Introduction
Jill Filipovic (born c. 1983) is a New York attorney and a liberal / progressive feminist author.
Education
Originally from the Seattle area, Filipovic earned a BA degree with dual majors in Journalism and Politics from New York University (NYU) and a JD degree from the NYU School of Law in 2008.
Work
She was hired by Cosmopolitan to write for the cosmopolitan.com blog in April 2014. Prior to that she was a columnist for The Guardian and, since 2005, a blogger at Feministe, one of the largest feminist blogs. She has written articles for the New York Times, Washington Post, and Time magazine, and a commentator on CNN.
Opinions
Men's rights groups
Filipovic has been an outspoken critic of A Voice for Men. Michelle Goldberg, writing in The Washington Post, said she had been "singled out by [men's rights groups]" for her criticism. She was also cited in Hate Crimes in Cyberspace as a victim of hate crime for her feminism. According to Kerryn Goldsworthy, she has been Googlebombed by her detractors.
TSA and civil liberties
A Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screener was fired after Filipovic used her blog to describe an incident in which a handwritten comment was left in her luggage. She later wrote "I would much prefer a look at why 'security' has been used to justify so many intrusions into our civil liberties".
Beauty pageants
Filipovic has been noted for her writing about beauty pageants, saying "the norms that these contests promote are unfortunately not ... obsolete ... we pay lip service to women's rights, but focus more on how good women look in a bathing suit".
Name change
Filipovic's opposition to name change for women who marry (published in The Guardian) was cited as recommended reading on the social construction of gender in Critical Encounters in Secondary English: Teaching Literacy Theory to Adolescents.
Rasmea Odeh
Filipovic questioned Palestinian activist and former Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine member Rasmea Odeh's participation in progressive organizing. Filipovic stated that even if accounts of Odeh's torture and sexual assault were true, participation in terrorist acts was one of her "hard lines."
Awards
- 2015 Society of Professional Journalists Sigma Delta Chi Award, best online column writing
- 2015 Planned Parenthood Federation of America Maggie Award for Media Excellence for best TV and online reporting
- 2014 Society of Professional Journalists Sigma Delta Chi Award, best online column writing
- 2014 Newswomen's Club of New York Front Page Award for opinion/ criticism