Posts Tagged: feminism

Brooklyn Book Reading & Signing!

I hope you join me for a cup of cafe con leche for a fun evening of wedding mishaps, fiesty feminism, and eye-opening truths about wedding traditions!

Cafe con Libros Flier

 

 

Feminist Bride Press

Artwork by Katrina MajkutThe Feminist Bride loves to empower a new generation of newlyweds that are looking for the perfect wedding with perfect equality. Here are some interviews, personal shout outs, and articles that have used The Feminist Bride or the book, The Adventures of a Feminist Bride as an inspirational resource.

  1. The Public Library Podcast, Episode 16, iHeart Radio, June 2018.
  2. Women Killing It Podcast, Ep 103: Being a Feminist Bride with Writer and Artist Katrina Majkut, Aug. 2018.
  3. 2018 Summer Reading List from Helen R. Little, BelaKharma.com, June 4, 2018.
  4. The Big Wedding Podcast, Episode 86: Feminism & Weddings – Questioning Traditions. May 2018.
  5. The Thing That Happened This Week Podcast with Ian Brodsky and Claire Manship. Episode 69. May 2018.
  6. La Vem a Noiva. E O Noivo? Cosmopolitan Magazine in Brazil. May 2018.
  7. How to Succeed at Weddings by Admitting Their Sexist Failures: Musings by Katrina Majkut. Catalyst Wedding Blog. April 2018.

  8. Bridechilla podcast, Episode 311. “The Adventures and Discoveries of a Feminist Bride.” March 2018.

  9. El Pais: É possível organizar um casamento feminista? Brazil. 2017.
  10. Bridal Musings: The 100+ Best Wedding Blogs For *Every* Couple. 2015.
  11. Roses Are Red, We All Are Blue: Activists Send ‘Love Letters’ to Speaker Ryan. Rewire Magazine Online. February 2017.
  12. The Feminist Bride Interview, Episode 226. Bridechilla podcast. 
  13. The Feminist Bride Interview, Episode 169. Bridechilla podcast. May 2016.
  14. Pregame Magazine: Creative MVP: Katrina Majkut. September 2016.
  15. Bust: The Pros And Cons Of The #LoveYourSpouse Challenge by Katrina Majkut
  16. Elle Magazine: Why Won’t Anyone Let Me Throw Out My Wedding Dress? by Jessica Machado
  17. Salon Radio on City World Radio Network, International Women’s Salon. New York, NY. August 2016.
  18. S Moda Magazine (Spain & Brazil): ¿Es posible organizar una boda feminista? by Alexandra Lores
  19. Bust.com 15 Ways To Have A Feminist Wedding by Katrina Majkut
  20. Little India: The Bindass Bride.
  21. SheDoesTheCity.com: How I had a Feminist Asian American Wedding by Cindy A. Nguyen
  22. The Feminist Wedding Diaries: The Importance of Wedding Planning Parity by Sarah Sahagian‎ 
  23. Mic Media: This Is the Feminist Wedding Magazine We’ve Been Waiting For by Ellie Krupnick 
  24. The Huffington Post: 44 Pro-LGBT Companies You Could Support This Holiday Season by James Nichols
  25. Racked.com: Vogue: Diamond Engagement Rings Are So Basic by Leslie Price
  26. Bustle.com: 9 Feminist Wedding Quotes That Celebrate Love And Equality On Your Big Day by Chelsey Grasso
  27. Demystifying Wedding Ritual One Cross-Stitch at a Time by Chiseche Salome Mibenge
  28. LadyEconomist.com: Happy Anniversary: A Rant on Marriage Name Changing
  29. BayAreaRelationshipCenter.com: 6 Resources For Out-Of-The-Box Brides
  30. Boston Magazine: Where Do Our Wedding Rituals Come From? by Margaret Burdge

 

Our Interview on the #1 Wedding Podcast, Save The Date!

169-The-Feminist-bride-blog-1Super excited to be interviewed on the #1 wedding podcast, Save The Date. It was really fun sitting down with the host, Aleisha McCormack to talk about some of the most sexist wedding traditions out there and what “bridechillas”‘ and “groomchillas” (bride/grooms who are chill) can do to make them more feminist and respectful for all. So please check out and listen to Episode 169, which by the way, is a totally appropriate number considering how much we discussed the role of sex in wedding traditions! To all the feminist brides (and grooms) out there, I hope it’s an eye opening listen and as fun for you as it was for me in recording it!

The Feminist Bride listed in top 15 Wedding Blogs!

YouQueen Top 15 Wedding Bloggers ImageNot to brag, but totally to brag…YouQueen listed TheFeministBride.com as one of the top wedding blogs to follow! It’s so nice to know that there are others behind modernizing wedding traditions with a feminist twist! Thanks to YouQueen and all the feminist brides (and grooms) out there who support us everyday. YAS QUEEN!

Are bridal parties the same as Taylor Swift’s “Nazi-Barbie” Girl Squad?

Image Courtesy of Matt Sayles/Invision AP

Image Courtesy of Matt Sayles/Invision AP

Hollywood reporter, Camille Paglia is taking umbrage against Taylor Swift’s girl squad, which she describes as a “Nazi-Barbie routine.” Paglia reflects on Swift’s appropriation of girl power squads from the 1990s, e.g. The Spice Girls, Def Squad, to promote a sense of women-empowered camaraderie through social media, in-person staged appearances and the pervasive selfie. After reading her fair but also pretty scathing review where she ultimately describes Swift as a “fascist blonde,” I can’t help wonder if there are lots of similarities between Swift’s posse power and bridal parties?

The Power of Feminism in Tradition and Culture

 

Image: Tedx, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Image: Tedx, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is an important Nigerian novelist and gave an inspiring lecture at Tedx in 2013 called “We Should All Be Feminists.” It explores her own personal interactions and observations regarding gender in Nigeria. She shares her thoughts on these moments as they relate to feminism, power, equality and culture, but what was most powerful is how she described how gender roles in marriage often shape women and men’s equality. Here are some amazingly insightful quotes from the talk and some Feminist Bride reflections on them. I also strongly recommend watching the talk in its entirety too.

The Greatest Lessons Are The Ones Not Told

Image c/o Queenlatifah.com

Image c/o Queenlatifah.com

Most of us learn about wedding culture from our parents, peers, religion, businesses, media and pop culture. It’s very easy to feel like experts on the subjects since we’re inundated with lessons of how to buy the perfect wedding dress, get him to propose, what to say during the wedding ceremony, how to pick out a flawless diamond ring and how women can easily change their last name to his. When it comes to weddings and marriage, people have always been told what, when, where, how, but few ever think for themselves – ‘why?’

Playboy Explains When Catcalling is Okay; It’s Surprisingly…Feminist

Playboy, an unlikely ally in women’s quest to end street harassment, especially Bv_DwnmIMAI130Pbecause they’ve made millions and millions off encouraging men to ogle at women, has done something wonderfully feminist. Hugh Hefner has even claimed we are living in a post-feminist world before, meaning that a chart like this shouldn’t even be necessary. But here we, feminists, are in agreement with Playboy’s work for once. Hell just froze over.

Playboy and graphic designer Shea Strauss have designed an excellent explanatory flowchart (click to see full chart) that answers when it’s okay to catcall a woman. In a sort of choose-your-own adventure game, guys can follow the line that represents his libido and male entitlement the best with options like, “Are you sexually frustrated?” if yes, proceed to “Yeah, I wanna yell sex stuff at people.” It eventually all flows down to “Nope, don’t do it,” and “Yeah, go for it.” There’s a real educative twist to help folks understand that the only case where it’s okay to catcall is when there’s mutual consent (and even then they make clear heckling is an equal opportunity for both sexes) and when it’s an actually kitty. For everyone other instance, it’s not cool.

This chart comes in the wake of other great devices to battle street harassment. There’s the bell Hooks hotline, which provides women a fake number to give to strangers who ask for it. The idea (unfortunately, this reasoning exists) is to safeguard women “because we’re [women] raised to know it’s safer to give a fake phone number than to directly reject an aggressive guy.”

There’s also the Cards Against Harassment, which are business cards that anyone can get and hand out to street harassers to explain how their actions negatively affect women. And Tatyana Fazlalizadeh’s art project, Stop Telling Women to Smile attempts to combat harassment directly on the streets too.

While this great flowchart doesn’t get Playboy out of the doghouse for its years of misogyny, objectification, exploitation and body issues, it is certainly a step in the right direction.

Women’s Equality Day: A Difficult Year But There’s Hope

Ladies, it’s been a tough year for us. I feel your pain, not in an our-periods-are-sGames 2012 Individual Event 2 Obstacle Courseynchronized way, but in a “This-is-2014, but-it-feels-like-the-stone-age!” sort of way. Before we celebrate Women’s Equality I think it’s imperative to review how we’ve been treated this year.