Category: Uncategorized

Don’t mourn, organize! Celebrating the life of Robin Morgan

Posted on by

By Ann E. Menasche

The prolific writer and passionate radical feminist organizer, Robin Morgan, passed away on September 5th, 2026, leaving a rich legacy for future generations of feminists.

  Known for her groundbreaking anthology “Sisterhood is Powerful” (she used the profits from that book to fund the first battered women’s shelters), and many other books and poems,. Robin was a product of the anti-Vietnam war, and civil rights Left of the 1960’s that birthed the Women’s Liberation Movement.

She was among the first to call out the Left for its sexism in an essay entitled “Goodbye to All That”  and proclaim the right of women to organize in our own name for our own liberation. http://blog.fair-use.org/2007/09/29/goodbye-to-all-that-by-robin-morgan-1970/.    Here is a short excerpt:

“Let’s run it down. White males are most responsible for the destruction of human life and environment on the planet today. Yet who is controlling the supposed revolution to change all that? White males (yes, yes, even with their pasty fingers back in black and brown pies again). It could just make one a bit uneasy. It seems obvious that a legitimate revolution must be led by, made by those who have been most oppressed: black, brown, yellow, red, and white women–with men relating to that the best they can. A genuine Left doesn’t consider anyone’s suffering irrelevant or titillating; nor does it function as a microcosm of capitalist economy, with men competing for power and status at the top, and women doing all the work at the bottom (and functioning as objectified prizes or coin as well). Goodbye to all that.”

Words that are, sadly,  still relevant to the misogynist Left today.

Robin cofounded radical feminists groups such as Women’s International Terrorist Conspiracy from Hell (“WITCH”)and New York Radical Women, the latter group organizing in 1968 the first protests against the Miss America Pageant for its treatment of women as sex objects.

She was also among the first to call out male cross-dressers, including men claiming to be women, for their arrogant intrusion into women’s identities and spaces, when she spoke at the 1972 West Coast Lesbian Conference. “No, I will call a malc “she;” thirty-two years or suffering in the androcentric society. and of surviving, have earned me the name “Woman”; onc walk down the streel by a male transvestitc, five minutes of his being hasslcd (which he may enjoy), and then he dares.to think he understands our pain? No, in our mothers’ names and in our own. we must not call him sister. ” Lesbianism-and-Feminism-Synonyms-or-Contradictions-by-Robin-Morgan-April-14-1973.pdf

In the 1980’s, she collaborated with French feminist Simone De Beauvoir on international feminist work, co-founding with De Beauvoir the Sisterhood is Global Institute.  She also became editor in chief of Ms. Magazine.

In later years, she co-founded with Gloria Steinem and Jane Fonda the Women’s Media Center, supporting women in media, and hosted a podcast almost up till her death.   Her activism never stopped.

You will not be forgotten, sister.

THE POWER OF WORDS

Posted on by

by Ann E. Menasche

This piece is the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Feminists in Struggle as an organization.

Never underestimate the power of words.   Words are the weapons of both capitalist patriarchy and radical feminism.  Words can challenge the status quo and lead to radical transformation, i.e., be a force for good, or instead change the meaning of our reality – turning it on its head – blinding us to injustices and atrocities of all kinds, and, as George Orwell recognized, bolstering authoritarian regimes and practice

I can think of many examples of the Orwellian use of language.   War is often prettified by righteous and lofty sounding names that hide its bloody reality measured in the destroyed lives of civilian populations and the greed and thirst for domination that usually underlies it.  The U.S. named its Iran war of choice, “Operation Epic Fury”; Israel named its collective punishment and genocidal destruction of the people of Gaza, “Operation Roaring Lion.”

In the same vein, the City of San Diego, where I live, has set up camps for hundreds of unhoused people, packing them into tents two feet apart.  The camps are full of rats and other vermin, offer only two meals a day, with food poisoning commonplace, and residents who stay there months or years at a time – frying  in the summer and freezing in the winter – often have no choice but to agree to be placed there or risk jail for violating anti-homeless ordinances.  So far, 19 people have died at the camps.  The name for these camps?   “The Safe-Sleeping Program.”  You don’t get any more Orwellian than that.

Then there is the war on women, a war we women of the world live every day even outside an official war zone.  The anti-abortion or forced pregnancy movement found a good Orwellian name for itself – “pro-life.” or the “right to life” movement.  As feminists would chant at abortion rights marches – “Right to life, your name’s a lie, you don’t care if women die.”  And they don’t.

Not to be outdone, another front in the same war on our sex, is the sex denialist/”gender reassignment” industry and its followers.  They have been working overtime to change the meaning of everyday language to its opposite.   Men/women, female/male no longer refer to sex, which is deemed either not to exist or has become a dirty word, not to be mentioned in polite company.  The substitute for actual sex is some amorphous subjective feeling called “gender identity”, basically, where you believe you fit within the spectrum of 1950’s style “masculine” and “feminine” stereotypes – between GI Joe and Barbie.

When women as a distinct category of persons based on our sex are erased, it becomes impossible to name, measure or remedy sexism or male supremacy.

The principal catechism, or article of faith promoted by these fundamentalist ideologues that is beyond questioning or reasoned discourse is “trans women are women.”   In other words, some men are women (and vice-a-versa) though we mostly care about the men, of course, since they are, well, men. And it follows that some men are lesbians, which defines out of existence that pesky group of women, a thorn in the side of patriarchy, that have said “no” to males and just want to be with each other.

Though this ideology has parasitically attached itself to the “left” and the LGB movement, there is nothing progressive or pro-gay about it.

Even to refer to someone’s sex, is now treated as a confession of “bigotry” and “hate.”    Ask a group like Amnesty International that used to do- and still sometimes does – good work.

But words can trick you. Would anyone not in the know understand that the gentle sounding supposedly “lifesaving” “gender affirming care” for “trans kids” consists of drastic quasi-medical interventions that sterilize them, and remove healthy body parts?

Or understand that “Safe Sleeping” is actually unsafe?

Or that “sex work” refers to the buying and selling of the bodies of women and girls, whose lives are characterized by childhood trauma, poverty, and lack of options, not to some freely chosen though perhaps unfairly maligned profession? Mis-leading language works.

Supporters of “gender identity” are serious about promoting this particular form of insanity and punishing dissidents all over the world. And we should pay attention.

In New South Wales, Australia last year, Kirralie Smith was ordered to pay $95,000 to two trans-identified males for opposing the inclusion of men identifying as “women” in women’s sports and referring to men by their sex.  By doing so, the Court found that Kirralie had “incited hatred towards, serious contempt for or severe ridicule of a soccer player for being transgender” and that she had violated Australia’s Anti-discrimination Act.  She was ordered to admit her guilt and post her confession on social media. And told of course to shut up and never say such a thing again.

The grand inquisitor of 15th century Spain, Tomas de Torqueda, would have been proud.

Use your words wisely, sisters, but use them.

Tell the truth as you understand it. Don’t let yourselves ever be silenced.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CAN ANY WOMAN BE A LESBIAN? FASCINATING FORUM SET FOR JULY 11th – TICKETS ON SALE NOW!

Posted on by

FEMINISTS IN STRUGGLE IS SPONSORING THIS SPECIAL WOMEN-ONLY FORUM ON ZOOM.

What if heterosexuality wasn’t innate, but enforced and expected?

Can any woman be a lesbian?

Saturday, July 11th, 12:00 noon Pacific Time, 3:00 pm. Eastern

TICKETS ON SALE NOW: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1992292981940?aff=oddtdtcreator

Participate in this fascinating discussion on feminism, political lesbianism and compulsory heterosexuality led by contributors to the recently published anthology, “I Wiah I Was a Lesbian: Women’s Lives Beyond Heterosexuality” (Spinifex Press, 2026).

FIST FORUMS are interactive events with plenty of time for questions and discussion. Zoom link will be provided after registration close to the event.

SPEAKERS:

  1. ANGELA C. WILD is a political artist, lesbian feminist activist, and writer. An unapologetic radical feminist her work is dedicated to promoting uncompromising lesbian visibility, building a lesbian culture, defending women-only spaces, and dismantling patriarchal institutions such as compulsory heterosexuality, compulsory motherhood, sexual violence, and pornography. She is the editor of “I Wish I Was a Lesbian.”
  2. TABATA SPINSTER is a radical lesbian feminist, writer, and multi-disciplinary artists from Mexico, deeply committed to creation from political consciousness and lesbian rebellion. Her photography and graphic art has been published and exhibited in cities like Mexico City, Prague and Argentina. She has collaborated with various feminist organizations focused on arts and independent cultural management.
  3. ANN E. MENASCHE is a radical lesbian feminist and revolutionary with roots in both the feminist movement and the socialist left. She is a founding member and co-coordinator of Feminists In Struggle and works as a civil rights attorney representing low income tenants and unhoused people. She is the author of Leaving the Life, and many poems and essays.
  4. CHARLIE MAY is a lesbian, feminist, seafarer, writer, and scientist with a long history of campaigning for human rights. She first stepped into radical feminism sharing her experiences living with a trans identity and extreme discomfort around her sex. Despite ongoing threats and harassment, Charlie helped open dialogue around the unmet needs of women who were previously trans identified.

FIST ISSUES STATEMENT ON THE WAR ON IRAN

Posted on by

At the time of this posting, the world remains on edge as we wait to hear whether a final settlement of this war is reached, or whether the war will sooner or later flare up again with more violence, death and destruction.  Meanwhile, the killing of civilians in Lebanon and Gaza has continued unabated.  The time for feminists to speak out for peace and in solidarity with our sisters everywhere is now.

Members of Feminists In Struggle have approved by consensus a statement against the U.S./Israel War on Iran and in support of Iranian feminists. 

Here it is below:

FIST stands against the unjustified and reckless war being waged against Iran by the Trump Administration.  The Epstein Axis, led by Trump and Netanyahu is in part about distracting their populations from issues of systemic rape and pedophilia by the elites.  But is also about acquiring and protecting wealth, power, and empire, while being indifferent to the deaths of innocent civilians.

We  must oppose this war as it violates all of the Geneva Convention rules, including starting a war of choice not justified by self-defense, committing war crimes by targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure (hospitals, schools, energy facilities) and openly admitting genocidal intent (Trump’s recent threat to send Iran “back to the stone age” ).

Women suffer from war, often disproportionately, from the increased violence, displacement, poverty and fanaticism it engenders. Clearly, this war is not in our interests.

However, our opposition, as feminists, to this war does not mean we support the authoritarian theocratic government in Iran.

SUPPORT FOR FEMINISTS IN IRAN

While many on the left believe that the only two possible positions in this conflict are to side with the theocratic regime or the U.S. attack, FIST takes the position that we must support neither, but instead support Iranian ​Feminists and other progressives, now being murdered and jailed by their government by the thousands (current figures are 7,000 killed, 40,000 arrested) as a result of recent uprisings. The attack by the U.S. will only strengthen the hand of this cruel regime and worsen its crackdown against its citizens.

Women in Iran face systemic legal discrimination and operate under male guardianship that restricts their rights in marriage, divorce, travel, and employment; legally, a woman’s testimony has half the value of a man’s; inheritance by women is a pittance of what men receive; a woman needs her father’s or grandfather’s permission to marry and husbands have an almost absolute right to divorce, while initiating divorce for women is difficult; Iranian law mandates strict, state-enforced hijab with penalties that include flogging, fines and imprisonment (and in the case of the death of Jina Mahsa Amini murder–which is what sparked the “Women, Life, Freedom” movement of 2022-2023). Women in Iran have been resisting this sex apartheid system since 1979!

.EFFECTS OF THE WAR ON THE U.S.

The unprovoked attack by the U.S. on Iran is having and will continue to  have devastating effects on U.S. society.  The over one trillion dollars spent on weapons each year benefitting war profiteers, leaves little for education, childcare, healthcare, affordable housing, DV shelters, and public benefits that so many women need to survive.

The war will give the Trump administration an excuse to increase the military budget even further and defund human needs programs (many of which particularly impact women).  Working people will have an even harder time to survive, as prices across the board increase, possibly leading to a worldwide depression. There is also the possibility of a further spread of the conflict (many Gulf states have now been forced to become involved) and a World War III scenario cannot be discounted

While serving as distraction to the scandal over the Epstein files, this war is being waged mainly for reasons of imperialism: the controlling of resources—in this case, oil—of another country, and it reinforces a worldwide economy based on fossil fuels, which can only hasten the ongoing ecological planetary crisis. None of this is in the interest of women in the U.S., Iran, or elsewhere.

For the above reasons, we say NO to Islamic (or any) Theocracy. We say NO to U.S. imperialism. We say NO to government funds going into the pockets of war profiteers and advancing the aims of the warmongers while regular people in all nations suffer. We demand a U.S. government that honors international law, that prioritizes spending for peoples’ needs and centers the needs of women, and that promotes peace throughout the Middle East and the world.

EXCITING FORUM COMING UP FEBRUARY 7TH ON THE DEMISE OF WOMEN’S STUDIES

Posted on by
How did Women’s Studies change into “gender studies”, promoting “queer theory”, and leaving women behind?

This feminist Zoom forum features KARLA MANTILA to lead discussion on this timely topic for feminists. A zoom link will be provided two days before the event for all registrants.

The Forum is schedule for Saturday February 7th at 1:00 p.m. Pacific Time/4:00 p.m. Eastern.

Tickets are on sale now!  WHAT HAPPENED TO WOMEN’S STUDIES?? Tickets, Sat, Feb 7, 2026 at 1:00 PM | Eventbrite

Karla Mantila is a radical feminist whose grounding in feminism coalesced as a collective member of Off Our Backs, a newsjournal by, for, and about women that was published from 1970 to 2008. She is the author of Gendertrolling: How Misogyny Went Viral (Praeger, 2015), and she taught sociology at George Mason University, Gettysburg College, McDaniel College, and University of Maryland at College Park. She was the managing editor of Feminist Studies, a women’s studies academic journal, where she was witness to the fundamental erosion of feminist thought throughout the field of academic women’s studies.

FIST’s Feminist forum series are women-only interactive educational events where participants are encouraged to ask questions, express their opinions, and engage in vigorous discussion.

THE STATE-SANCTIONED FEMICIDE OF RENEE GOOD

Posted on by

By Al Addesso

(This post is the opinion of the author and not an official statement of Feminists In Struggle as an organization.  However, many of our active members share these sentiments and are similarly appalled by Renee’s murder at the hands of ICE agents. )

Renee Good was a mother, writer, former chorus singer, lesbian, wife and American citizen. But she will be forever remembered for her murder that was recorded and viewed by millions on the internet.

On January 7, 2026 Good blocked ICE agents in the middle of the street with her SUV in an effort to stop their terrorizing of her Minneapolis neighborhood, even though she had only lived in the city for a year.

“..we stopped to support our neighbors,” said her wife Becca Good. “We had whistles. They had guns.”

The ICE agents surrounded her car while her wife stood in the street.

As she began to reverse and turn to get away from them, one officer who was lightly tapped by Good’s vehicle shot her at point blank range. In the audio of the video Jonathon Ross, the agent that shot Good, can be heard saying “fucking bitch” after shots are fired, the same slur that most women hear before they are murdered by males.

Renee Good’s death was a femicide committed by an agent of the State.

Good was the widow of a military veteran and was also murdered by a military veteran. Ross served in the Iraq War and had worked for ICE since 2016. Ross was dragged 50 yards by a vehicle 6 months earlier after he bashed in a car’s window and unlocked the door while trying to detain someone.

               The State sanctioned murder of Renee Good spotlights not just the fascist terror of the current US administration and militarized aggression being used against US residents, but also the patriarchal system and blatant woman hate that undergirds it. Ross gets the thoughts and prayers of the federal government and those that support it. Good, as women often do, gets blamed for her own murder.

PUBERTY IS NOT PATHOLOGY – OPPOSE THE UK EXPERIMENT ON HEALTHY CHILDREN!

Posted on by

Feminists In Struggle has signed onto  a statement protesting this horrific UK experiment on the bodies of healthy children, most of whom, if left alone, would likely grow up to be gay or lesbian.

Our FIST member, Shannon, who also runs the Hear She! Hear She! list, has issued this powerful statement about why this experiment must be stopped:

The UK Destruction of Children Continues with Wes Streeting’s Puberty Blocker Medical Trial.  They are experimenting on  LIVE HEALTHY CHILDREN. Not guinea pigs, rabbits, or even just the decency of reviewing existing data. Children as young as 9, as old as 15, 220 children will be burdened for life from UK’s new 2 year medical trial set to ask the all important transgender question: Does medicalization make you feel good or bad? There is only ONE correct answer.

The cult is strong. The burden of global peer pressure on said children being set up to “save” all transgender children of the world leaves only one correct answer. No scientific methods needed for trans global capture! Sterilized? Oh well. Disabled? So sorry. Brain damage? Small price. Suffering as patients for life, is part of the trans joy afterall (see trans-tiktok). STOMA bags are sold as the ultimate freedom. Surgeries (100% failure rate) also introduce infections, necrosis, sepsis, opioid use.

Dr. Cass supports this trial stating, “At least children won’t have to get the drugs from the dark web.” Do we do this with heroin? Crack? ANYTHING? If it’s not legal, it is criminal. How could a child stand against such global pressure and check off “NO” at the end of this trial? Could a child have stood up to the Spanish Inquisition? Is BIID next? The removal of arms is illegal, but female organs are now disposable. One “trans care” surgeon calls the hysterectomy surgery “jack-o-lanterning.” No misogyny there. No elective body parts. ONE BODY. NO child is born in the wrong body. Would we tell this to disabled children?

We have the DATA, rendering this trial as unnecessary. The white lab coat effect and powerful, profiting industry and lobbyists have allowed this latest medical atrocity to play out on our youngest girls, who are always vulnerable, especially during prepubescence. But the money! $1 million per female by the age of 21 put through the medical system. The T industry won’t give it up easily. Why do NHS social medical systems AND the US “for-profit” system both agree on trans medicalization? Money.

PUBERTY IS NOT PATHOLOGY. Puberty is a human right. Ratified by 196 countries, the UN convention on the Rights of the Child upheld to “ensure the right to development and freedom from abuses”…including from a doctor. We are not Peter Pan. After the lovebombing of the all-curing snake oil of false “gender-affirming care” (sold by doctors and preschool teachers alike), the data demonstrates use of puberty blockers lead 98% to continue onto cross sex hormones and many have irreversible surgeries. Suffering broken bodies, chronic pain, brain fog, decreased IQ, prolapsed uteruses, osteoporosis, cut clitoris nerves, anorgasmia, even heart attacks in their 20’s! Dr. Malone of SEGM states, “it is me who has to tell the 29 yo woman who suffered a heart attack to stop the hormones. The gender clinic from 15 years ago doesn’t do it, I have to.”

NO evidence exists that support these interventions. This is modern Skoptsy cult, and as brutal as the thalidomide and lobotomy horrors. Our children deserve protection. Shame on us. Selling false promises. For example, many children have “a strong desire” (this is the decisive measurement (?) to justify child mutilation for this trial) to fly, but we don’t surgically attach wings and throw them out the window telling them emphatically, we are adults, we know you can fly! Who are we to say they shouldn’t try? Facts must matter.

As the fact of “woman” was erased, so now is “child.” “Mature minor” and the atrocious “Gillick competence test” makes a child as young as 12, an adult. We know “consent” is its next use. Children can consent to dismemberment, why not sex? What types of men love the idea of a child’s body of legal age?

“If names be not correct, language is not in accordance with the truth of things. – Confucius

Trans suicides are a lie, used to push T medicalization. Parental hatred is another falsity. The Skirmetti Supreme Court case forced T pusher/lawyer Chase Strangio (f) (funded in perpetuity by HRC to ACLU) to admit in court that transgender suicides are nil. Suicides DO happen AFTERWARDS, when the lovebombing of the T cult fades, when broken promises remain with broken bodies, chronic pain, no family, sunken costs, and a cult that will destroy them if they “detransition.” Facts must matter.

Women are always the barrier for the child, their only protection. FGM, misogyny, mastectomies, deadnaming, family alienation, glitter families, no outside information, no debate, men in women’s prison cells/shelters/sports/bathrooms, kidnapping, billionaire T pushers/lobbyists, shunned or worse if detransition ..literal pound of flesh -stunted bodies, minds, IQ’s.. all CULT based.

Politically, trans ideology TAKES rights. T is destroying many countries’ next generation, compelling speech, voiding laws and constitutional rights..The T is a boon for any enemy. We must give NO QUARTER. Puberty creates victors, not victims! Stand against forcing every child to “choose” between a “cis” or a “trans” puberty.

Trans industries need us to accept biology and body parts as “optional” in order to socially engineer society for transhumanism. It is here. The new “conversion therapy bans” actually legally force medicalization! Trans IS medical conversion! The Trans cult spreads by social contagion AND powerful trans pushers. Foster care children are used as trans guinea pigs!

Tavistock data, and many others data already exist showing harmful irreversible outcomes. Thus far, when children are left alone, PUBERTY literally cures the so-called “gender dysphoria/dysmorphia. This WES STREETING medical mutilation of children “TRIAL” cannot know which child would be cured naturally, and which will not. This moment calls to us to have courage, so we can answer the question, “where were you when the global child dismemberments were happening?”

NOT one more child. We must NOT obey. Women always protected the children. Fists up!

Please SIGN: https://protectingpuberty.com/#sign-statement Protecting Puberty – Memorandum of Understanding LET your legislators know too! # PUBERTYISNOTPATHOLOGY

Thank you sisters of FIST, for standing up for children.

In Solidarity, Shannon

Hear SHE! Hear SHE! Join us! 1 anonymous action email/week: hearshehearshe@gmail.com .

A NEW YEAR’S MESSAGE FROM FEMINISTS IN STRUGGLE

Posted on by

Sisters,

We in FIST have had an amazing year.  We have continued our highly successful program of feminist forums on zoom.  We took stands on important issues like opposing so-called “gender affirming care” that does permanent physical harm to gender non-conforming children and youth, mostly future lesbians and gays.  We supported the duly ratified Equal Rights Amendment which we women need desperately to give us the tool we need to achieve equal rights under the law everywhere in this nation.

We signed onto two amicus briefs for recognition of the ERA ; one, the case of Equal Means Equal v. Donald Trump, which will be heard in Federal Court this coming March.  The second, Putnam v. Putnam, is a North Carolina case challenging sex discrimination in application of the child welfare standard for custody.

We did all this while growing our grassroots membership-run multi-issue radical feminist organization.

Our 2026, feminist forum series should start off with a bang.  We will be hosting Karla Mantilla on February 7, 2026 to lead a discussion on “What Happened to Women’s Studies”,  the erosion of feminist-oriented women’s studies programs at universities by misogynist ideologies like “gender identity” and “queer theory.”  Tickets are on-sale now. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/what-happened-to-womens-studies-tickets-1979025432342?aff=oddtdtcreator

For International Women’s Day, we will be hosting an organization advocating for women refugees and mothers who are escaping domestic violence. In addition, we have plans for a forum to help launch the lesbian-feminist anthology, “I Wish I Were A Lesbian” that will be published later this year by Spinefex Press. Stay tuned!

In a time of darkness, we the women, hand-in-hand, struggling for our liberation are the light!

PLEASE JOIN US BY BECOMING A MEMBER!  SISTERHOOD IS POWERFUL!

THE LEAST OF THESE

Posted on by

By Ann Menasche

This opinion piece is that of the author and does not necessarily represent the opinions of Feminists In Struggle as an organization.

Working as I do representing people who lack regular homes, many of them sheltering in RVs or other vehicles, I have noticed a demographic change in this population.  When in the past unhoused people were mostly men, and mostly people with disabilities and retirees on fixed incomes that were not enough to live on, or people whose drug and alcohol addiction precipitated their homelessness, nowadays the population is more and more female, with many holding down jobs, sometimes more than one.   They are often single and divorced women, women who more often than not are escaping domestic violence from male partners, some without children, others with young children and still others grandmothers.  They are native-born women who have to fear police drowning them in tickets they cannot afford to pay, impounding their vehicles and criminalizing them as they attempt to stay safe and build an independent life away from their abusers; and immigrant women, who are terrified of ICE raids and deportations on top of everything else.   The women are even sometimes working professionals.  A medical doctor that I know moved into her RV after her divorce but unlike most of my clients, can afford to pay for an RV park in the city.  She just can’t afford the $3,000 to $4,000 per month cost of renting an apartment in San Diego.  I know women lawyers who came darn close to being on the streets.

Rather than their homelessness being a “choice” or a “lifestyle”, these women are the victims of factors beyond their control – the skyrocketing cost of housing that has left half the population of San Diego struggling to pay the rent – one illness, one layoff, or one rent raise away from homelessness; and abysmally low female wages. Even women in the professions still make less than their male counterparts.

The average women makes 81.5% of what men make when compared to men with similar demographic characteristics, family situations, work hours and experiences. This discrepancy is worse for women of color. Wage inequality begins early and worsens over time. Lower pay means women in their senior years have lower pensions and Social Security payments.

Decades after the passage of the Lily Ledbetter Act, and we are still being denied equal pay for equal work.  The recognition of the Equal Rights Amendment as part of the Constitution and stronger equal pay laws are needed, which, given the segregation of the workforce itself,  should also include equal pay for work of comparable value.  Why should a school teacher or social worker, female dominated professions that require advanced education, get less pay than an engineer?

When we think about the poor this holiday season, let’s keep the female face of poverty uppermost in our minds.  And if we want to put a dent on homelessness, paying women fairly would be a start.

Happy holidays, sisters!

 

 

 

A MODERN TRAIL OF TEARS

Posted on by

By Ann Menasche

This piece is the opinion of the author and does not necessarily represent the opinion of FIST as an organization.

The United States knows quite a bit about genocide and ethnic cleansing.  In the 1830’s, 60,000 Native Americans – the Cherokee and other tribes – were forcibly removed from their homeland in the Southern U.S and forced into reservations. About 16,000 died during this forced exile hundreds of miles to Oklahoma, from disease, starvation, and exposure to the elements in what became known as the “Trail of Tears.”  It was fundamentally a land grab by white settlers with the support of the U.S. government.  And it was genocide, though the concept didn’t really exist until the modern era.

Since 1948, genocide has been defined as “acts committed with the intent to destroy in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group.”  The acts include killing, causing serious harm, inflicting conditions of life to destroy a group, preventing births, and forcibly transferring children.

How little humanity has learned since the original Trial of Tears of two centuries ago. We are now seeing unfolding in real time on our screens the destruction in whole or in part of the Palestinians of Gaza.   More tonnage of bombs has been dropped on Gaza than at Hiroshima, with at least 60,000 dead, mostly women and children, with many more buried in the rubble.  The large majority of housing, schools, hospitals, mosques, civilian infrastructure, all that is necessary to sustain life, has been destroyed.  Even seeking the pittance of food aid that Israel allows into Gaza, can risk one’s life from sniper fire, as already hundreds have been killed in this gruesome fashion. Palestinians, left hungry and homeless,  have been herded from north to south and back again with no safe place to go.  And now with the attack and threatened occupation of Gaza City, there is virtually nothing left.

Israeli finance minister Bezalei Smotrich has shamelessly stated the purpose of this killing spree. He described Gaza as a potential real estate “bonanza”, claiming he was talking to the U.S. about dividing up the spoils.  “We have done the demolition phase, which is always the first phase of urban renewal – now we need to build.”  https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/18/middleeast/israel-smotrich-gaza-land-intl?cid=ios_app

So, they come in packed cars, or on foot carrying a few belongings, children carrying smaller children in their arms, tens of thousands leaving Gaza City and traveling many long miles filled with pain and despair. Others, without the funds or health to leave or fearing they are being offered a road to nowhere, constituting most of the residents, are still in the City awaiting their fate.

Meanwhile, the bombs keep falling, there is not enough food or water or medical equipment.  It’s a modern trail of tears.

So, what does genocide have to do with feminism?  Let’s be clear – to destroy a people you need to destroy the women.  Women are half the human race, but also the bearers of new life.    Though women are perfectly capable of fighting and being violent, war is still overwhelming men’s business, run by rich powerful men, the generals, the macho leaders of imperial nations like Trump and Netanyahu, the war profiteers, the real estate developers with their spread sheets, all motivated by greed and narrow self-interest.  Genocide is the epitome of patriarchy, of power over, of male violence on the largest scale imaginable. So that women as non-combatants are targeted is no surprise.

There is no justification for genocide, the demonization and collective punishment of a whole population, not ever.  It does not make anyone safe against the vengeful violence of oppressed or subordinated men.  Quite the opposite. Only peace with justice does that. Native Americans also engaged in what is called “terrorism” against white settlers.  No, it did not justify the Trail of Tears.  Israeli Jews have begun to understand that, with tens of thousands demanding an end to the war and recognizing that their government does not give a damn about the fate of the hostages or the lives of their soldiers to be sacrificed in a land grab and on the altar of forever war.  That so many feminists in the United States and the U.K. don’t comprehend this is more than distressing; it is heartbreaking.

As a Jew, part of my ancestry goes back to ancient Canaan.  Palestinians are my cousins.  As a feminist, the women of Gaza are my sisters.  I share their tears. Enough.