Monday, September 15th, marked the start of Hispanic Heritage Month. To celebrate, check out this Signs article, which discusses the Mexican-American feminist movement known as the Chicana movement or "El Movimiento"! (sub. req’d):

"If the post-Roe years have made anything clear, it is that no federal protection, no court ruling, and no institutional framework can be relied upon entirely to safeguard reproductive autonomy for the long haul." — @kellyodonn.bsky.social

"The activists profiled in the book aren’t focused on what is legal; they are focused on what is accessible.... Access is an account of people who prioritized the needs of abortion seekers over fears of personal risk." —Katrina Kimport

"Legality is not the same as justice, and ... access is not the same as rights. The formal systems may shift—and with Dobbs, they collapsed—but abortion seekers and their helpers have never waited for permission." —@rhartholder.bsky.social

New Short Takes! @rhartholder.bsky.social, Katrina Kimport, and @kellyodonn.bsky.social discuss @rebeccaggrant.bsky.social's Access: Inside the Abortion Underground and the 60-Year Battle for Reproductive Freedom!

Check out this interview, “To Interpret the World and to Change It: An Interview with Nancy Fraser” to hear about how Nancy Fraser uses philosophy to address issues facing feminist politics.

Today is International Literacy Day! To celebrate the holiday, check out this Sign’s article on literary icon Toni Morrison, which discusses Morrison’s Nobel Lecture in Literature, in which she elaborates her theory on language!

"Radical does not mean “extreme” or “outrageous” but rather a process of going to the roots of something”-Breanne Fahs Check out this Sign's article on the need for radical feminism today!

"'We as women have to stand up and make sure that this wave of energy doesn’t end, that it goes deeper.' --Dolores Huerta Click here and listen to this Short Takes episode on Gender and Immigrant Rights!

Check out “13 Theses on Feminist Protest: A Manifesto” which discusses the feminist conjuncture, conceptualizes contemporary feminist protest, and lays out an agenda on feminist theory of protest. (sub. req’d):

Check out this article from Sign’s special issue “Rethinking ‘First Wave’ Feminism” to learn more about the history behind Women’s Equality Day, and the divisions and tension that existed within the suffrage movement (sub. req’d):

To honor suffragists today, check out this primary historical document, Carrie C. Catt's "Suffrage Militancy" essay, from an early Signs issue. Written by Women’s Suffragist, Carrie Catt, the essay was her take on a new approach to activism, one that was less peaceful and more militant (sub. req’d):

Today, August 26th, is National Women’s Equality Day. 105 years ago, the 19th Amendment was certified, giving women the right to vote. On the topic of women voting, check out this Sign’s article, which breaks down “the feminine voter” trope by analyzing women's historical roles as typists.

Take a look through Signs's virtual gallery to see all the amazing artwork Signs has been lucky to publish throughout the years! Click on the caption below each piece to read the artist's statement, as well as more on the meanings behind each piece.

"'How do we create identities that are generative, that aren't just identities of resistance but that are identities of creating the way that we move in the world, naming the way that we move in the world ourselves?' —Eesha Pandit” Click here and listen to this episode on activism and the academy!

“​​It’s not the person who determines if they’re a public intellectual or a public feminist; (. . .) it’s how an audience embraces and uses your work.”-Marcie Bianco on bell hooks’ perspective of public feminism. Take a listen to this Ask a Feminist episode on public feminisms here!

Check out Signs' examination of celebrity feminisms. This archive, inspired by Janell Hobson’s essay “Celebrity Feminism: More than a Gateway,” explores the topic through various lenses, including Beyonce’s Beyhive, Commodification & Consumption, and Beauty, the Body & Sexuality. Explore here:

Check out "A 'Technical Approach'? An Ethnographic Exploration of Menstrual Regulation as Pregnancy Termination in Bangladesh" from Sign's latest issue to learn about reproductive health in Bangladesh (sub. req’d):

Today, August 6th, marks the 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. To learn more about the act that outlawed racial discrimination in voting, read this 2014 SIGNS article, which uses a paradoxical lens to analyze the act's history and evolution (sub. req’d):

Check out "Trans-Exclusionary Reactionary Feminism and the Politics of Ressentiment" from Signs and read how trans-exclusionary feminists' definition of womanhood is shaped by "ressentiment." Find it here: ow.ly/8NTH50WttHN @signsjournal.org

"A Sign is pointing to the future, a roadmap"- Founding Editor, Catharine R.Stimpson on the creation of Sign’s title. Check out the 50th anniversary special if you haven’t yet to hear more about the creation of SIGNS from its six editors!

"We cannot predict the future, but by showing us how different the past has been, Saini explodes the nihilistic, cynical, and misogynist idea that change is impossible"-Hugh Ryan Read Signs' Short Takes on "Patriarchs" to hear more about this captivating book that traces the history of patriarchies!

Today, July 25th, is International Afro-Latin American and Afro-Caribbean Women’s Day. To honor and learn more about the women who resisted racism and sexism in Latin America and the Caribbean, read this SIGNS article on Latin American and Caribbean feminist history! (sub. req’d):

“I wanted to wed my skills to my real ideas and to aspire to the making of art that could clearly reveal my values and point of view as a woman.”— Judy Chicago Yesterday was feminist artist Judy Chicago’s birthday! Learn more about Chicago’s amazing work as an artist and activist (sub. req’d):

Moya Bailey links disparagement of Michelle Obama to a "caricature that has existed for a long time called the Sapphire—somebody who is perceived as angry & aggressive. These caricatures have roots in a moment, post-Reconstruction, [when] people were trying to figure out how race & gender worked."

. @moyazb.bsky.social: "I do think that there’s an idea that women shouldn’t be in the public sphere generally.... What I see happening is a real push to try to discipline women away from using social media, talking about the issues that are important to them."

Delighted to facilitate this conversation about the way intersectional inequality, technology, and politics intersect with @moyazb.bsky.social and @ninajankowicz.com for @signsjournal.org. Critically important for all of us.

@ninajankowicz.com: "I don’t think the online/offline dichotomy is helpful anymore.... We live in an internet age. We use the internet to communicate, to do work, to engage with one another, to have friends and familial relationships. It’s not as if we can cut it out of our lives."

New Ask a Feminist with @ninajankowicz.com, @moyazb.bsky.social, and @sobieraj.bsky.social! They analyze the harassment and abuse that women—esp. women in politics—face online and how it impedes women’s equal political participation. Check it out FREE on our website or your favorite podcasting app!

“We were the idealistic children of the baby boomers, and yet we spent our most formative years marinating in sleazy, reactionary misogyny.” @constancegrady.bsky.social on the contradictions young women navigated in the early 2000s. Our latest Short Takes is here: buff.ly/UJXGjh4

Janell Hobson's crucial response challenges Sophie Gilbert's analysis to go beyond “add race and stir” feminism. Our latest Signs Short Takes on Sophie Gilbert's Girl on Girl: How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women Against Themselves, here: buff.ly/UJXGjh4

Did you know Hostel and The Bachelor share a creator? Marisa Meltzer spotlights Sophie Gilbert's chilling revelation in our latest Short Takes: romance, porn, violence, and reality TV are all cut from the same misogynistic cloth. Read more here: buff.ly/UJXGjh4

In this paper on racialised mothering in Singapore, I realised, in the end, that I was thinking with my late mother. She appears in the conclusion and is in my thoughts every day, shaping so much of what I do.

Sophie Gilbert's Girl on Girl prompts a complex discussion of the paradoxes of visibility and representation. Why do depictions of the "empowered woman" always lead to backlash? How did the rise of internet porn shape the aesthetics of the popular culture more broadly?

New Short Takes on @sophiegilbert.bsky.social's new book Girl on Girl! Sarah Banet-Weiser, @constancegrady.bsky.social, Janell Hobson, & Marisa Meltzer discuss the gender dynamics of late-'90s and '00s pop culture, plus a response from Gilbert. Available free!

Loretta J. Ross’ new book, Calling In, offers a radical alternative to "cancel culture." See what feminist scholars are saying in the latest Signs Short Takes, freely available on our website.

Libby Adler (@libbyadler.bsky.social) discusses the potential effects of the US military's ban on trans service members. Read or listen to the full conversation: signsjournal.org/trumps-anti-...

Loretta J. Ross’ new book, Calling In, offers a radical alternative to "cancel culture." See what feminist scholars are saying in the latest Signs Short Takes, freely available on our website.

Meredith D. Clark, Jo Freeman, @smosaidso.bsky.social, and Carmen Perez-Jordan discuss Loretta J. Ross's Calling In! The latest Short Takes offers diverse perspectives on the movement-building strategies necessary for this moment. Check it out, free!

What are the legal effects of Trump's antigender executive orders? What are the implications of insisting that sex is dimorphic, immutable, and defined by gamete production? How does the supposed interest "protecting women" reinforce patriarchal dynamics? Read or listen to the latest Ask a Feminist!

K.J. Rawson: "The more that we can do to solidify our mutual aid networks to deepen our community commitments and our community ties, the more resilient we’ll be as we navigate this terrain together."

@libbyadler.bsky.social: "As the autocratic right finds itself having to defend the patriarchal arrangement—if they have to shout over and over again, 'There are only two sexes and sex is final when it’s assigned at birth!', they’ve kind of given away the ending."

K.J. Rawson: "If we look at the way that sex is defined in this executive order, you can see that they’re tying it directly to reproductive capacity. That’s a clear example of the way the nation-state is trying to insert itself in the reproduction of a particular kind of populace."

In the latest Ask a Feminist, @libbyadler.bsky.social & K.J. Rawson of Northeastern University speak w/ Carla Kaplan about the Trump Administration's anti-trans, anti-gender executive orders. Listen in your favorite podcast app or read the transcript on our website!

In the latest Ask a Feminist, @libbyadler.bsky.social & K.J. Rawson of Northeastern University speak w/ Carla Kaplan about the Trump Administration's anti-trans, anti-gender executive orders. Listen in your favorite podcast app or read the transcript on our website!

Nobel Laureate Malala and her father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, discuss the contemporary challenges and resilience of Pashtun women under patriarchy and Taliban influence. Free to access!

How does education become a tool for resistance in patriarchal societies? Don’t miss Imran Ali’s powerful interview with Malala and Ziauddin Yousafzai, where they reflect on activism, identity, and the ongoing struggle for girls’ education in Pakistan: signsjournal.org/malala-yousa...

We are honored to share this interview w/ @Malala and her father, Ziauddin Yousafzai. Her courage & wisdom continue to guide the global fight for girls’ education. She reflects on growing up in Swat, opposing the Taliban, & resistance in the face of repression: signsjournal.org/malala-yousa...

Join us for a conversation with Natali Valdez, Sarah S. Richardson, and Rene Almeling on reproduction in the age of epigenetics! Read it here (sub. req’d): buff.ly/9blIMb7

In March, Sandra Harding died. With colleagues from (then) Women's Studies at Utrecht University, where Harding's work was pivotal in PhD training & where I had the pleasure to organize a PhD workshop, together with María Puig de Bellacasa, with Sandra, we wrote this piece. Honoring the pioneers.