Beyoncé delivered an intensely, unapologetic celebration of Black and HBCU culture at the Coachella Festival 2 weekends in a row. Not only were her performances some of the best live performances to date but they sent a pretty significant message to the world.
Here are some assessments of this beautiful demonstration of Blackness and Black Girl Magic:
From BBC News:
In the Democratic Republic of Congo or DRC, sexual violence is a community-wide problem. Rape, in the DRC has been used as a weapon of war and sadly continues to increase even after. According to the peacebuilding NGO Search for Common Ground or SFCG, it is estimated that there are over 400,000 surviving rape victims living in the DRC today. In this environment violence against women has become normative behavior.
The Violence Against Women (VAW) Art Map was conceptualized in the fall of 2018, in the wake of the #MeToo movement by Dr. Lauren Stetz, as part of her doctoral research in Art Education with a minor in Women's, Gender, & Sexuality Studies at Penn State University.
A photo project/online feed to increase visibility of sex workers and increase the sex workers’ sense of community of voice, in response to a spate of violence against the community in Ireland. The project led to a piece in The National, and increased area interest and conversation about violence against sex workers.
April 2nd, 2016, organized by members of the Aids Coalition to Unleash Power faction in London, five activists stormed London's Gilead Pharmaceutical offices and frantically disrobed to reveal painted backs spelling out the word 'Greed." About 30 other activists rallied outside the building.
Buses serving several routes in central Seoul have acquired a new and highly controversial passenger: a barefoot “comfort woman”, wearing a traditional hanbok dress with her hands resting on her knees.
It’s women’s history month, and your favorite radical feminist avengers want you to go ape. The Guerrilla Girls have been making noise about gender and racial inequality in the art world since 1985. Fighting discrimination with a sense of humor and their signature faux fur, these masked feminists continue to challenge major museums to spotlight more women and artists of color.
As we’ve already found out, gender inequality exists in all parts of the world, but besides discriminative attitudes, women also suffer from wage discrimination.
According to statistics, women’s earnings in the US “were 77% of men’s in 2011”, while in Switzerland, women earned “roughly 20% less than equally skilled men in comparable positions”.
In March 2016, Chinese feminist activists had planned to launch a crowdfunding campaign against sexual harassment advertisements, and they worked hard to raise 40,000 yuan in a month and a half. However, after perfunctory, evasive, and rejection by the relevant departments, anti-sexual harassment advertisements finally failed to go online.
As the female gaze comes to the fore, artists are beginning to examine and explore the possibilities of what exists, what it is to be a woman looking at the world outside of her self. For American artist Dani Lessnau, the gaze opened the door into uncharted realms in search of the things that a camera can capture that the human eye might otherwise miss.
The statistics in regards to older men marrying young girls is mind boggling and disgusting. Every day 33,000 girls are married to older men, denied their rights to education and opportunity and robbed of their childhood.
Many countries around the world find this practice normal, thankfully we do not find it normal here in the United States. More than 91 countries allow girls as young as six-years-old to be married. This is a problem.
What the Skirt Lifts is a day long protest against gender discrimination initiated by student Arthur Moinet and sanctioned by the Académie de Nantes, made up of local school officials. Both male and female students were encouraged to school wearing skirts. Those who did not feel comfortable wearing skirts were invited to participate by wearing a sticker which read: I am fighting against sexism, are you?
Rights activists in Mozambique have marched through the capital Maputo to protest a colonial era law still included in new legislation that allows rapists to go unpunished if they marry their victims.
The "marriage effect" clause sees convicted rapists given a five-year suspended sentence if they marry their victims and stipulates that the perpetrator should stay married to the victim for at least five years.
Alice Paul, along with Lucy Burns, joined the National American Woman suffrage Association (NAWSA) in 1912. They were allowed to take over the NAWSA Congressional Committee in DC but were given no office or funds. For months Paul and Burns fundraised and significantly increased awareness for the cause. On March 3, 1913 (the eve of President Wilson's inauguration) Paul organized a parade, unparalleled in the capital.
On February 19, 2012, the Chinese young feminism leaders, included Maizi Li and Churan Zheng, initiated an activity, "Occupy the Men Bathroom." The protesters occupied the male public restroom and invited the women waiting for the women restroom to use the male one.
At the end of June of this year, as France sweated through record high temperatures, a group of men took a moment to escape the heatwave and compete in the inaugural Mr Triton France competition.
Organised by Merman Ludo, the event – which organisers believe might be the first of its kind in the world – saw ten competitors from all over the country face off in a battle to be the best merman France has ever seen.
Colorful portrait of a Muslim woman wearing an American flag colored head scarf. Image on back of a woman with a rose in her hair in black and white with text that states, "We are resilient. We are indivisible. We are greater than fear. We will defend dignity. We will protect each other." -- "The We the People campaign aims to restore hope, imagination, curiosity, and creativity into our country’s dialogue.
Shocking images have emerged purporting to be of an emaciated physician on a hunger strike while jailed in Iran for supporting women protesting the hijab law. Swedish-Iranian Dr. Farhad Meysami, 53 — who began his hunger strike on Oct. 7 to protest the killing of demonstrators by the Islamic Republic — was purported to be the man seen in skin-and-bone photos that have gone viral on social media.
A young and beautiful girl posted a piece of paper selfie every day on Instagram, the most popular social network at the moment. In just over 4 months, with 184 selfies, her fans quickly rose to 90,000. In the photo, she is sometimes sweet and lovely, sometimes sexy and attractive, and sometimes turned into a healthy and positive "organic girl"... Now there are nearly 150,000 people around the world who follow her every day.
This Girl Can is a campaign launched by England Sports to encourage women to be active no matter how they do it or how they look. In common culture, the trend is to be fit, active, and toned. Social media is filled with women having "the perfect body", sculpted to perfection in every way. Although being healthy and fit is attainable with hard work and dedication, most women struggle to attain their goals.
Shift Change Dress is a community fashion & art project that utilizes a shift dress sewing pattern as a medium for communication and action. Participants are encouraged to use the pattern as a blank canvas for their art or message and to share their work with the community.