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
“The Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs and a second Trump administration are pushing the country to a dangerous future, where our ability to get birth control, hormones for menopause and other medical conditions, IVF, and the right to marry who we love and build families—it’s all on the chopping block.
“As the Supreme Court considers U.S. v. Skrmetti, a clear case of discrimination against transgender people in healthcare, we are reminded that sexism and transphobia are two sides of the same coin. Gender justice demands that gender-affirming care, like reproductive care, be available to all who need it, without politicians interfering. It’s time for every one of us to stand in solidarity with our transgender siblings and stop the cruel and inhumane denial of healthcare.”
—Kimberly Inez McGuire, the executive director of URGE, on United States vs. Skrmetti, a challenge to bans on gender-affirming healthcare for transgender teens.
“It’s really not about the bathrooms. It’s about demonizing and frightening people. We are telling our children: There are people that are ‘less than,’ they are not the same, they are not allowed to behave exactly like ‘the rest of us.’ That is a terrible message.”
—Ohio Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio, the first openly gay person elected to the Ohio legislature, spoke on the Senate floor against a new law banning trans people from using bathrooms and other spaces in accordance with their gender identity.
“The path ahead may be difficult, and it may not be clear, but it is possible. … It is the extremists, it is the haters, who always expose themselves for who they are. Then, queer people tell our stories. And, in the meantime, we help each other.”
—Journalist Chris Geidner explaining the historical context behind United States v. Skrmetti.
Milestones
+ Hundreds of female faculty members at the University of Colorado Boulder will receive backpay after a class-action lawsuit. After being sued for a gender-based violation of the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act, the university settled for $4.5 million and will now conduct equity reviews every three years to ensure women are not being paid less than male faculty members.
+ Ohio passed a law banning transgender people from using bathrooms, locker rooms and dorms that match their gender identity in K-12 schools and colleges. It also prohibits all schools and colleges from offering multi-stall gender-neutral bathrooms, and authorizes schools to verify students’ assigned gender at birth from their birth certificates.
+ Dr. Mehmet Oz was announced as Trump’s pick to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid. Research on his show found that only 46 percent of Dr. Oz’s recommendations were supported by evidence, and 15 percent were actually contradicted by research.
+ Former Florida Rep. Dave Weldon, nominated to lead the CDC, is a Christian extremist who objects to abortion, stem-cell science and sex education in schools. He has called for prayer in public schools and taxpayer funding for religious schools, and repeated false claims that vaccines cause autism.
+ Another Trump cabinet pick, Pete Hesgeth, has been accused of sexually assaulting a woman in 2017, as well as excessive drinking at work and creating a toxic workplace for female employees. He wasn’t charged for the assault, but he did pay the woman a settlement agreement in 2020. Now, Hesgeth’s lawyer is threatening to sue her for extortion if he is not confirmed as Secretary of Defense.
+ The Pregnant Worker Fairness Act (PWFA) is under threat, with multiple suits challenging the inclusion of abortion as a pregnancy-related medical condition that may require accommodation at work. A court temporarily stopped the abortion accommodation requirement in Louisiana and Mississippi, and for specific religious employers, while they consider the case.
+ In response to transphobic bathroom bans on Capitol Hill by House Republicans, a group of trans activists staged a dance party protest in a women’s bathroom in the Capitol building.
“It always starts with things that people feel are insignificant, like public restrooms, but it never stops there. We’re here today to ensure they understand that we will not be erased—one bathroom at a time—or shoved back into the proverbial closet out of deference to the comfort of those who speak to eradicate us,” said activist Hope Giselle-Godsey.
+ Arizona healthcare providers filed a lawsuit challenging the state’s 15-week abortion ban, asserting it’s unconstitutional after a new amendment protecting the fundamental right to abortion passed in November. Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes has agreed not to enforce the ban while litigation is ongoing, allowing abortion care after 15 weeks to resume.
“For decades Arizona lawmakers chipped away at the rights of people who can become pregnant and tied the hands of their healthcare providers. Voters made it clear that they’ve had enough,” said Lauren Beall, a staff attorney at the ACLU of Arizona. “We are proud to stand by our state’s resilient abortion providers and partners to ensure everyone gets the care they need and deserve.”
+ A proposed law amendment in Iraq would lower the legal marriage age to just 9 years old. Currently, 28 percemt of Iraqi girls marry before age 18, through a loophole allowing marriages to 15-year-olds with their fathers’ consent. The new law would also eliminate financial protections for divorced women, and remove penalties for men who seek unregistered marriages to circumvent child marriage laws.
+ Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) have asked the Biden administration to limit the federal government from deploying troops domestically. A policy directive could be reversed by Trump, but they hope to deter Trump from his threats of mobilizing the military against immigrants.
+ Nikki Giovanni, renowned poet, activist, author, professor and cultural icon of the Black arts and civil rights movements died at 81 years old on Dec. 9, 2024.
“I recommend old age. … There’s just nothing as wonderful as knowing you have done your job,” said Giovanni to The New York Times in 2020 when reflecting on the work of her students in the Black Lives Matter movement.
How We’re Doing
+ Sixty-six percent of women and 58 percent of men agree that sexual assault allegations are disqualifying for a president’s cabinet member nominee. Just 43 percent of Trump voters, compared to 87 percent of Harris voters, agree. A majority of Americans also believe that criminal convictions, links to hostile foreign governments and extremist groups, and financial conflicts of interest are disqualifying.
+ Despite conservative fearmongering, crimes in public restrooms and changing rooms are extremely rare, and are not decreased by laws preventing trans people from using public bathrooms. In fact, trans people are 2.5 times more likely to be the victims of a violent crime than cis people, and trans students face greater risks of sexual harassment and assault in schools with bathroom bans.
+ Nevada has maintained a majority woman legislature for three election cycles, with women making up 60 percent of both chambers. Women will also chair seven of the ten Senate committees, are expected to chair most of the Assembly committees and hold many caucus leadership roles. The state legislatures of Colorado and Arizona are also reaching gender parity, while six states still fall below 20 percent women lawmakers.
+ Thanks to the HPV vaccine, cervical cancer deaths in young women drastically decreased every year between 2016 to 2021, for a total of a 62 percent reduction in deaths. However, HPV vaccination coverage rates have not improved since 2020, which could lead to increased risks for current adolescents.
+ Forty-two percent of prison admissions in the U.S. aren’t due to someone breaking a new law, but rather a violation of probation or parole. Nationwide, 1.9 million people are incarcerated and 3.7 million are on probation or parole. Many of them deal with complex, arbitrary rules that set people up to fail. In 2021, only 44 percent of those who exited parole or probation successfully completed their terms.
Job loss, housing instability, and losing access to childcare due to re-incarceration are common. People under parole or probation are also in poorer health than the general public, and often don’t receive the health care they need. Many struggle to meet probation fees, and marginalized communities are particularly affected by burdensome requirements. A disproportionate 30 percent of those under supervision are Black, and women under supervision are more likely to be homeless and have difficulty finding childcare to attend required meetings.
+ Researchers found that men unhappy with their penis size are actually less likely to own guns, seemingly disproving the psychosexual theory of gun ownership.
+ Half of working women, compared to four in 10 men, feel stressed “a lot of the day,” partly due to family responsibilities. Working moms are more likely than dads to decline a promotion or consider reducing hours because of family obligations, and are more likely to be the default responder to unexpected child care issues. Seventeen percent of all women have to deal with family responsibilities at work daily, compared to 11 percent of men.
+ Illinois was the first state to abolish cash bail last fall. A year later, the system is working, and the crime rate has fallen 11 percent. Prosecutors decline to ask for jail time in 82 percent of cases that make it to court, and the jail population has fallen by 14 percent in urban areas and 25 percent in rural countries. Judges are also held to higher levels of accountability, with people now able to appeal a judge’s decision to detain them.
+ Forty-four percent of apps collect or share location data, and a quarter collect the precise location of users. This could be increasingly dangerous for those in abortion ban states that may attempt to increase menstrual surveillance.
+ In a report by the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM), 75 percent of midwives reported that climate change is harming the communities they serve and worsening inequalities. Heat waves and food insecurity increase pregnancy complications for low-income women, and floods and other climate disasters affect access to medical care.
Thirty-nine percent of respondents are already providing environmental health education to their communities, but they need more support; 76 percent agreed that their work has been negatively impacted by the climate crisis. “Midwives are vital agents of change in building climate resilience in vulnerable communities. Their multifaceted contributions are critical,” said a midwife from Kenya.
