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The patriarchy in one iconic photo

Donald Trump is so incompetent that even his insults backfire. On Wednesday the president tweeted an instantly iconic photo of Nancy Pelosi reprimanding him during a meeting on Syria. “Nervous Nancy’s unhinged meltdown!” he wrote.

There is generally little point trying to figure out what goes on in Trump’s head because very little goes on in his head. The man is pure id. However, one imagines that Trump thought the photo made him look calm and collected, and made Pelosi seem like a hysterical woman, who is too emotional to lead. In reality (a realm where Trump rarely ventures), of course, Pelosi looked like the most powerful person in the room. She’s standing tall amid a group of smirking white men and she’s literally standing up to Trump. The president, meanwhile, looks like a toddler who has been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

The Pelosi/Trump photo immediately went viral. And for good reason – the picture doesn’t just show a particular moment between two politicians, it’s a perfect snapshot of the patriarchy. I doubt there is a working woman in the world who hasn’t, at some point, found herself the lone female in a boardroom full of condescending men. And I doubt there’s a woman in the world who hasn’t had her strength rebranded as “aggression”, “bossiness”, or “hysteria”. Calling women “crazy” or “unhinged” in order to put them in their place is something men have been doing for centuries.

Pelosi, it should be said, didn’t seem particular nervous about the episode with Trump. Rather she spun it to her advantage and turned the picture of her reprimanding Trump into her Twitter cover photo. I’m not always Pelosi’s biggest fan, but there’s no denying she has the art of dealing with an unhinged narcissist down pat.

Women’s World Cup breaks viewing records

An unprecedent 1.2 billion viewers watched the 2019 Women’s World Cup, according to Fifa. “The fact we broke one billion shows the pulling power of the women’s game,” the Fifa president said. Too right it does. Now maybe we could start ensuring the women’s game also has paying power and start reimbursing female players properly.

Badass of the week: Lebanese kickboxing protester

Lebanon has seen massive protests this week over government corruption. Please do enjoy this video of one fearless Lebanese woman kicking a minister’s armed bodyguard in the groin. I wouldn’t normally condone violence, but I’m sure we can all agree that there are occasions in which kicking a corrupt patriarchy in the nuts is very much warranted.

A giant leap for womankind

Nasa astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir made history on Friday with the first all-female space walk. The herstoric event was originally scheduled to take place earlier this year but, embarrassingly, had to be postponed because of a somewhat sexist wardrobe malfunction.

Wrangling with The Wing women

The Wing is a women-only co-working space that has generated a ton of buzz and divided a lot of opinions. Is it an example of female empowerment or elitism and privilege? The Guardian takes an in-depth look.

Moroccan journalist in ‘illegal abortion’ case pardoned

Last month Hajar Raissouni was sentenced to a year in prison for “having an illegal abortion and sexual relations outside marriage”. Raissouni has said she was targeted for her work as a journalist and the case has come to symbolize the suppression of the free press and women’s rights in Morocco. On Wednesday, following international pressure, Morocco’s King Mohammed VI pardoned Raissouni. The pardon has been criticized as being superficial rather than a sign of any systemic change.

Australia’s ‘great feminist Fyre Festival’

Journalist Tracey Spicer is the face of Australia’s #MeToo movement. She launched an organisation called NOW Australia, similar to Americas “Time’s Up”, that would let victims of sexual abuse access legal services and has received tons of accolades for her work. Indeed, she is due to collect the Sydney Peace Prize soon. As BuzzFeed News reports, however, NOW has drastically failed to live up to its hype and is now being described as the “great feminist Fyre Festival”.

Black and Hispanic women assigned the worst schedules

The University of California’s Shift Project has found that hourly workers are more likely to be assigned irregular schedules if they are minorities or women. Researchers found that white men were given the best hours, while Black and Hispanic workers were stuck with the worst. Non-white workers were also more likely to get their shifts cancelled. This scheduling uncertainty has serious consequences for everything from childcare arrangements to stress levels.

Princess Ivanka tours Louis Vuitton factories

The first daughter continued her brave fight for women’s rights by ignoring everything that’s happening in Syria and touring Louis Vuitton factories instead. Because nothing empowers women like a $5,000 handbag!