Liz Hanssen

Liz Hanssen hails from Brooklyn, New York and now lives in Northampton, Mass. She has worked as a writer, instructor of gender studies, and, most recently, as the managing editor of Meridians: Feminism, Race, Transnationalism, an academic journal based at Smith College. She has written for The Women's Times and The Huffington Post, among others, and is presently working on a memoir and a collection of essays on parenting queer and transgender children.

Posts Written by Liz
By Liz Hanssen • 7 years ago

Whose Democracy, Whose Revolution?

Crossposted on Medium

The history of an oppressed people is hidden in the lies and the agreed myth of its conquerors. ~Meridel LeSueur*

I recently provoked the ire of a (white, male) Bernie supporter and self-identified progressive when I stated my observation that Sanders’ supporters represented a privileged population. “Privileged”? He was clearly offended–and I was genuinely surprised by his defensive response. I had assumed that the privilege represented in Sanders’s predominantly white, male, and college educated following was self-evident, obvious to someone who walks the world in progressive shoes–which I take to mean someone who has done the work of understanding how privilege functions and actively works to redress the inequalities produced by systemic oppressions.

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By Liz Hanssen • 9 years ago

Rolling Stone’s rape crisis: And the band played on

And on and on and on. Following the release of Columbia School of Journalism’s April 5 report, “A Failure That Could Have Been Avoided,” the majority of media responses have focused on the hows of the fiasco, as did the Columbia report itself: how Rolling Stone‘s seasoned editorial staff deviated from standard editorial procedures in their zeal to publish their highly controversial story “A Rape on Campus” in the December 2014 issue. 

And on and on and on. Following the release of Columbia School of Journalism’s April 5 report, “A Failure That Could Have Been Avoided,” the majority of media responses have focused on the hows of the ...

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By Liz Hanssen • 9 years ago

Language matters: Media’s role in sustaining rape culture

The language we use is integral to how our collective psyche understands and translates sexual violence. In this vast information age, the media plays an increasingly vital role in developing and using language that is accurate, responsible, and meaningful. Yet, this is rarely the case.

The language we use is integral to how our collective psyche understands and translates sexual violence. In this vast information age, the media plays an increasingly vital role in developing and using language that is accurate, responsible, ...