“The Bolter,” in Taylor Swift’s eyes, is a woman who does not fit traditional society. Swift gives the bolter a voice—one that until now had been silent. She’s a woman not interested in being a trophy wife for the masses to admire. She has her own desires, preferences and demands, but her hopes and dreams are stifled by the rules that others want her to play by. She is unwilling to give of herself to play this role.
The Arizona Abortion Ban Case Shows What ‘Let the States Decide’ Really Means
The Arizona Supreme Court’s ruling that reinstated a draconian 1864 near-total abortion ban reveals the disingenuous nature of the “leave-it-to-the-states” positioning of some Republicans.
In response to the state Supreme Court’s decision, Democrats spearheaded legislation to repeal that law, which was recently signed by Gov. Katie Hobbs (D). However, leaving it to the states doesn’t always have such a rosy ending—and, indeed, this is not the end of efforts in Arizona or elsewhere by special interests trying to impose their regressive worldview on us all through law. A closer look into the Arizona abortion case and court that led to the reprise of this antiquated anti-abortion law reveals that some of the same anti-abortion zealots who played a central role in overturning Roe are also playing a role in revoking Arizonians’ access to abortion healthcare.
‘We Will Win’: Texas Abortion Funds Use Reproductive Justice to Guide Their Grassroots Activism
Texas abortion funds have been maneuvering complicated abortion restrictions for several years.
We interviewed representatives from the Frontera Fund, Texas Equal Access Fund (TEA Fund) and Jane’s Due Process (JDP) to learn how they have been navigating the increasingly challenging work of supporting abortion seekers in a state, home to 30 million residents, where abortions are completely inaccessible.
(This piece is the third in
a series of interviews with fund representatives across the U.S.)
If Sex Ed Isn’t Critical, Can We Really Call It Comprehensive?
“Comprehensive sex education” has become a lightning rod for controversy, igniting moral panic around young people learning about gender theory, sexuality, safe sex, abortion care and more. But my experience designing sex education programs has taught me that “comprehensive” sex education isn’t comprehensive enough. What’s missing is a critical approach to sexual education that examines the political, cultural and economic factors shaping sexual decisions and health.
Women’s Rights Are Essential to Democracy. Why Do Philanthropists Treat Investments in Women as a Special Interest?
In the last two months, the Supreme Court heard two case to limit nationwide access to abortion care. The chaotic state of play for abortion rights in the United States illustrates the consequences of failing to integrate efforts to strengthen democracy into strategies for advancing gender equity and vice versa.
For philanthropic leaders, the twin goals of strengthening democracy and advancing gender equity presents a compelling case for simultaneous investment. Divorcing gender justice from democracy is inconsistent ideologically, and it’s also irrational and unnecessarily expensive. To separate them is to delay success and pay for it many times over.
A Moral Justification for Civil Disobedience to Abortion Bans
Fighting for better laws and challenging bad laws in the courts are critical parts of the fight for the freedom and dignity of women and pregnant people, but so is the underground abortion pill movement, which enacts that freedom and dignity directly, and resists the “psychology of servitude” and “habitual acquiescence” to unjust laws.
‘I Made the Best Decision for Me, My Body and My Family—Even My Unborn Child’: Georgia Rep. Shea Roberts’ Abortion Story
Amidst the current attacks in the United States on women and abortion, legislators are sharing their abortion stories, demonstrating the importance of safe and accessible abortion.
Georgia state Rep. Shea Roberts (D), a mother, attorney and small business owner, had an abortion over 15 years ago, back when Roe v. Wade was still in effect. After losing her first race for the statehouse in 2018 by 1,200 votes, she went on to win her race in 2020 and has since used her platform to share her abortion story.
Menopause in Three Parts: Where Rivers Flow, Split and Unravel
When Rivers Flow: “Menstrual blood came with its own set of messages, whispers from my womb space that only I could decode. It was like embarking on a treasure hunt within myself, armed with nothing but a compass made of intuition and a hefty dose of trial and error. Creating my own map of this internal landscape wasn’t easy. I had to channel my inner cartographer and chart new territories with each cycle.”
When Rivers Split: “There was something special about a bunch of Black women who had already been where I was calling me with joy in their voices. … forming a kinship with our wombs is about learning to love ourselves, to treat ourselves with the same grace, kindness and high regard that the world demands of us as Black people with wombs.”
When Rivers Unravel: “Menopause would be that queer initiation, that modern-day rite of passage I had so longed for. And it would come at a price. My transition initiated a second puberty that changed everything about my body. This rite of passage pried off the mask of societal expectations I had inherited from my foremothers. Menopause set the mask on fire.”
Weekend Reading on Women’s Representation: Breaking Down Barriers for Black Women in Politics; #MeToo and Moving Beyond Celebrity Convictions
Weekend Reading for Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation.
This week, explore how public funding for campaigns can level the playing field and encourage more women to run for office; learn about the challenges women face in securing local government seats in England; discover what resources can empower mothers to pursue political careers; and examine why gender diversity in corporate leadership positions is still lagging.
Courage in Journalism Award Winner María Teresa Montaño Delgado Exposes Government Corruption in Mexico
María Teresa Montaño Delgado is the founder and director of the investigative portal The Observer and winner of the International Women’s Media Foundation’s Courage in Journalism Award.
She has dedicated her 30-plus-year journalistic career to uncovering corruption in the Mexican government. Her reporting has been met with smear campaigns by political leaders, tax harassment, bribery and threats to her and her family. Despite all the harassment, Montaño has continued her work.