A R T I C L E S
The Politics of Empowerment
“. . . As a society, we’re interested in developing social environments conducive to the individual pursuit of happiness. Political theorist, Jennifer Nedelsky, once wrote that society should “[free] women to shape our own lives, to define who we (each) are, rather than accepting the definition given to us by others… the task is to understand what social forms, relationships, and personal practices foster that capacity” . . . There is, however, a conflict here between the definitions of empowerment that individuals subscribe to and the ability of a society to accommodate each one of those definitions . . .
Who Run the World? Beyonce Versus Old School Feminists
L & B
In the essay ‘Moving Beyond Pain’, bell hooks (she purposefully writes her name in lowercase) centers her criticisms of Beyoncé around her pop-culture empire as the epitome of capitalist wealth, which uses black women’s bodies as commodities . . . "Her construction of feminism cannot be trusted", she writes. Hooks also attacks Beyoncé’s use of “pure fantasy” violence, luxury fashion, beautiful women, and her failure to advocate for any sort of real healing for women. Many of Beyoncé’s feminist fans were devastated. How could hooks publicly call out Beyoncé’s raw, vulnerable work of art as a total fraud? What does that mean for women of color who identify with Beyoncé and her fight for liberation?
Identity Crisis
As someone who dropped out of graduate school to get married, move to another state, and start a (Orthodox) family, life after my first child felt high-pressure. I needed to prove to everyone that I knew what I was doing. I wanted to show people that despite my “retrograde” choices, I was a strong woman. Spiritual, but grounded; motherly, but intelligent; traditional, but fulfilled. This was especially important to me, as the lifestyle I had now was very different from the way I lived growing up.
