Jessica Valenti (; born November 1, 1978
) is an American
feminist
Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
writer.
She was the co-founder of the blog
Feministing
Feministing.com was a feminist blog founded in 2004 by sisters Jessica and Vanessa Valenti. It had 1.2 million unique monthly visitors at its peak. The blog helped to popularize the term ''slut-shaming'' according to its directors Lori Adelman a ...
, which she wrote for from 2004 to 2011. Valenti is the author of five books: ''Full Frontal Feminism'' (2007), ''
He's a Stud, She's a Slut
''He's a Stud, She's a Slut, and 49 Other Double Standards Every Woman Should Know'' is a 2008 book by feminist writer Jessica Valenti. The 244-page work, commenting on what Valenti describes as 50 double-standards in expectations for women, is h ...
'' (2008), ''
The Purity Myth
''The Purity Myth: How America's Obsession with Virginity Is Hurting Young Women'' (2009) is a book about virginity by feminist author Jessica Valenti. The book was first released onto hardback on March 24, 2009, through Seal Press. Valenti argue ...
'' (2009), ''
Why Have Kids?'' (2012), and ''
Sex Object: A Memoir'' (2016). She also co-edited the books ''
Yes Means Yes: Visions of Female Sexual Power and A World Without Rape'' (2008), and ''Believe Me: How Trusting Women Can Change the World'' (2020). Between 2014 and 2018, Valenti was a columnist for ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...
.''
She is currently a columnist for
Medium
Medium may refer to:
Science and technology
Aviation
* Medium bomber, a class of war plane
* Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design
Communication
* Media (communication), tools used to store and deliver information or data
* Medium ...
.
Early life and education
Valenti was raised in
Long Island City
Long Island City (LIC) is a residential and commercial neighborhood on the extreme western tip of Queens, a borough in New York City. It is bordered by Astoria to the north; the East River to the west; New Calvary Cemetery in Sunnyside to the ...
, Queens, in an
Italian-American
Italian Americans ( it, italoamericani or ''italo-americani'', ) are Americans who have full or partial Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeast and industrial Midwestern metropolitan areas, ...
family.
She graduated from
Stuyvesant High School
, motto_translation = For knowledge and wisdom
, address = 345 Chambers Street
, city = New York
, state = New York
, zipcode = 10282
, country ...
in New York City in 1996
and attended
Tulane University
Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into a comprehensive pub ...
in New Orleans for a year, and then transferred to the
State University of New York at Albany
The State University of New York at Albany, commonly referred to as the University at Albany, UAlbany or SUNY Albany, is a public research university with campuses in Albany, Rensselaer, and Guilderland, New York. Founded in 1844, it is one ...
, graduating in 2001 with a
bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to si ...
in
journalism
Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the " news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (p ...
.
In 2002, Valenti received a master's degree in Women's and Gender Studies with a concentration in politics from
Rutgers University
Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...
.
Career
After graduating from college, Valenti worked for the
NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund and for the
Women's Environment & Development Organization
The Women's Environment & Development Organization (WEDO) is an international non-governmental organization based in New York City, U.S. that advocates women's equality in global policy. Its early successes included achieving gender equality in ...
. She wrote a blog for
NARAL Pro-Choice America
NARAL Pro-Choice America, commonly known as simply NARAL ( ), is a non-profit 501(c)(4) organization in the United States that engages in lobbying, political action, and advocacy efforts to oppose restrictions on abortion, to expand access to ...
and also taught at Rutgers University from 2008 to 2010.
''Feministing''
In April 2004, Valenti co-founded ''
Feministing
Feministing.com was a feminist blog founded in 2004 by sisters Jessica and Vanessa Valenti. It had 1.2 million unique monthly visitors at its peak. The blog helped to popularize the term ''slut-shaming'' according to its directors Lori Adelman a ...
'' with her sister and a friend while she was working at the
National Organization for Women
The National Organization for Women (NOW) is an American feminist organization. Founded in 1966, it is legally a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization. The organization consists of 550 chapters in all 50 U.S. states and in Washington, D.C. It ...
's legal defense fund (now
Legal Momentum
Legal Momentum, founded in 1970, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and the nation's first and longest-serving legal advocacy group for women in the United States. Betty Friedan and Muriel Fox were its co-founders and Muriel Fox is an ongoing leader of the ...
).
Homa Khaleeli writes in ''The Guardian's top 100 women'' that the site shifted the feminist movement online, triggering the creation of blogs and discussion groups, creating a heyday for feminism just as its death was being announced, as Khaleeli puts it. She writes that Valenti "felt the full force of being a pioneer," her involvement with the site attracting online abuse, even threats of rape and death.
Kymberly Blackstock included ''Feministing'' in her review of
feminist blog
A feminist blog presents the issues of feminism through a blog. Feminist blogs serve the purpose of spreading ideas, sparking debates, raising awareness, discussing opinions, sharing stories, and virtually spreading the notion of feminism througho ...
s, praising them for being "successful in giving a new generation the chance to engage with as well as begin to direct which topics will rise to the top of the feminist agenda". While she criticized Valenti for the blog's lack of involvement in global issues. She also writes that blogs like ''Feministing'' are helpful in encouraging
activism in young people, and allow them to see current events with a
feminist lens.
University of Wisconsin–Madison
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...
law professor
Ann Althouse
Ann Althouse (born January 12, 1951) is an American law professor and blogger.
Education
Raised in Newark and Wilmington, Delaware (and later as a teen in Wayne, New Jersey), Althouse has a degree in fine art from the University of Michigan, B. ...
criticized ''Feministing'' in 2006 for its sometimes sexualized content.
Erin Matson of the National Organization for Women's Young Feminist Task Force told ''
The Huffington Post
''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
'' the controversy was "a rehashing of a very old debate within the feminist community: is public sexuality empowering or harmful to women?"
Valenti left the site in February 2011, saying she wanted it to remain a place for younger feminists.
Writing
In 2007, Valenti wrote ''Full Frontal Feminism'', where she discusses the ways in which readers can benefit from being feminists.
In 2008, Valenti published ''
He's a Stud, She's a Slut and 49 Other Double Standards Every Woman Should Know''.
In 2008, Valenti was the co-editor of ''
Yes Means Yes: Visions of Female Sexual Power and A World Without Rape'' with
Jaclyn Friedman. The anthology featured a foreword by comedian
Margaret Cho
Margaret Moran Cho (born December 5, 1968) is an American comedian, actress, LGBT social activist, and musician. She is known for her stand-up routines, through which she critiques social and political problems, especially regarding race and se ...
.
In 2009, Valenti published (via Seal Press) ''
The Purity Myth: How America's Obsession with Virginity Is Hurting Young Women'', about the way ideals about women's sexuality are being used to weaken women's rights.
A documentary film based on the book, called ''The Purity Myth,'' was released in 2011 by the
Media Education Foundation
The Media Education Foundation is a nonprofit organization established in 1992 that produces and distributes documentary films about the impact of American mass media. Their films focus on topics such as gender, race and representation, health, cla ...
.
In 2012, Valenti published ''
Why Have Kids? A New Mom Explores the Truth About Parenting and Happiness''.
In 2016, Valenti published ''
Sex Object: A Memoir'' with the
Dey Street imprint of
Morrow
Morrow is a word meaning "the next day" in literary English. It also means "morning" in archaic English
Morrow may also refer to:
Places in the United States and Canada United States
* Morrow, Arkansas
*Morrow, Georgia
* Morrow, Louisiana
*Morr ...
.
The book was a
memoir
A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobiog ...
, a departure from Valenti's prior books.
Also in 2016, one of the
Podesta emails
In March 2016, the personal Gmail account of John Podesta, a former White House chief of staff and chair of Hillary Clinton's 2016 U.S. presidential campaign, was compromised in a data breach accomplished via a spear-phishing attack, and some ...
mentions, alongside Valenti's name, a column she was writing for ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...
''.
In 2020, Valenti was the co-editor of the anthology ''Believe Me: How Trusting Women Can Change the World'' with
Jaclyn Friedman.
Valenti's writing has appeared in Diane Mapes' ''Single State of the Union: Single Women Speak Out on Life, Love, and the Pursuit of Happiness'' (2007), Melody Berger's ''We Don't Need Another Wave: Dispatches from the Next Generation of Feminists'' (2008), and
Courtney E. Martin
Courtney E. Martin (born December 31, 1979) is an American feminist, author, speaker, and social and political activist. She is known for writing books, speaking at universities throughout the nation, and for co-editing the feminist blog, ...
and J. Courtney Sullivan's book, ''Click: When We Knew We Were Feminists'' (2010).
Her work has appeared in ''
Ms.
Ms. (American English) or Ms (British English; normally , but also , or when unstressed)''Oxford English Dictionary'' online, Ms, ''n.2''. Etymology: "An orthographic and phonetic blend of Mrs ''n.1'' and miss ''n.2'' Compare mizz ''n.'' The pr ...
'', ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'', ''
AlterNet
AlterNet is a left-leaning online news outlet. It was launched in 1997 by the Independent Media Institute. In 2018, the website was acquired by owners of '' Raw Story''.
Coverage
Coverage is divided into several special sections related to progr ...
,'' as well as other publications. Valenti wrote for ''
The Nation
''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper t ...
'' from 2008 to 2014.
Since 2014, Valenti has written regularly for ''The Guardian,'' where she is a columnist.
Harassment
Valenti has been the target of
online threats and
harassment throughout her career.
In a 2006 blog article by Liz Funks at ''
HuffPost
''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
'', Funks wrote about online attacks made about Valenti after a group photo that included Valenti at a luncheon with former
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
went viral, focusing on her outfit.
In July 2016, Valenti announced she was taking a break from social media, after receiving rape and death threats aimed at her then five-year-old daughter. On
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
, Valenti denounced the harassment as unacceptable. Immediately after that, Valenti made her
Instagram account private.
Personal life
In 2009, Valenti married Andrew Golis, former deputy publisher of ''
Talking Points Memo
''Talking Points Memo'' (''TPM'') is a liberal political news and opinion website created and run by Josh Marshall that debuted on November 12, 2000. The name is a reference to the memo (short list) consisting of the issues (points) discussed b ...
,'' former general manager of
Vox Media
Vox Media, Inc. is an American mass media company based in Washington, D.C., and New York City. The company was established in November 2011 by Jim Bankoff and Trei Brundrett to encompass ''SB Nation'' (a sports blog network founded in 2005 b ...
,
and currently the
Chief Content Officer
A chief content officer (CCO) is a corporate executive responsible for the digital media creation and multi-channel publication of the organization's content (text, video, audio, animation, etc.).
The CCO is usually an executive role or senior v ...
for
WNYC
WNYC is the trademark and a set of call letters shared by WNYC (AM) and WNYC-FM, a pair of nonprofit, noncommercial, public radio stations located in New York City. WNYC is owned by New York Public Radio (NYPR), a nonprofit organization that ...
.
The couple has one daughter, born in 2010.
Honors
* 2010:
Independent Publisher Book Awards
The Independent Publisher Book Awards, also styled the IPPY Awards, are a set of annual book awards for independently published titles. They are the longest-running unaffiliated contest open exclusively to independent presses. The IPPY Awards ar ...
for ''Gold: The Purity Myth: How America's Obsession with Virginity Is Hurting Young Women''
* 2011:
The Hillman Prize
The Hillman Prize is a journalism award given out annually by The Sidney Hillman Foundation, named for noted American labor leader Sidney Hillman. It is given to "journalists, writers and public figures who pursue social justice and public poli ...
, Blog for ''Feministing''
* 2011: ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...
,'' Top 100 Inspiring Women
* 2014:
Planned Parenthood Federation of America
The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reven ...
, Media Award for Commentary at ''The Guardian'' for "The Body Politic" column
*
Ibis Reproductive Health
Charlotte Ellertson (March 2, 1966 – March 21, 2004) was named one of 50 most influential people in women's health. She is a key reason women achieved “the regulatory, clinical, and policy changes that made these methods more widely availabl ...
, Evidence in Activism Award
* Choice USA Generation Award
Works and publications
Books
*
*
*
*
*
** – excerpt
*
** – extract
*
Anthologies
*
*
*
*
*
Selected publications
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Other
* – Based on Valenti's book and features Valenti
*
References
External links
*
*
Jessica Valentiat ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...
''
Jessica Valentiat ''
The Nation
''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper t ...
''
Jessica Valentiat ''
AlterNet
AlterNet is a left-leaning online news outlet. It was launched in 1997 by the Independent Media Institute. In 2018, the website was acquired by owners of '' Raw Story''.
Coverage
Coverage is divided into several special sections related to progr ...
''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Valenti, Jessica
1978 births
Living people
American bloggers
American feminist writers
American people of Italian descent
Feminist bloggers
People from Long Island City, Queens
Rutgers University alumni
Stuyvesant High School alumni
Writers from Queens, New York
American women bloggers
The Nation (U.S. magazine) people
21st-century American writers
21st-century American women writers
People from Jamaica Plain