimaint(s) | ||
| Mothers and Fathers | What’s your relationship with yours? | |
| Assumptions people make about me/I make about them |
A first impression, a battle hard fought… | |
| Friendships, Sisters | The good ones, the bad ones, the ones you wish you’d handled differently | |
| My Body | Our bodies are constantly being scrutinized—by us. | |
| I knew I was a feminist when… |
Did something spark a change? Was it gradual? Did you always know, or is this brand new? |
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| Why I won’t call myself a feminist |
The F word carries a lot of baggage. Need a hand? | |
| Young and starting out |
Feel like you’re still finding your feet? | |
| I’m a grown up now, right? |
Crap, now we have to boring adults with mortgages an’ crap. |
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| I spent so much time on… |
What was I thinking? | |
| No babies, please! | Whether you have no interest at all or would rather adopt, saying you don’t want to give birth can make you a pariah! |
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| The What-If Game | Would you stop your period if you could? What if men menstruated? What if women ruled the world? |
Media and Pop Culture
| Claimant(s) | ||
| Eat Pray Love Movie | What makes women love the book? How does the film compare? | |
| The Handmaid’s Tale | Both a book and a movie, this story from Margaret Atwood speaks volumes about the treatment of women. |
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| Bridget Jones’ Diary |
The book that set off the Chick Lit genre. (Also, what about Renee Zellweiger gaining weight to play the role?) |
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| Disney Fairy Tales | We grew up with them, but did you like them? How did they impact you? Are the new films an improvement? And does Pixar really have a girl problem? |
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| TV Reviews | Is there a series you watch regularly, that you feel has a message about women? Be a regular, and analyze each episode for us. |
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| Comics | Usually considered a medium by guys, for guys, women have and are contributing! |
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| Comedy | Are female comedians underrepresented? Can you be pretty and funny? Is it still funny when they make fun of women? |
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| Guilty Pleasures | What do you love that you feel you probably shouldn’t? | |
| Profile someone awesome! |
Musicians, artists, writers, actors, athletes, scientists, activists, etc. |
Cultural Issues
| Claimant(s) | ||
| Science, Technology and Math |
Do you work in a traditionally male field? | |
| Male Contraception | How would it change the dynamics of sex and contraception? | |
| Rape-Ex Condom | This condom has spikes on the inside which embed themselves in the penis of rapists. http://www.antirape.co.za |
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| The Burqua & Head Scarves |
France has banned them and other countries are considering doing so as well. The women who wear them have argued that they feel safer wearing them. |
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| They call us “girls” |
There in some industries where the women are always called girls—modeling, the sex trade, etc. Why? |
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| Womens’ Rights Advancing Across the Globe |
As women assert their rights, they are changing their native cultures. See India, China, Japan, Africa, the Muslim world, etc. |
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| Surgically Restored Virginity |
Yep, you can have a hymen constructed by a doctor—usually so a bride will bleed on her wedding night. |
Politics and Laws
| Claimant(s) | ||
| Politicians | Profile a woman who holds or is running for office (any country). Or, someone who works actively for or against womens rights. |
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| Immigration Reform | How do US immigration reforms impact women and mothers? | |
| Pro-Women Activists and Organizations |
Sometimes it’s ridiculously low, sometimes it’s different for boys than for girls. http://www.ageofconsent.com/ageofconsent.htm |
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| Bans on sex toys and sex acts |
In Texas a vibrator is strictly for educational purposes. |
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| Same-Sex Marriage | For or against? What impact does it have on heterosexual marriage? | |
| (Female) Genital Mutilation |
Predominant in African and Muslim regions. | |
| US Health Reform | How do the new laws impact women? | |
| HPV Vaccine | Should it be mandatory? Can we call it safe yet? Who should get it? Does it make sex seem safer? |
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| Sex Education | Does abstinence-only work? What did you learn and how? | |
| Transgender Recognition | At what point should the law recognize that gender has been changed? | |
| Japanese Royal Family |
Rules of succession say only a male can take the throne, but Princess Aiko is the eldest child of the prince apparent. |
Religion
| Claimants | ||
| Women Priests | Which religions allow them, and which don’t? Why? | |
| Nuns | And not just the Catholic ones. | |
| Catholic Saints | An awful lot of virgins in there… | |
| Born-again Virgins | ||
| Abstinence Pledges | At least one puts your virginity in your father’s care… | |
| Giving the Bride Away |
What’s the symbolism here, and is it still relevant? | |
| Asexuals | Some people genuinely aren’t interested in sex. | |
| The Mikveh | And other menstruation-related customs. |
History
| Claimant(s) | ||
| Women’s Suffrage | Investigate the history of the movement—it goes back further than you might think! |
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| Foot-Binding | Why did mothers perpetuate the painful custom with their daughters? |
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| Geisha | Gracious entertainers or glorified whores? Independent women, or trapped in golden cages? |
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| Vestal Virgins | Priestesses of the Roman goddess Vesta http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vestal_Virgin | |
| Witch Accusations and Persecutions |
Not just for Salem! Still found in Africa. |
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| The Women’s Movement of the 1970s |
It wasn’t that long ago, actually! | |
| Profile someone amazing… or crazy |
Politicians, leaders, warriors, scientists, saints, artists… Some names to start you off! Queen Elizabeth I, Eleanor Roosevelt, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Marie Curie, Abigail Adams, Catherine the Great, Marylin Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, Katherine Hepburn, Rosa Parks, Rokeya Hussein, Queen Victoria, Jane Austen, the Bronte Sisters, George Elliot, Charlotte Perkins Gillman, Simone Beauvoir, Elizabeth Gaskell, Charlotte Lennox, Mary Shelley, Sylvia Plath, Mary Wollstonecraft, Susan B Anthony, Clara Barton, Margaret Thatcher, Indira Ghandi, Gerture Stein, Virginia Woolf, Emily Dickinson, Sirimavo Bandaranayike, Patricia Highsmith, Sacajawea, Cleopatra, Roxanna of Persia, Sarojini Naidu, Margaret Fuller, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Grace Greenwood, Jyotiba Phule, Marianne Hainisch, Kate Sheppard, Emmeline Pankhurst, Bibi Khanoom Astarabadi, Ida B. Wells, Marguerite Coppin, Qasim Amin, Raden Adjeng Kartini, Luisa Capetillo, Hoda Shaarawi, Sediqeh Dowlatabadi, Dora Russell, Mohtaram Eskandari, Roshank No’doost, Begum Ramayana Liaquat Ali Khan, Emily Howard Stowe, Shahla Sherkat, hamima Shaikh, Empress Dowager Cixi, Empress Tzu Hsi, Empress Wu Zetian, Empress Dou (Empress Xioawen), Boudiccea, The Japanese Epoch of the Queens, Sei Shonagon, Murasaki Shikibu, Nefertiti, Hatshepsut, Enheduanna, Arsinoë, Artemisia of Salamis, Sappho, Hypatia, Joan d’Arc, Marie Antoinette, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, Eva Duarte de Perón, Mata Hari… the list goes on!! |
