The authority gap strikes again (and four other reads)

Five things on gender (in)equality and the backlash against feminism

Dear readers old and new,

Two small things before we dive in to this week’s reads. First of all, the publication I work at,

Prospect Magazine

, is now on Substack with an excellent daily email. Please do follow and/or subscribe to us here to get all our latest writing and podcasts.

Speaking of which, on this week’s Prospect Podcast, which I co-host, we spoke with the writer and journalist

James Bloodworth

about his brilliant and very Backlash-relevant new book on the manosphere. You can watch or listen to our conversation.

And now to the reads…

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1) The authority gap strikes again

After 7th October, it emerged that young female soldiers at lookout posts on the Gaza border had repeatedly warned that Hamas was planning something. These women had observed unusual behaviour on the other side of the border fence. Their warnings were not heeded, and these young women were among those killed and taken hostage that day. As Mary Ann Sieghart has explained, this looks like what she calls the authority gap, where women are perceived as having less knowledge or expertise than men. And often, as a consequence, they are not listened to. On her new (and highly recommended) newsletter,

Luba Kassova

has written about a more recent example of this phenomenon: when Donald Trump disregarded what Tulsi Gabbard, his national security adviser, had to say about the intel on whether or not Iran was poised to build a nuclear weapon. Setting aside Gabbard’s numerous controversial positions, Trump publicly sidelined and humiliated a very senior member of his government. What are the implications of women being ignored at the highest levels of decision-making? She writes:

I am worried that the fate of my children is in the hands of a group of over-confident, impulsive men who are not driven in any shape or form by compassion or held back by potentially horrific consequences. And so this piece is my act of defiance. The only way I know how to retaliate right now. It is my call for peace, my call for more women to be part of government cabinets and, importantly, for their voices to be listened to, respected and acted upon.

PS Luba wrote an excellent piece on this for New Lines Magazine last year.

2) Everything changes, everything stays the same

Having already been a fan of her former Observer advice column, I have really been enjoying

Philippa Perry

’s newsletter here. In a recent edition, she recognised in a question she received the signs of a relationship burdened with gender inequality. I wanted to include a link to this because these delicate, often invisible, imbalances, keep so many women in a deeply unequal state. When I was young, I assumed such imbalances would have disappeared by the time I was a grown-up. Oh, how naive I was! I have met women twenty years younger than me doing this invisible labour for a boyfriend. Perry, as ever, has great advice. Here is a section of it:

When a partner declares that their career is the most important thing to them, and seems unwilling to consider yours, it suggests a dynamic where your needs and hopes are not being held in equal regard. You are being asked to live in service of his ambitions, to keep the domestic sphere intact so he can be free in the world. But now that you are feeling the call of your own path, this imbalance has become more apparent. As you say, it’s as if he is gripping the steering wheel and you’re in the passenger seat, with no map and no voice in where you’re going.

The post also includes various quotes from the likes of bell hooks about how living under patriarchy affects both men and women.

3) UK trans rights campaigners appeal to Council of Europe

Following April’s UK Supreme Court decision on gender and biological sex, groups campaigning for transgender rights have written a joint letter to the Council of Europe. They argue that the recent ruling puts trans people in an “‘intermediate zone’, placing the State—once again—in violation of its positive obligations under” the European Convention on Human Rights. They also write: “We note that the situation is urgent and that without intervention, it seems likely to further deteriorate.” Here is the letter:

Ps This week, some “900 trans people and allies descended on Westminster in what was the largest LGBTQIA+ mass lobby in UK history. Yet, if you relied on the national press to know it happened, you’d be forgiven for not having a clue,” writes Lee Hurley on The Trans Agenda.

4) It’s been three years since Dobbs

On June 24th 2022, the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade, opening the door to the rolling back of abortion rights in America. On The Persistent, Josie Cox asks how perspectives on abortion in the US have changed since then. She writes:

This month new research showed, for example, that Arkansas is the only state in America where the balance of public opinion is against abortion by a statistically significant margin. That survey, conducted by the Pew Research Center, found that in 34 U.S. states, as well as in the District of Columbia, more people say that abortion should be legal than say that it should be illegal, in all or most cases.

And also

As well as differing significantly by state, views also vary widely by religious affiliation, race and political ideology. About three-quarters of white evangelical Protestants, for example, said that they think abortion should be illegal in all or most cases. By contrast, 86% of religiously unaffiliated Americans say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, as do 71% of Black Protestants, 64% of white non-evangelical Protestants and 59% of Catholics.

As Cox writes, 13 US states have total abortion bans, while others ban abortion from six weeks. Some 25 states have introduced bills to limit medical abortion.

On

Abortion, Every Day

,

Kylie Cheung

has a piece on the “stats that defined our post-Dobbs world”. Here is a snippet:

…just last week the National Bureau of Economic Research published a new study that showed abortion bans have increased intimate partner violence across the U.S. since Dobbs, linking these laws to 9,000 additional incidents of intimate partner violence. Before that, in 2023, the National Domestic Violence Hotline reported that acts of reproductive coercion reported to their hotline doubled in the first year after Dobbs.

5) Bonnie Blue on feminism

When I read about her proposed “petting zoo” I, like many others I’m sure, felt rather depressed. I find it hard to see this as the act of someone who is free or empowered, but this week, the recently banned-from-OnlyFans creator Bonnie Blue said in an interview that she is “a lady that’s taken full control of the body”. Here is more of what she said:

"I wouldn't say I'm not a feminist," she tells Newsweek over a video interview. "I do believe women should have a voice and they should be in control," she says."A lot of people say I actually bring women back 100 years, but I'm a clear example of a lady that's taken full control of the body." Blue continues. "This is to a certain degree, what feminism has asked for, a woman that can take control. I don't feel intimidated by men. I'm actually paid more than guys in my industry. I have a complete voice and I don't ever feel taken advantage of."

And also:

Addressing the criticism she has faced, Blue told Newsweek: "When you're a sex worker, you get hate, regardless. 'You're disgusting, you're a prostitute, s***, w*****,' you get it all anyway."

Bonus: Feminist collectives on Israel-Iran | the gendered coverage of Bezos and Sanchez

Thanks so much for reading. See you next time.