Lisa Wade at Sociological Images recently wrote about the history of the use of watermelon as a symbol of how "simple" black folks are. Wade does a great job of showing that this is not an innocent stereotype -- it was actively used to dehumanize black p… more »

November is Native American Heritage Month, so I'd like to celebrate by giving some thought to sex and gender in Native American societies. A wide variety of non-binary gender roles and non-heteronormative sexual activity has been around in Native societies for centuries. more »

The film industry is still a male dominated world, but slowly this is changing. Two years ago Katherine Bigelow became the first women to win an Academy Award for best director for her movie "The Hurt Locker." As a woman, I was very proud watching her receive the Oscar -- it was history in the making. However, we still have a long way to go. Last year, women made up just seven percent of the directors of major motion pictures. Furthermore, women accounted for only 18 percent of all editors, 15 percent of executive producers, 10 percent of writers and two percent of cinematographers working on the top 250 films of 2010. more »

There isn't just one problem facing immigrant women, but a whole system of intertwined oppressions. Women in general are discouraged from voicing their opinions, particularly when they speak out against discrimination. From unfair pay to sexual assault, immigrant women have even less of a voice in our society. The opportunities that bring immigrants to a new country often turn out to be unreachable, and these limitations are soon braided into other forms of discrimination. more »

Women at the bottom of the socioeconomic hierarchy are least able to participate as feminists. Women who have multiple jobs, children to raise, are single mothers, don't know English, can't afford to go to school even if scholarships are available because they have other things to worry about. These women might not even have access to information that would help them identify as feminists, let alone take action. more »