Jaclyn Friedman (; born 1971) is an American feminist writer and activist known as the co-editor (with

Jessica Valenti Jessica Valenti ( ; born November 1, 1978) is an American feminist writer. She was the co-founder of the blog Feministing, which she wrote for from 2004 to 2011. Valenti is the author of six books: ''Full Frontal Feminism'' (2007), '' He's a Stu ...

) of '' Yes Means Yes: Visions of Sexual Power and a World Without Rape'' and ''Believe Me: How Trusting Women Can Change the World'', the writer of ''Unscrewed: Women, Sex, Power and How to Stop Letting the System Screw Us All'' and ''What You Really Really Want: The Smart Girl’s Shame-Free Guide To Sex and Safety'', the founder and Executive Director of EducateUS, an organization focused on building a movement of voters laser-focused on advancing sex education across the country. She is also a campus speaker on issues of feminism, sexual freedom and anti-rape activism, and the founder and former executive director of Women, Action & The Media.

Background

Friedman graduated from

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the Methodi ...

, and later earned an MFA in creative writing from

Emerson College Emerson College is a private college in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It also maintains campuses in Los Angeles and Well, Limburg, Netherlands (Kasteel Well). Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a "school of Public Speaking, o ...

in 2004. She was sexually assaulted on campus while an

undergraduate student Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education, usually in a college or university. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, ...

. She lives in the Boston area. She is

bisexual Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...

Women, Action & the Media

Friedman is the founder and former executive director of Women, Action & the Media (WAM!), a North American non-profit focusing on

gender justice Gender equality, also known as sexual equality, gender egalitarianism, or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making, an ...

and media issues. WAM!'s accomplishments included the successful campaigns to pressure

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

to enforce its terms of service against incitements to

violence against women Violence against women (VAW), also known as gender-based violence (GBV) or sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), violent, violence primarily committed by Man, men or boys against woman, women or girls. Such violence is often considered hat ...

and to pressure Clear Channel to rescind its decision not to run advertisements for South Wind Women's Center, a women's health clinic in Wichita. WAM! also ran chapters in Boston,

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

, and

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

Other activism

Friedman regularly speaks at college campuses on the subjects of sexuality, sexualization,

rape culture Rape culture is a setting, as described by some sociological theories, in which rape is pervasive and normalized due to that setting's attitudes about gender and sexuality. Behaviors commonly associated with rape culture include victim blamin ...

, and creating a healthy sexual culture around enthusiastic consent. She also hosts a weekly podcast ''Unscrewed''. In 2010 Friedman was selected as a delegate on the Nobel Women's Initiative's peace delegation to Israel and Palestine. A documentary, ''Partners for Peace'', has been made about the delegation, and Friedman is featured in the film. In 2019, Friedman was arrested as part of Never Again Action, a group of Jews and allies protesting ICE and the government's treatment of immigrants. In an interview with the

Jewish Women's Archive The Jewish Women's Archive (JWA) is a national non-profit organization whose mission is to document "Jewish women's stories, elevate their voices, and inspire them to be agents of change." JWA was founded by Gail Twersky Reimer in 1995 in Brook ...

, she identified a

Reform Jewish Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its ethical aspects to its ceremonial ones, and belief in a continuous rev ...

youth group chapter in New Jersey, known as

NFTY NFTY: The North American Federation for Temple Youth (formerly known as the National Federation for Temple Youth, often referred to simply as NFTY, commonly pronounced ''"nifty"'') is the organized youth movement of Reform Judaism in North Amer ...

, as the source of her social justice framework. Friedman is the 2019-2020 Activist in Residence at Suffolk University.

Controversy

In December 2010, Friedman debated

Naomi Wolf Naomi Rebekah Wolf (born 1962) is an American feminist author, journalist, and conspiracy theorist. After the 1991 publication of her first book, '' The Beauty Myth'', Wolf became a prominent figure in the third wave of the feminist movemen ...

on ''

Democracy Now! ''Democracy Now!'' is an hour-long TV, radio, and Internet news program based in Manhattan and hosted by journalists Amy Goodman (who also acts as the show's executive producer), Juan González, and Nermeen Shaikh. The show, which airs live ...

'' concerning rape allegations against

WikiLeaks WikiLeaks () is a non-profit media organisation and publisher of leaked documents. It is funded by donations and media partnerships. It has published classified documents and other media provided by anonymous sources. It was founded in 2006 by ...

founder

Julian Assange Julian Paul Assange ( ; Hawkins; born 3 July 1971) is an Australian editor, publisher, and activist who founded WikiLeaks in 2006. He came to international attention in 2010 after WikiLeaks published a series of News leak, leaks from Chels ...

, in which Wolf controversially described allegations of

stealthing Non-consensual condom removal, or "stealthing", is the practice of a person removing a condom during sexual intercourse without consent, when their sex partner has only consented to condom-protected sex. Purposefully damaging a condom before or d ...

against Assange as representing “model cases of sexual negotiation.” In 2012, Friedman came under fire for her piece, ''Unsolicited Advice For

Blue Ivy Carter Blue Ivy Carter (born January 7, 2012) is an American singer and actress. She is the first-born daughter of musicians Beyoncé and Jay-Z. Two days after her birth, ''Time'' dubbed Carter "the most famous baby in the world." That same day, her br ...

'', which was heavily criticized by African-American women for alleged racist overtones. Friedman subsequently issued a public apology on her blog, and donated the fee she received for the piece to

SisterSong The SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective, also known as SisterSong, is a national activist organization dedicated to reproductive justice for women of color. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, SisterSong is a national member ...

, an activist group that primarily deals with

women of color The term "person of color" (: people of color or persons of color; abbreviated POC) is used to describe any person who is not considered "white". In its current meaning, the term originated in, and is associated with, the United States. From th ...

Writing

'' Yes Means Yes: Visions of Sexual Power and a World Without Rape'', an anthology co-edited by Friedman and

, was published in January 2009. It was selected as one of ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'' Best 100 Books of 2009, and is number 11 on ''

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 ...

'' magazine's list of Most Influential Feminist Books of All Time. In 2011, inspired by the questions that young women asked her while she was on book tour for ''Yes Means Yes'', Friedman published her second book, ''What You Really Really Want: The Smart Girl’s Shame-Free Guide to Sex and Safety''. What You Really Really Want was a finalist for ''Foreword's'' Book of the Year award in Women's Issues. ''

Salon.com ''Salon'' is an American politically progressive and liberal news and opinion website created in 1995. It publishes articles on U.S. politics, culture, and current events. Content and coverage ''Salon'' covers a variety of topics, includ ...

'' called it "a sex guide for today's girls," and said of Friedman that she "is the sex educator of many parents' nightmares. She’s also just the teacher young women need". In 2017, Friedman published ''Unscrewed: Women, Sex, Power, and How to Stop Letting the System Screw Us All''. ''

Kirkus ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, non ...

'' described ''Unscrewed'' as "a potent, convincing manifesto" and the text "lively, emboldening and nonjudgmental". In 2020, Friedman and co-editor Jessica Valenti published a second anthology, ''Believe Me: How Trusting Women Can Change the World''. ''Believe Me'' includes essays by Congresswoman

Ayanna Pressley Ayanna Soyini Pressley (born February 3, 1974) is an American politician who has served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for Massachusetts's 7th congressional district since 2019. This district, which was once re ...

Tatiana Maslany Tatiana Gabriele Maslany ( ; born September 22, 1985) is a Canadian actress. She rose to prominence for playing multiple characters in the science-fiction thriller television series ''Orphan Black'' (2013–2017), which won her a Primetime Emmy ...

Samantha Irby Samantha McKiver Irby (born February 13, 1980) is an American comedian, essayist, blogger, and television writer. She is the creator and author of the blog ''bitches gotta eat'', where she writes humorous observations about her own life and mod ...

Dahlia Lithwick Dahlia Lithwick is a Canadian-American lawyer, writer, and journalist. Lithwick is a contributing editor at ''Newsweek'' and senior editor at ''Slate (magazine), Slate''. She primarily writes about law and politics in the United States. She write ...

Loretta Ross Loretta J. Ross (born August 16, 1953) is an American academic, feminist, and activist who advocates for reproductive justice, especially among women of color. As an activist, Ross has written on reproductive justice activism and the history of Af ...

, Jamil Smith,

Julia Serano Julia Michelle Serano ( ; born 1967) is an American writer, musician, spoken-word performer, transgender and bisexual activist, and biologist. She is known for her transfeminist books, such as '' Whipping Girl'' (2007), ''Excluded'' (2013), a ...

, and more. ''Publishers Weekly'' wrote: "Consistently well-written and soundly reasoned, these essays persuasively cast the tendency to doubt women as one of America’s greatest social ills. This illuminating call to action deserves a wide readership." Friedman's writings have been published widely, including in ''The New York Times'', ''Glamour'' ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', ''

The American Prospect ''The American Prospect'' is a daily online and bimonthly print American political and public policy magazine dedicated to American modern liberalism and Progressivism in the United States, progressivism. Based in Washington, D.C., ''The America ...

'',''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is a progressive American monthly 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 ...

'' and ''Salon''.

Media

Friedman has appeared as an expert on many shows, including ''Nightline'', ''NPR’s 1A,'' ''

PBS NewsHour ''PBS News Hour'', previously stylized as ''PBS NewsHour'', is the news division of PBS and an American daily evening news broadcasting#television, television news program broadcast on over 350 PBS Network affiliate#Member stations, member stat ...

'', and ''Democracy Now''. She has also appeared on many leading podcasts such as ''Dear Sugars'' and ''

Call Your Girlfriend "Call Your Girlfriend" is a song by Swedish recording artist Robyn, taken from her seventh studio album, '' Body Talk'' (2010). It was released as the album's second single on 1 April 2011. The song was written by Robyn, Klas Åhlund and Alexander ...

''.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Friedman, Jaclyn 1971 births Living people 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American women writers Activists from Massachusetts American bisexual writers American feminist writers American women anthologists American women non-fiction writers Bisexual women writers Emerson College alumni Jewish American activists Jewish American non-fiction writers Jewish women writers LGBTQ people from Massachusetts Reform Jewish feminists Sex-positive feminists Wesleyan University alumni Writers from Boston Jewish LGBTQ women