In a time when young women are still shot in the head for pursuing the right to an education, the conflicts explored in Jessica Swale’s first play, Blue Stockings, could not be more urgent. John Dove directs a witty and rousing production at Shakespeare’s Globe. Read on… Continue reading
Tag Archives: Feminism
The Bellicose Beauty of Penthesilea at the Space
In a time when social expectations of the female body in public space seem a particularly vexed issue at the forefront of the public imagination, Penthesilea opens vital space for exploring how those expectations might be reimagined. It also begs the question of what we really mean when we say a loved one is so … Continue reading
Stripped Star Trek: When is it Gratuitous?
A while back I wrote glowingly about the new Star Trek film (or rather, I wrote glowingly about the idea of Starfleet and how fabulous it would be to work there.) There was this one scene in the film that has drawn a lot of criticism from feminists–I don’t think it will be too much … Continue reading
Merry Widows and Gay Divorcees: Gender & Power in Marriage Narratives
After reading my friend & colleague Dr Jem Bloomfield’s post on Twelfth Night and “Mapp and Lucia”, which focused on the discomforts caused by sexual tension (or imagined sexual tension) between sets of people in social power relationships of inequality, I had some follow-up thoughts. For Jem, the focus of these two narratives on “the … Continue reading
Meeting the Neighbors
Last week appears to have been a week for testing my mettle. The day after Bus Day, I was running an errand in my neighborhood in the middle of the morning. I walked from Shadwell station towards my house; in front of me a couple walked along the road together, laughing. Suddenly he reached out, … Continue reading
Spinning their wheels or driving change?
This is an excerpt from a blog I wrote for the Independent. Click the link to read the rest: o The women of Saudi Arabia are again challenging the ban that prevents them from obtaining driver’s license. Over the weekend approximately 50 women around the Gulf nation took to the wheel, some making videos of … Continue reading
“Yeah, we did it.”
This is an excerpt from a blog I wrote for the Independent. Click the link to read the rest: o Sexual assault and rape are well-documented weapons in situations of armed conflict. They also feature as a control technique deployed by many totalitarian regimes. This includes the newly overthrown Egyptian government, in which the sexual … Continue reading
Painted Women
I am absolutely in love with this new BBC series, “Desperate Romantics.” It’s about the formation of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in the Victorian period. It’s being told in the voice of Frederic George Stephens (Fred), a writer portrayed in the series as a moth to the dazzling personalities of the artists Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Holman … Continue reading
Common Ground
Last night I went to see a movie from Iran called “When Fish Fall in Love.” Atiya opened a restaurant in her former suitor’s house in order to support her family of four women after he, Aziz, was disappeared by the government during the Iranian revolution. Aziz returns after many years’ absence; Atiya believes he is … Continue reading
Potato Salad: Saving the World!
My parents are hosting a party today–it’s sort of a “Welcome Home Cait, Bon Voyage on Your New Venture Coming Up So Soon” soirée sort of thing. In preparing for this event, I’ve been struck by the difference between how I plan an event and invite people over and how the grownups do it. I’m a … Continue reading
Caitiewrites 