Ms Informed | Feminist Bookclub: Susan Sontag's On Women
Shownotes
Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men
To join our bookclub, email msinformed.podcast@gmail.com - open to anyone who identifies as a woman!
This week’s distraction
This weeks distraction is the election in Senegal. Senegal’s president, Macky Sall announced the indefinite postponement of a presidential election scheduled for 25 February a few hours before official campaigning was due to start, provoking anger from opposition figures and a ministerial resignation.
Sall said he had postponed the vote to decide his successor because of a dispute between the national assembly and constitutional court over the rejection of candidates.
Lawmakers are investigating two constitutional council judges whose integrity in the election process has been questioned. Read more in the Gaurdian here.
This week Madhvi read
This week Madhvi read erotic literature in preparation for her 4-week creative writing course. Would you be interested in doing this course? If so, what month would suit you best? Answers to msinformed.podcast@gmail.com.
This week Rina watched
This week Rina started watching Girls from Ipanema. This Brazilian period TV show is perfect for this time of year! I love a show about a woman finding herself and her independence and the costumes and Rio are a lovely addition!
This week’s inspiration
This week’s inspiration is Miriam Makeba. Nicknamed Mama Africa, Miriam was a South African singer, songwriter, actress, and civil rights activist. Associated with musical genres including Afropop, jazz, and world music, she was an advocate against apartheid and white-minority government in South Africa.
Born in Johannesburg to Swazi and Xhosa parents, Makeba was forced to find employment as a child after the death of her father. She had a brief and allegedly abusive first marriage at the age of 17, gave birth to her only child in 1950, and survived breast cancer. She moved to New York City, where she became immediately popular, and recorded her first solo album in 1960. Her attempt to return to South Africa that year for her mother's funeral was prevented by the country's government. Makeba made popular several songs critical of apartheid, and became a symbol of opposition to the system, particularly after her right to return was revoked. Upon her death, former South African President Nelson Mandela said that "her music inspired a powerful sense of hope in all of us."
Good guide