Ask a Feminist is back after a long hiatus with an episode about the current state of public feminism! Signs editor Suzanna Walters is joined by Marcie Bianco and Andi Zeisler. Andi is the cofounder of Bitch Media and the author of the book We Were Feminists Once: From Riot Grrl to CoverGirl, and Marcie is the author of Breaking Free: The Lie of Equality and the Feminist Fight for Freedom. Their experiences writing and editing for feminist publics and building feminist platforms give them unique insights into the difficulties faced by those trying to reach or create feminist publics today. Wha ..read more

A conversation about the field of trans studies between V Varun Chaudhy and Susan Stryker. V is an assistant professor of women’s, gender, and sexuality studies at Brandeis and a member of the Signs board of associate editors. Susan is a founding editor of the journal TSQ and a major figure in the development of trans studies as a field. In the interview, they discuss the social and political context for the emergence trans studies, including its roots in feminist theory, and what its institutionalization (including the found of TSQ) has meant for the field. They also share insights about how ..read more

Patricia J. Williams, the renowned feminist theorist and legal scholar joins Carla Kaplan and Durba Mitra, two of the coeditors of the upcoming special issue of Signs on “Rage,” to talk about the multiple crises we face at the current moment, from Donald Trump’s cruel legacy of misogyny and racism to the failures of market-based approaches to the COVID-19 pandemic. They also discuss new forms of surveillance that have emerged during the pandemic and the disproportionate levels of emotional labor that particular groups, particularly black women, have been expected to take on throughout Trump’s ..read more

Activist, writer, and advocate Eesha Pandit and professor of English Paula Moya discuss the relationship between feminist scholarship and feminist activism, and how feminist activists and scholars can best support one another’s work. What makes a good ally? How can we build systems of accountability among and between scholars and activists? How can we most productively use identity as the basis for organizing action? The conversation is facilitated by Signs editorial board chair Carla Kaplan and Signs editor in chief Suzanna Walters. Recorded live at the National Women’s Studies Association Co ..read more

Byllye Avery, cofounder of the Black Women’s Health Imperative, speaks to historian Susan Reverby about her activist work, beginning in the 1970s, to increase women’s access to abortion. She discusses the state of reproductive rights before and after Roe v. Wade, the genesis of the “reproductive justice” movement, and the tactics that might be needed in a post-Roe future. Ask a Feminist is part of the Feminist Public Intellectuals Project, which provides a host of free feminist resources (http://signsjournal.org/fpip ..read more

How has feminism shaped US asylum law? Why and how is the Trump Administration trying to undo feminist gains? Hear asylum- and refugee-law expert Deborah Anker discuss the history and present of gender in the US asylum system in the latest episode of Ask a Feminist. Anker is the founder and director of the Harvard Law School Immigration and Refugee Law Clinical Program and is one of the most widely known asylum scholars and practitioners in the United States. She speaks to Aziza Ahmed, professor of law at Northeastern University School of Law, and takes us through the key cases and arguments t ..read more

Feminist journalist, media critic, and activist Soraya Chemaly joins Carla Kaplan and Durba Mitra for an in-depth discussion of feminist rage. Their wide-raging conversation covers many aspects of contemporary women’s rage: the Kavanaugh Supreme Court confirmation process, the furor over Serena Williams’s US Open final, and how to differentiate progressive anger from the reactionary anger that has fueled the Right, including the rise of Trump. A transcript of the interview is available at http://signsjournal.org/soraya-chemaly/. Our theme song is "I Dunno" by Grapes, available on SoundCloud ..read more

Renowned scholar and activist Cynthia Enloe (Research Professor at Clark University) sits down with the coeditors of the forthcoming Signs special issue "Gender and the Rise of the Global Right"--Agnieszka Graff, Ratna Kapur, and Suzanna Danuta Walters--to analyze the relationship between gender and the increasing prominence of right-wing political figures and parties around the globe. They discuss the extent to which ideas about gender fuel right-wing movements, the currents of antifeminism and antigenderism, and the possibilities for transnational feminist organizing and resistance. This con ..read more

Feminist lawyer, writer, teacher, and activist Catharine A. MacKinnon discusses "Sexual Harassment in the Age of #MeToo" with Durba Mitra, assistant professor of studies of women, gender, and sexuality at Harvard University. They discuss MacKinnon's role in the genesis of sexual harassment law and why it required reshaping the legal meaning of "equality" itself. They also discuss the relationship between the law and social movements, how the law can address discrimination and violence against women of color and trans people, the differences between the Obama and Trump administrations' approach ..read more

Renowned labor and immigrant-rights organizer Dolores Huerta speaks to Rachel Rosenbloom, professor of law at Northeastern University, about gender and immigrant rights. Huerta speaks about the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment, the gender politics of the labor and immigrant-rights movements, DACA and the DREAMers, and the possibilities for organizing during Trump’s presidency. This conversation is part of the Feminist Public Intellectual Project, a series of open-access features presented by Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society (http://signsjournal.org/fpip ..read more