In every issue of Ms., we track research on our progress in the fight for equality, catalogue can’t-miss quotes from feminist voices and keep tabs on the feminist movement’s many milestones. We’re Keeping Score online, too—in this biweekly roundup.
Lest We Forget
“Every opportunity that Donald Trump gets to show the American people, who he is, pretty clearly—and his running mate is doing this too. This is my diplomatic way of saying it: They’re misogynistic pigs.”.
—Liz Cheney on Donald Trump and JD Vance, in conversation with Mark Leibovich at the Texas Tribune Festival.
JUST NOW: Liz Cheney is not holding back about Trump & Vance in Texas. @TexasTribune #TribFest24 pic.twitter.com/5NfSex8f0m
— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) September 6, 2024
“We fought really hard for the Internal Revenue Service to get the resources it needs to collect tax revenues, because what’s happened over decades is that the IRS has been so starved for resources that they could not collect the taxes they’re due. … The audit rates coming from corporations fell pitifully—I mean, so close to zero that you could be pretty sure that if you cheated on your taxes, you wouldn’t get caught.
“[The Biden administration] succeeded in getting a multi-year $8 billion for the Internal Revenue Service. … I don’t know how many people here over the last year or two have tried to call the IRS, but what I can tell you is … we went from a 20 percent percent rate of answering telephone calls, to this last tax season 88 percent in three minutes or less.”
—Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in conversation with David Gura at TribFest
“You can see what an inspirational figure [Barbara Walters] was. She broke a ground, not just for women in television, but for women in journalism generally, because she showed that women could interview anybody. Women journalists could tackle any topic. Women journalists could make as much money—and more—as male journalists.
“When I was working on [The Rulebreaker: The Life and Times of Barbara Walters], I found all these women who were not in journalism, who said she was inspirational to them because they were growing up and they would see this powerful, outspoken, unapologetic woman on the news or on ’20/20′ every Friday, and it would make them think, ‘If she can do that, I can do whatever it is I want to do.'”
—Susan Page in conversation with Emily Ramshaw at TribFest.
“What [Biden and Harris] have done to our country by allowing these millions and millions of people to come into our country, and look at what’s happening to the towns all over the United States. In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs, the people came in, they’re eating the cats. They’re eating the pets of the people that live there.”
—Former President Donald Trump at the presidential debate, repeating a false claim that Haitian immigrants are eating pets. Despite Springfield, Ohio, city officials confirming there have been no credible reports of this, JD Vance, Ted Cruz and Elon Musk amplified the anti-immigrant narrative on social media.
“The American media totally ignored this stuff until Donald Trump and I started talking about cat memes. If I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that’s what I’m going to do.”
—JD Vance defending his use of the false story demonizing immigrants in Ohio, which has led to a bomb threat and hateful language against Haitian immigrants.
“Now in over 20 states there are Trump abortion bans, which make it criminal for a doctor or nurse to provide healthcare. This is what people wanted? Pregnant women who want to carry a pregnancy to term, suffering from a miscarriage, being denied care in an emergency room because the healthcare providers are afraid they might go to jail, and she’s bleeding out in a car in the parking lot? She didn’t want that. Her husband didn’t want that. A 12- or 13-year-old survivor of incest being forced to carry a pregnancy to term? They don’t want that.
“When Congress passes a bill to put back in place the protections of Roe v. Wade, as president of the United States, I will proudly sign it into law. One does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs, to agree the government and Donald Trump certainly should not be telling a woman what to do with her body.”
—Vice President Kamala Harris at the presidential debate.
“[Vice President Kamala Harris] was clear and firm in her stance on access to abortion care and unflinching in her defense of our freedoms in the face of Donald Trump’s lies and dangerous rhetoric. It’s clear that she understands the widespread harm of the abortion care crisis we face … The future of abortion access, our fundamental freedoms, and our very democracy hang in the balance this election.”
—Nourbese Flint, president of All* In Action Fund.
“One of the ways that you may be able to relieve a little bit of pressure on people who are paying so much for daycare is … maybe like Grandma or Grandpa wants to help out a little bit more, or maybe there’s an aunt or uncle who wants to help out a little bit more. If that happens, you relieve some of the pressure on all the resources that we’re spending on daycare.”
—JD Vance’s concerning childcare proposal.
“The fact that it is financially not a priority for our lawmakers is a major problem and signals, especially to mothers, that our care work is not valuable.”
—Erin Erenberg, founder of Chamber of Mothers.
“[Writing ‘woman’ instead of ‘pregnant patient’] was something that the pro-life community felt very strongly should be included in that. And they liked that as well, because the name of the ‘no’ campaign was Protect Women Ohio, and the yard signs said: ‘Protect women.’ So they wanted that, they thought that was reasonable and would be helpful to them.”
—Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, admitting that anti-abortion groups helped him write abortion rights ballot language. The misleading language also changed the term “fetus” to “unborn child” and left out the fact that the amendment would also protect miscarriage care and fertility treatment.
Milestones
Women Breaking Records at the Emmys
+ Liza Colón-Zayas, who plays Tina Marrero in The Bear, secured her first Emmy win as Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, making her the first Latina to win in the category. She won on Sunday, Sept. 15—which is also the start of Hispanic Heritage Month.
After Colón-Zayas admitted she had not written a speech because she was convinced she would not win, she said, “To all the Latinas who are looking at me, keep believing and vote, vote for your rights.”
+ Anna Sawai, who starred in Shogun, became the first female actor of Asian descent to win an Emmy for Lead Drama Actress.
“This is to all the women who expect nothing and continue to be an example to everyone,” said Sawai at the end of her acceptance speech.
*
Paralympic World Record Roundup
+ The 2024 Paralympics concluded in Paris, with athletes breaking more than 40 world records. Viewers also broke records, with over 2 million tickets sold and viewership up 125 percent from the Tokyo Paralympics.
- China continued their winning streak, topping the medal count above Great Britain and the U.S. In each of the top three countries, women earned more than 50 percent of the team’s medals.
- Zakia Khudadadi and Guillaume Junior Atangana won the Refugee Paralympic team’s first two medals, in Taekwondo and sprinting.
- Tatyana McFadden won her 21st medal, becoming the most decorated U.S. athlete in track and field.
- 400m runner Hunter Woodhall won gold, two weeks after his wife Tara Davis-Woodhall earned her gold in the Olympic long jump.
- Jessica Long raised her career medals to 31, making her the second-most decorated American Paralympian ever.
- Oksana Masters won two para cycling races, bringing her career tally to 19 medals in an incredible four different sports across both Winter and Summer Games.
- Palesha Goverdhan’s bronze medal in Taekwondo was the first ever Paralympic or Olympic medal for Nepal.
- British archer Jodie Grinham was the first known pregnant Paralympic athlete to win a medal.
- Valentina Petrillo was the first out trans Paralympian, and despite online harassment from J.K. Rowling said she was “welcomed by everybody” at the Games.
- French long jumper Dimitri Pavade came out as gay after winning a bronze medal. In total, LGBTQ Paralympians won 28 medals.
*
+ Vice President Kamala Harris released her campaign’s policy agenda ahead of the presidential debate. Among her priorities are expanding the child tax credit and earned income tax credit, providing support for first-time homeowners, restoring Roe‘s abortion protections, capping insulin prices, increasing access to affordable housing and lowering everyday costs.
+ At the debate, Harris used her background as a prosecutor to get under Trump’s skin, baiting him with jabs about the size of crowds at his rallies and how world leaders are laughing at him. She shared her positions on abortion access and tax policy, contrasted herself against Project 2025 policies that threaten democracy and called for a bipartisan border bill.
Meanwhile, former president Donald Trump focused heavily on immigration. He also falsely claimed that Democrats support “post-birth abortions,” claimed that Harris wants to do “transgender operations on illegal aliens that are in prison” and refused to answer if he would sign a nationwide abortion ban.
Trump attempted to distance himself from Jan. 6 and Project 2025, even though at least 140 former Trump administration officials are involved in Project 2025 agenda, and its lead author admitted they “were really rooting for [Vance]” to be his VP pick.
+ A state judge overturned North Dakota’s abortion ban, protecting access to abortion until fetal viability. While there are currently no abortion clinics in the state, doctors will now be able to provide care in hospitals.
Judge Bruce Romanick wrote in his ruling: “The reality is that ‘individuals’ did not draft and enact the North Dakota Constitution. Men did. And many, if not all, of the men who enacted the North Dakota Constitution, and who wrote the state laws of the time, did not view women as equal citizens with equal liberty interests.”
+ The Missouri Supreme Court ruled that an amendment to restore abortion access will remain on the ballot in November.
+ The Montana Supreme Court struck down a law requiring parental consent for minors seeking abortion care. The Court pointed out that teens are not required to get parental consent to have a child, and that parents have a “right to parent free from state interference, not a right to enlist the state’s powers to gain greater control over a child or make it more difficult for a minor to exercise their fundamental rights.”
+ Associated Press reporter Linda Deutsch died at 80 after an incredible career as a trial reporter. Deutsch covered many celebrity cases, including those of Charles Manson, Patty Hearst, the police officers charged with attacking Rodney King, Michael Jackson and O.J. Simpson. She earned the most prestigious byline at AP, special correspondent, before her retirement in 2015.
+ Talk show host and Emmy Award winner Phil Donahue died at 88 after a long illness. Beginning in 1967, Donahue helped create a talk show model that brought serious topics and debates to its primarily female audience. A staunch feminist, he broke barriers by televising a same-sex wedding ceremony, shining a spotlight on sexual abuse by priests, and giving a platform to activists like Gloria Steinem and opponents of the Iraq war.
+ Taylor Swift endorsed Kamala Harris and Tim Walz and encouraged her fans to register to vote, calling herself a “Childless Cat Lady” (a reference to JD Vance’s offensive comments). Within a day, her Instagram post received over 10 million likes and more than 400,000 people visited her voter registration link.
“I’m voting for @kamalaharris because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them. I think she is a steady-handed, gifted leader and I believe we can accomplish so much more in this country if we are led by calm and not chaos. I was so heartened and impressed by her selection of running mate @timwalz, who has been standing up for LGBTQ+ rights, IVF, and a woman’s right to her own body for decades,” she shared on Instagram.
+ In response to Swift’s endorsement, Elon Musk seemed to threaten her on Twitter: “Fine Taylor…you win… I will give you a child and guard your cats with my life.” Trump posted on Truth Social “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!”
+ After Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) wrote to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) about a study that found toxic metals in tampons, the FDA announced they are conducting a literature review and another study.
“For too long, women’s health has been overlooked and understudied…These are products millions of women are using on any given day, so it’s important we absolutely put to rest any concerns about their safety,” said Sen. Murray.
+ Across the country, conservative organizations are attempting to interfere with abortion rights ballot measures. An anti-abortion group in South Dakota pretended to be government officials and pressured voters to withdraw their signature on a petition to put abortion on the ballot.
+ Similarly, Missouri anti-abortion activists falsely told voters that pro-choice petitioners were attempting to steal their identities. Their texts warned that “out-of-state groups are attempting to collect your sensitive data.”
+ Ugandan Olympian Rebecca Cheptegei was killed by her ex-boyfriend Dickson Ndiema, who poured gasoline on her and set her on fire. Ndiema later died of his burns as well.
Viola Cheptoo, Kenyan runner and leader of Tirop’s Angels, an organization named for an athlete stabbed to death after the Tokyo Olympics, lamented, “It is sad because we are reminded of what happened to Agnes Tirop. I feel like the same thing is happening over and over again. [Femicide in Kenya is] a menace, it’s a pandemic.”
How We’re Doing
+ More than 80 percent of young people in swing states believe a woman could be an effective president.
+ In the last five years there have been 3,400 attacks on women journalists. They face sexual harassment and threats, as well as doxxing, deepfakes and organized online troll campaigns. These gendered attacks are often attempts to silence women, especially women of color and those from marginalized backgrounds. Women journalists in Canada, the U.S., and Pakistan were the most affected.
+ More than 210,000 transgender Americans face barriers to voting due to strict voter ID laws. In the 36 states that require ID, trans people unable to access documents matching their gender may be disenfranchised. The requirements are increasing; 27 states have new restrictions since the 2020 election. Three battleground states–Wisconsin, North Carolina and Georgia–have restrictive laws, affecting over 135,500 trans people.
+ Despite those barriers, LGBTQ voters are ready to vote. A survey last spring found that 88 percent of LGBTQ voters are “definitely” voting or highly motivated to vote. In 2020, 75 percent of eligible LGBTQ voters went to the polls, compared to 67 percent of all eligible Americans.
+ Meta is failing to remove anti-LGBTQ hate speech on Facebook, Instagram and Threads. One analysis found over a hundred posts that used transphobic slurs. When researchers reported 23 of the posts, none were removed, despite Meta’s hate speech policy that includes gender identity. Most of the posts were from right-wing public figures and organizations.
+ New pay gap data shows women earn just 83 percent of men’s wages for full-time work, down from 84% last year. This means full-time workers lose out on an average of $11,550 annually. When part-time and seasonal workers are included, women were paid 75% of men’s wages, down from 78 percent, and women of color experienced disproportionate pay gaps.
“These inequities are not perpetuated due to individual women’s choices. They stem from policies that fail to support working women, including the lack of paid leave, affordable childcare, and comprehensive pay equity laws and practices,” said Gloria L. Blackwell, CEO of AAUW.
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