MISSION

The mission of Proxy by IWI is to provide and encourage an engaged, thoughtful feminist response to mainstream media, popular culture, legal discord and advocacy.

Published daily on the web, Proxy by IWI is ambitious, distinctive journalism about the people, ideas, laws and institutions that matter most from a feminist perspective—and beyond. Featuring hard-hitting original reporting as well as smart analysis, provocative argument, and first-person perspectives. We promise to be opinionated but never partisan, and hope to bring perspective, not more punditry. Proxy by IWI aspires to provoke and inspire, and never to bore or lecture. We hope readers will soon come to rely on Proxy by IWI as a place to find the best writers and thinkers of feminist content—engaged with the day's most important stories, and those that should be.

VISION

Proxy by IWI strives to be a fresh, revitalising voice in contemporary feminism, one that welcomes complex arguments and refuses to ignore the contradictory and often uncomfortable realities of life in an unequivocally gendered world. By integrating The Lead and Global Policy Review, we will have a diverse audience, which keeps the dialogue we produce dynamic and strong. We are distinctively situated to draw in young readers who are at a critical moment in their lives—a moment when they are discovering feminism and activism, finding answers to who they are, and questioning the definitions of gender, sexuality, power and agency prescribed by the mainstream media. Proxy by IWI not only plays a role in exploring these topics, it also provides a platform for engaging in analysis that promotes activism and impels social change.

ETHOS

Proxy by IWI looks at the media and its products, human rights law and its impact on women, advocacy and activism through a lens that takes into account the historical and cultural representation of gender globally and in pop culture. Movies, television, news magazines, fashion magazines, blogs, comics, advertising, music, computer games — all are media that have traditionally reflected a narrow vision of what women and girls are and can be. Proxy by IWI seeks to examine female culture globally through an analytical sympathetic lens, as well as to celebrate the feminist culture-makers who are transforming laws, the media and the world with their unique contributions. Proxy by IWI aims to put a lucid, balanced face on feminism for everyone, including people who are not aware that feminism refers to more than just women who do not want to fit within the ascribed roles of what being a woman is within their communities. We encourage all people to consider feminism as a necessary part of the broader social justice movement.