Welcome to another edition of our Feminist Friday column, our weekly space for sharing our fave videos of the moment, videos that add to or encourage a widening definition of feminism that is intersectional and inclusive. This week we’re checking out Disney’s trailer for ‘The Nutcracker and the Four Realms’ plus Indian platform Vitamin Stree’s important video about the invisible labor of women.
But first up, a 4 minute video from Bloomberg talking about the wide impact of the birth control pill in society, most notably for women’s independence and empowerment, but also for the benefit of the economy. In the United States, since “the pill” became legal, regulated and available to all women, there have been less unintended pregnancies, more women getting college educations, women having the ability to space out and plan their families, and more women entering the workforce.
We felt the need to share this mini-history of the pill as we are seeing a scary amount of legislative regression and attacks on access to contraception. With the Trump/Pence administration appointing Health and Human Services leaders who want to bring back abstinence-only education (which has been proven to increase unintended pregnancies and STIs) and eliminate funding for teen pregnancy prevention programs, it is up to us to be equipped with the right knowledge so as to vote for leaders who will create legislation that helps society. Watch and share below:
Our second video this week comes from an Indian-based video content platform called Vitamin Stree who we are big fans of. They discuss a range of feminist and social justice issues including gender equality, fashion, and mental health. While made for a majority Indian audience, their themes and topics certainly resonate with viewers around the world. One of their most recent videos delves into the invisible labor of women, and how despite there being numerous social and cultural gains around gender equality, stereotypes and expectations still exist in a negative way.
“We’ve come a long way from the age of “women handle the home” and “men earn the money” – does that mean there’s equality now? Nope. Most women are now carrying the dual load of both, work and home. From work calls to doctor’s appointments, early morning meetings to late night dinner menus – women’s minds are constantly working overtime, trying to hold everyone’s shit together. It’s time both men and women divide this mental load,” says a description of the video below:
And finally this week we’re ending on a high, because we can’t stop fangirling over the trailer for Disney’s ‘The Nutcracker and the Four Realms’. Starring Mackenzie Foy, Keira Knightley and Helen Mirren, the films takes a classic Christmas musical and turns it into an epic battle between good and evil. We are digging the colorful costumes, special effects, and magical realms shown in the trailer and can’t wait to see this on the big screen.
Billed as a “feminist” nutcracker, it sees Cara going on a journey to discover that the world she is in was entirely created by her mother, and that the fate of goodness winning the day rests on her shoulders. Without a typical search for a prince to rescue her or save the day, this is the kind of Princess we hope to see more of from Disney. Watch and be mesmerized below. The film is released in November 2, just in time for the holidays!
