Tune in each month as Shuci Zhang explores feminism and antiracism through the lens of modern times. Keep Calm and Rage On.

Introducing Calm & Furious

AURORA's Queendom puts words to the all-encompassing feminist spirit of our time. The song captures the inclusivity of modern feminism, celebrating the women, the outcasts, mother nature, and all of humanity, signifying a new chapter in the fight against systemic oppression. At Calm & Furious, I will explain how Queendom poetically embodies a new vision of feminism we all need. But before we go into the song dissection, it's necessary to understand how feminism got here to see the significance of this new feminist anthem. In this episode, let's focus on the four waves of feminism and how the movement evolved to be increasingly inclusive and controversial.

Our cover art features the album cover of AURORA's A Different Kind of Human (Step II). The audio clips are from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's TED Talk We Should All Be Feminists, Margaret Sanger's interview with Mike Wallace, Gloria Steinem's 1970s Women's Liberation Rally speech, Kimberlé Crenshaw's TED Talk The Urgency of Intersectionality, footages of the 2017 Women's March in Washington. D.C., and AURORA's Queendom.

References and further readings:
The waves of feminism, and why people keep fighting over them, explained
www.vox.com/2018/3/20/16955588/feminism-waves-explained-first-second-third-fourth
5 Black Suffragists Who Fought for the 19th Amendment — And Much More
www.history.com/news/black-suffragists-19th-amendment
Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions, Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1848)
Ain't I a Woman? Sojourner Truth (1851)
sourcebooks.fordham.edu/mod/sojtruth-woman.asp
A Room of One's Own, Virginia Woolf (1929)
The Second Sex, Simone de Beauvoir (1949)
The Feminine Mystique, Betty Friedan (1963)
Sexual Politics, Kate Millett (1970)
"Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema", Laura Mulvey (1973)
Against Our Will: Men, Women, and Rape, Susan Brownmiller (1975)
Ain't I a Woman? Black Women and Feminism, bell hooks (1981)
The Beauty Myth, Naomi Wolf (1990)
Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity, Judith Butler (1990)
"Riot GRRRL Manifesto", Kathleen Hanna (1991)
www.historyisaweapon.com/defcon1/riotgrrrlmanifesto
Men Explain Things to Me, Rebecca Solnit (2014)
Bad Feminist, Roxane Gay (2014)

If you need support after rape and sexual assault, contact https://metoomvmt.org to get free help — you are not alone.

Queendom Dissection Part I: The Waves of Feminism

In this episode of Calm & Furious, let's delve into the world of AURORA's Queendom and dissect its lyrical context, creative expressions, differences and similarities with mainstream feminist pop music, and how this new feminist anthem creates a home for the women, the outcasts, the lonely and misunderstood, and ultimately, all of humanity.

Queendom Dissection Part II: The New Feminist Anthem

Joined by lovely friends Riley and Kylie, this episode discusses the quintessential American novel The Great Gatsby through feminist criticism, gender theory, and queer theory, with some additional thoughts about modern queer media representation.

Should We Still Read The Great Gatsby? Part I: Feminist, Gender, and Queer Theory

This is the second part of the analysis of The Great Gatsby in which Riley, Kylie, and I read the quintessential American novel through critical race theory, going deeper in our discussion about whether we should still read The Great Gatsby along with some additional thoughts on the recent Republican CRT ban.

The NYT article: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/01/us/politics/critical-race-theory.html

Should We Still Read The Great Gatsby? Part II: Critical Race Theory

This episode of Calm & Furious is the first part of a three-part discussion about cults and social justice. Together with the brilliant Ms. Brosh, we'll talk about the individual and collective psychology of cults and the sociopolitical conditions that give rise to cults and belief systems. In the next two episodes, we'll discuss how cults interact with social constructs like race and gender, especially in the digital age, and the clickbait question "Is Social Justice a Cult?" Stay tuned to hear the full conversation!

Cults & Social Justice Part I: The Psychology of Cults

Joined by Ms. Brosh, this episode of Calm & Furious is the second part of a three-part discussion about cults and social justice. We'll talk about how cults interact with social constructs like race and gender, and how they can act as an outlet of both progressive values and bigotry, especially in the digital age. In the next episode, which will be the last one on cults, we'll discuss the clickbait question "Is Social Justice a Cult?" and how we can be better at navigating through spirals of radicalization. Make sure to listen to the episode prior to this one to keep up with our flow of conversation!

Cults & Social Justice Part II: The Politics of Cults

The Halloween Special. BoO!

References
Canales, Katie. “A Los Angeles Artist Is Selling $180 'Karen' Halloween Masks, Calling Them 'The Real Monsters of 2020'.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 12 Sept. 2020, https://www.businessinsider.com/karen-halloween-masks-etsy-selling-online-2020-9.
Fetters, Ashley. “4 Big Problems with 'The Feminine Mystique'.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 10 Jan. 2017, https://www.theatlantic.com/sexes/archive/2013/02/4-big-problems-with-the-feminine-mystique/273069/.
“Gloria Steinem and Julie Taymor Explain Why the 'Karen' Meme Is Sexist.” Yahoo!, Yahoo!, https://www.yahoo.com/now/gloria-steinem-julie-taymor-karen-meme-sexist-162810020.html.
Goldblatt, Henry. “A Brief History of 'Karen'.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 31 July 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/31/style/karen-name-meme-history.html.
Lang, Cady. “How the Karen Meme Confronts History of White Womanhood.” Time, Time, 6 July 2020, https://time.com/5857023/karen-meme-history-meaning/.
Martin, Douglas. “Phyllis Schlafly, 'First Lady' of a Political March to the Right, Dies at 92.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 5 Sept. 2016, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/06/obituaries/phyllis-schlafly-conservative-leader-and-foe-of-era-dies-at-92.html.
Pérez-peña, Richard. “Woman Linked to 1955 Emmett till Murder Tells Historian Her Claims Were False.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 28 Jan. 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/27/us/emmett-till-lynching-carolyn-bryant-donham.html.
Romano, Aja. “How ‘Karen’ Became a Symbol of Racism.” Vox, Vox, 21 July 2020, https://www.vox.com/21317728/karen-meaning-meme-racist-coronavirus.
Poole, W. Scott. Monsters in America: Our Historical Obsession with the Hideous and the Haunting. Texas, Baylor University Press, 2018.
Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft. Frankenstein. Dover Publications, 1994.

The Karen: How Privilege & Powerlessness Birth a Modern Monster

This episode of Calm & Furious is the last part of a three-part discussion about cults and social justice. Joined by our brilliant guest Ms. Brosh, we'll talk about the clickbait question, "Is Social Justice a Cult?", and how we can be better at navigating through spirals of radicalization. Make sure to listen to the previous episodes!

P.S. If you're curious, here are the tenets of Flying Spaghetti Monster believers (apparently called pastafarians): https://pastafarians.org.au/tenets/

Is Social Justice a Cult? (no*)

In this Seattle special of Calm & Furious, let us walk into the enthralling world of the anarchist collective Left Bank Books, a rare gem of the emerald city.

Explore Left Bank Books: Seattle's Leftist Treasure

At Calm & Furious, we tackle social justice subjects with the focus on feminism and antiracism through the lens of modern times. Featuring solo commentaries, roundtable discussions, interviews, and radio dramas, we explore cultural phenomenons, media representation, and the works that challenge or perpetuate limited visions of the world. Hosted by Shuci Zhang, a Gen Z immigrant, Calm & Furious embodies the dichotomy between rigorous analyses and the underlying rage, or good impatience, against injustice. Our theme song, "Momentum", was created by our artificial intelligence friend at AIVA. Our cover art was created in the style of Barbara Kruger.