Three Holiday Essays That Shouldn’t Still Be Relevant (But Are)
The holidays promise peace and cheer, but they also offer a front-row seat to how gender expectations and sexism operate in real time—from the unpaid, invisible labor that keeps every celebration running, to the erasure of women’s names on envelopes, to family photos that literally bind and gag women and girls “for laughs.”
The holidays don’t create these patterns—they just make them impossible to ignore. Below are three of my most popular holiday posts, each sadly still relevant, and each asking the same question from a different angle: What are we teaching our children when we normalize the diminishment of women, even—or especially—during the season of joy?
Read them, share them, argue with them, bring them up at dinner.
I'm not going to wish you a picture-perfect holiday because nobody needs that pressure. Instead, I hope you find pockets of actual peace, the kind you don't have to orchestrate yourself. And while I would never tell you to smile this holiday season, I do hope you have reasons to. But if you don’t, remember, Raising Her Voice is always here—seeing it, naming it, refusing to let it slide.
Yours in cinnamon, sanity, and solidarity,
Jo-Ann
P.S. Looking for a last-minute gift for the feminist in your life (or someone you wish were more feminist)? This newsletter and my book Sexism & Sensibility both make thoughtful, meaningful presents. Or hey! Gift both and get 50% off a one-year subscription—a book and a subscription for less than the subscription alone. Just email your book receipt and I’ll send you the discount link.
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Thank you all so much for your incredible support, shares, likes, and excellent insights over the years. I’m very grateful ❤️.
"What are we teaching our children when we normalize the diminishment of women, even—or especially—during the season of joy?" Such a good question!
I'm so glad I subscribed to Raising Her Voice, so glad I found you. Thank you for posting links to your holiday essays. I plan to read all of them as soon as can be. I also plan to check out your book. Sometimes I just can't bear to contemplate the lack of progress, the ugliness of the backlash, the fact that "we haven't come a long way, baby." It helps to know I'm not alone. It helps to continue the fight.