Toni Morrison; award-winning American novelist, essayist, editor, teacher and professor emeritus at Princeton University; died this week at the age of 88. With the loss of Morrison the world has lost a woman who inspired countless readers, who criticized culture, and who explored lives and identities, particularly those of the black experience and especially what it means to be a black woman. The Nobel laureate used her prose—raw, bold, beautiful, tragic, magical, symbolic, precise—to reveal truths; whether they be moral, emotional, racial, or about a woman’s experiences.
To honor Morrison’s devotion to the power of language, we’ve picked out just a few stories about the impact of words in women’s lives and careers—from representation and inclusivity, to the power of how we use words, to ensuring women have a voice and that their words are heard.
New Media Is Misrepresenting Women in Africa – What Feminists Can Do, from AllAfrica—“The new media can only contribute to peace, security, democratic development and gender sensitive societies in Africa if African feminists guide the users of new media towards positive goals. Doing so will depend on several things, including women‘s access to the internet, better education about new media in conventional media, and a stronger presence in new media of African feminists. Above all, African feminists must produce the knowledge that they want others to consume across media.”
Study Suggests Use of Gender-Neutral Terms to Describe People Leads to Gender Equality, from Phys.org—“By 2015, use of [the gender-neutral word ‘hen’] had become commonplace, and was added to the Swedish Academy Glossary. In this new effort, the researchers wondered if widespread use of the word in Sweden had reduced male bias in general references, thereby leading to greater gender equality. To find out, they carried out three experiments that involved writing assignments by over 3000 volunteers.
Emma Watson Launches Free Legal Advice Hotline for WomenFacing Sexual Harassment at Work, from Global Citizen—“Understanding what your rights are, how you can assert them, and the choices you have if you’ve experienced harassment is such a vital part of creating safe workplaces for everyone, and this advice line is such a huge development in ensuring that all women are supported, wherever we work.”
Have You Heard the One About Gender Inequality?, from Glamour—“The Equality Can’t Wait campaign aims to accelerate progress when it comes to gender issues in America, building on the framework that Gates outlined in her recent book and inviting both men and women to share their stories about how crucial it is to close the gender gap. To kick it off, Gates didn’t want to release another mournful PSA. Instead she tapped actor and director Natasha Lyonne to corral over a dozen comedians to, well, roast the problem.”
Black Women Honor Toni Morrison With Our Resistance, from Ms. Magazine—“‘As you enter positions of trust and power, dream a little before you think,’ Morrison said, challenging us to imagine a better future and think outside of the box. During this New Jim Crow Era, when our rights are under constant threat, her words continue to remind us of our history and inspire us to remain steadfast in our resistance to the tyrannies of racism and sexism. Her legacy lives on in the struggle of Black women for justice and equality.”
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