The Big Push: Exposing and Challenging the Persistence of Patriarchy

FEATURING CYNTHIA ENLOE – Many millenials who are coming of age in the era of #MeToo and the push back to rampant sexism in the White House, Congress, Hollywood, and America in general are likely identifying as feminists for the first time. It is indeed a good time to be a feminist.

But there have been multiple waves of major feminist organizing over modern American history and yet patriarchal power persists. What if it continues to persist after this latest awakening?

Today we’ll turn to a long-time feminist, academic, author and activist Cynthia Enloe whose lifetime of work offers lessons for challenging sexism, misogyny, and patriarchy.

Cynthia Enloe, Research Professor at Clark University specializing in critical studies of militarism and transnational feminism. She has appeared on the BBC, Al Jazeera, and NPR and has written for Ms. and the Village Voice. She is the author of more than fifteen books, including Maneuvers: The International Politics of Militarizing Women’s Lives and The Curious Feminist: Searching for Women in a New Age of Empire. Enloe was awarded the Howard Zinn Lifetime Achievement in Peace Studies Award from the Peace and Justice Studies Association (PJSA). Her new book is called ‘The Big Push: Exposing and Challenging the Persistence of Patriarchy.’

** This segment was originally broadcast on January 30, 2018.