#FeministResistance - Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society

Photo by Jules R. Angel

Donald Trump’s presidency laid bare the enduring power of misogyny, racism, and xenophobia. The resistance to his presidency, policies, and ideology was led by women and feminists, as exemplified by the Women's Marches that took place the day after his inauguration and have continued every year since. This activism has reinforced the equally enduring power of intersectional feminism, proving that feminist activism and analysis must lead the way and provide empowering visions for the future.

Though Trump’s presidency is over--thanks in large part, of course, to women voters and the organizing efforts of feminists--the perils of the Trump presidency and the deeper forces that animated it obviously continue. Roe v. Wade is gone, and the Court, with its three Trump-nominated justices, shows no signs that it will be stopping there. Its 6-3 conservative majority could endure for many years. Conservative activists and legislatures pursue ever-more-virulent anti-woman, anti-LGB, and anti-trans policies. And far-right movements continue to gain momentum and very real political power across the globe.

It remains of critical importance feminist voices of critique be amplified and proliferated as much as possible.

This space is a repository for the work Signs is doing that can be used to critique, historicize, analyze, and teach during the current crisis. Calls for papers for forthcoming issues, relevant publications from the Feminist Public Intellectuals Project, additional interviews—all will be collected here, in the hopes that they will be circulated, read, taught, and discussed, making feminist scholarship and discourse resonate across multiple platforms and in a wide range of communities as an integral part of the ongoing resistance.

Signs Resources on Abortion and Reproductive Justice

June 29, 2022

The enraging Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade is an urgent reminder of the importance of the ongoing work of feminist scholars and activists in the fight for equal rights, bodily autonomy, and full citizenship. Today that importance cannot be overstated. In these deeply alarming times, we feel it is critical to offer signposts toward a way forward. We are therefore offering free online access to Signs articles, essays, and multimedia materials on reproductive justice and abortion rights. The articles will remain free until November 2022.

#BlackLivesMatter: Resources for the Uprising

June 29, 2020

As protests against racist police violence and other forms of racial discrimination persist, Signs is pleased to offer access to many articles on racism and racial justice. We hope that they will be of use as activists, teachers, and others grapple with the histories of racism in the US, analyze the carceral present, and search for models of activism and thought that can create an antiracist feminist future. While this list of articles is not intended to be exhaustive, it aspires to reflect just some of the breadth and relevance of feminist scholarship.

Short Takes: Controlling Women by Kathryn Kolbert and Julie F. Kay

September 29, 2021

In this Short Takes forum on distinguished lawyers Kathryn Kolbert and Julie F. Kay's new book Controlling Women: What We Must Do Now to Save Reproductive Freedom, Martha F. Davis, Lisa Maldonado, Robin Marty, and Rosalind P. Petchesky discuss how the fight for reproductive justice can proceed most effectively under rapidly changing legal and social conditions. Reflecting the diversity of feminist thinking, the forum delves into the difference between "reproductive justice" and "reproductive freedom," the tactical considerations of social-movement building, and the shape that future activism might need to take. Kay and Kolbert themselves respond to the commentaries, reflecting on their aims in writing the book.

“The Body Politic: Representation and Reproductive Feminist Jurisprudence” by Michelle Goodwin

September 18, 2021

In the year since Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s passing, legal attacks on abortion and reproductive rights have only intensified. In commemoration of Justice Ginsburg’s singular and historic impact on feminist jurisprudence, Signs is pleased to present an essay by renowned feminist legal scholar Michele Goodwin. “The Body Politic: Representation and Reproductive Feminist Jurisprudence” considers the past and present of feminist jurisprudence, especially with respect to reproductive rights. In this timely reflection, Goodwin provides an in-depth examination of the law’s denial of women’s full personhood and the Right’s ongoing efforts to roll back the protections of Roe v. Wade. Ultimately, Goodwin hopes that “a more ambitious and redefined feminist jurisprudence …, grounded in class and race analysis, might redirect itself and create a new narrative path for reproductive health and rights.”

Cynthia Enloe Discusses Gender and the Rise of the Global Right with Agnieszka Graff, Ratna Kapur, and Suzanna Danuta Walters

September 12, 2018

Renowned scholar and activist Cynthia Enloe sits down with the coeditors of the special issue “Gender and the Rise of the Global Right“–Agnieszka Graff, Ratna Kapur, and Suzanna Danuta Walters–to analyze the role that ideas about gender play in the current political landscape, especially the increasing prominence of right-wing political figures and parties around the world. They discuss the extent to which antifeminism and antigenderism fuel right-wing political movements, the gendering of leadership and electoral politics, and the possibilities for transnational feminist organizing and resistance.

Ask a Feminist: Dolores Huerta and Rachel Rosenbloom Discuss Gender and Immigrant Rights

February 9, 2018

Dolores Huerta—renowned labor organizer, immigrant rights activist, and feminist advocate—speaks with Rachel Rosenbloom (professor of law at Northeastern University) about the role that gender plays in today's struggles and social movements, especially those working on behalf of immigrants and workers. Drawing on her long history of organizing, Huerta offers insights on the contemporary political landscape—from the #MeToo movement to the fight for the DREAMers to opposition to Trump. Huerta's long history of fighting for social justice serves as a crucial guide for building a sustained and intersectional resistance.

Ask a Feminist: Michael Kimmel and Lisa Wade Discuss Toxic Masculinity

January 18, 2018

Michael Kimmel and Lisa Wade discuss the role of masculinity in the current political moment, including the rise of Donald Trump and white grievance politics in the United States. A preeminant scholar of masculinity studies, Kimmel analyzes masculinity's intersections with racism, sexual violence, and backlash politics. Wade, whose work has critically and accessibly interrogated contemporary gender dynamics, speaks with Kimmel about how the study of masculinity emerged and its importance in understanding the urgent challenges we face. Addressing masculinity's central role in the contemporary US Right, in neo-Nazi movements, and in established US institutions, the discussion underscores the urgent need for feminist intersectional analysis.

Short Takes: Susan Bordo's The Destruction of Hillary Clinton

August 18, 2017

Nell Painter, Carmen Rios, and Marjorie Spruill discuss sexism in the 2016 campaign, Bernie-Hillary tensions, generational divides, and media double standards in this forum on Susan Bordo's The Destruction of Hillary Clinton. Bordo also offers a response and reflection on her work.

Virtual Issue: Feminist Resources for #TheResistance

June 5, 2017

Women's March on Washington by Mobilus In Mobili

This open-access virtual issue draws on the Signs archive to provide resources to analyze and resist the reinvigorated attacks on women, people of color, immigrants, and LGBTQ people that have been precipitated, most immediately in the US, by the election of Donald Trump. The issue also aims to show that feminist thought—which has long been concerned with analyzing and resisting policy agendas, political discourses, and cultural phenomena that promote sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, and xenophobia—can play a key role in promoting forms of solidarity, strategy, and activism to resist these forces and to imagine alternative futures. Articles are organized into six sections:

Currents: Identity Politics

April 11, 2017

This installment of Currents: Feminist Key Concepts and Controversies features an essay by Signs editor Suzanna Danuta Walters, "In Defense of Identity Politics." Walters’s accessibly written essay engages with critics of identity politics – on both the Right and the Left – to make the case that identity politics and feminist, intersectional analysis are vital to political resistance in the wake of Donald Trump’s election.

The essay is also accompanied by a digital archive that collects links to articles, podcasts, videos, and other resources that expand on the themes that Walters elucidates.

Women's March on Washington Co-Chair Tamika Mallory Interviewed by Signs Editor Suzanna Danuta Walters

March 30, 2017

For a transcript of the interview, as well as additional resources on the January 21, 2017, Women's Marches, click here.