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 trans feminism can combat new forms of transphobia, and, beyond that, how trans feminism can provide necessary tools for enacting new forms of sociality.

Ask a Feminist

Susan Stryker discusses Trans Studies, Trans Feminism, and a More Trans Future with V Varun Chaudhry

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 presidency.

Patricia Williams Discusses Rage and Humor as an Act of Disobedience with Carla Kaplan and Durba Mitra

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 Conference.

Eesha Pandit and Paula Moya Discuss Activism and the Academy with Carla Kaplan and Suzanna Walters

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).

Byllye Avery Discusses the Past and Future of Reproductive Justice with Susan Reverby

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 that have led to the current moment, the transformations the system is currently undergoing, and why she is less pessimistic than might be expected. A transcript is also available on our website (http://signsjournal.org/ask-a-feminist/). The theme song is “I Dunno” by Grapes, available on SoundCloud.

Deborah Anker Discusses Gender and Asylum Law with Aziza Ahmed

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.

Soraya Chemaly Discusses Feminist Rage, with Carla Kaplan and Durba Mitra

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 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).

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

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' approaches to Title IX, and the future of #MeToo. 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).

Ask a Feminist: Catharine A. MacKinnon and Durba Mitra Discuss Sexual Harassment in the Age of #MeToo

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).

Dolores Huerta and Rachel Rosenbloom Discuss Gender and Immigrant Rights

Michael Kimmel, professor of sociology at Stony Brook University, and Lisa Wade, associate professor of sociology at Occidental College, discuss masculinity studies, gender and neo-Nazi and alt-Right movements, masculinity's role in the rise of Donald Trump, and the possibilities for coalitions in today's political landscape. 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).

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

Tamika Mallory, Co-Chair of the Women’s March on Washington, sat down at Northeastern University on February 28 with Signs Editor Suzanna Danuta Walters. They discuss the success of the January 21, 2017, Women’s Marches around the United States and the world, the significance of intersectional organizing, and the possibilities for future resistance. A transcript, as well as other resources on the Women's Marches, is available at http://signsjournal.org/tamika-mallory/.

A Conversation with Women’s March on Washington Co-Chair Tamika Mallory

For this edition of Ask a Feminist, Amy Farrell talks to Angela P. Harris—Distinguished Professor of Law, Boochever and Bird Endowed Chair for the Study and Teaching of Freedom of Equality, and Director of the Aoki Center for Critical Race and Nation Studies at the University of California Davis—about violence and the consequences of state efforts to control violence through criminalization.This conversation is particularly timely as political dialogue in the United States has shifted dramatically toward “law and order” approaches to solving community problems in the wake of the 2016 presidential election. Professor Harris’s scholarship provides the theoretical underpinning for alternative approaches to violence prevention such as restorative justice. A transcript is available at http://signsjournal.org/ask-a-feminist-harris-farrell/

Ask a Feminist: A Conversation with Angela P. Harris on Gender and Gun Violence

For this edition of Ask a Feminist, Suzanna Danuta Walters talks to Susan J. Carroll—eminent political theorist and long-time advocate of women’s political participation—about issues around gender and electoral politics. Her expertise and experience is needed now more than ever, as we navigate an increasingly fraught political season and the prospect of our first woman president.

Ask a Feminist: A Conversation with Susan J. Carroll on Gender and Electoral Politics

Ask a Feminist, a podcast from Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society (http://signsjournal.org), features interviews with leading feminist thinkers on feminist issues raised by some aspect of current political life or social justice issue. This allows Signs to create an ongoing conversation between and among feminist scholars, media activists, and community leaders, enhancing the journal’s role as a transitive space, percolating in and between the space of intellectual production and activist engagement. Ask a Feminist is part of the Signs Feminist Public Intellectuals Project (http://signsjournal.org/feminist-public-intellectuals-project/).

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Ask a Feminist

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