For Sama Review

A mother’s love is endless. She will do almost anything in her power to ensure that her child is happy and successful. In a time of war, that includes nearly doing the unthinkable.

In the Oscar nominated documentary, For Sama, is the story of an ordinary woman who is merely trying to survive the Syrian civil war. As the war starts, Waad al-Kateab is doing what we all do. She goes to school, gets a job, falls in love, marries her husband and has a daughter, Sama. But the world that Sama is growing up in is not ordinary. Told through the perspective of Waad’s camera, this documentary takes the viewer into a Syria that few of us outside of that country will ever see.

Directed by Waad al-Kateab and Edward Watts, this documentary is both personal and hard hitting. In telling the story of this woman and her family, the western audience is given a vantage point that only someone who is on the ground can provide.

I absolutely recommend it.

For Sama is available for streaming on Frontline.

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Yes Means Yes!: Visions of Female Sexual Power and a World without Rape Book Review

In the eyes of certain people (who shall remain nameless), when a women says no to sex, it does not mean no. It means yes.

Yes Means Yes!: Visions of Female Sexual Power and a World without Rape was originally published in 2006. Republished in 2019, the book is a compilation of essays put together by editors Jaclyn Friedman and Jessica Valenti. Open, sometimes hard to read and in your face without being difficult, the book explores how women’s sexuality is treated, especially when rape and/or sexual assault occurs.

This book is brilliant and a must read for anyone, regardless of gender, gender identity or sexual orientation. It throws off the old ideas of about women and the misconceptions of our sexuality. By throwing off these ideas, it forces readers to take a hard look at how women’s sexuality is viewed and what must be done so rape and sexual assault becomes a thing of the past.

I absolutely recommend it.