Category Archive

On April 6, 2016, France adopted a new law in the country’s fight against prostitution, inspired by the so-called “Nordic Model” — a model which seems to be frequently condemned, little understood and often mocked. We would, therefore, like to help clarify the ins and outs of this new law for you.

The French parliament, with its representatives elected directly through universal suffrage, had spent several years in parliamentary inquiry committees (the reports of which we invite you to read) and hearings in which all parties involved. This new law will place France in line both with its international commitments, and more importantly, in our opinion, with the 1981 law penalizing rape. In the 1981 law, rape is defined as “an act of sexual penetration, of any nature, committed upon the other person, with violence, coercion, threat or surprise.” The National Assembly has come to the decision that sexual intercourse…

Patriarchy is a caste system which takes humans who are born biologically male or female and turns them into the social classes called men and women. Male people are made into men by socialization into masculinity, which is defined by a psychology based on emotional numbness and a dichotomy of self and other. This is also the psychology required by soldiers, which is why we don’t think you can be a peace activist without being a feminist.

Female socialization in patriarchy is a process of psychologically constraining and breaking girls—otherwise known as “grooming”—to create a class of compliant victims. Femininity is a set of behaviors that are, in essence, ritualized submission.

We see nothing in the creation of gender to celebrate or embrace. Patriarchy is a corrupt and brutal arrangement of power, and we want to see it dismantled so that the category of gender no longer exists. This is…

Amy Hagstrom Miller has defended her group of Texas clinics, Whole Woman’s Health, all the way to the Supreme Court despite tremendous personal cost. Here’s why.

Amy Hagstrom Miller will face the Supreme Court tomorrow in defense of her group of abortion clinics, Whole Woman’s Health. Hagstrom Miller is a mission-driven small business owner, inspired, she says, by her commitment to human rights and justice, a desire to be deeply present with women facing hard decisions and shaping their own futures with intention.

But in recent years, Hagstrom Miller’s goal of maintaining a safe, supportive oasis for the “whole woman” has become almost impossible. For almost a decade, she and her staff have jumped through hoops as the Texas legislature imposed more and more TRAP laws (Targeted Restriction of Abortion Providers), bogus “safety” laws aimed at driving clinics out of business and eliminating abortion access. But after each costly accommodation…