On Thursday, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ruled that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act bars employment discrimination based on sexual orientation—a move that will hugely advance the rights of lesbian, gay and bisexual workers in all 50 states. Until now, many states still legally allowed businesses to fire workers because of their sexual orientation. At […]
Author: Julia Robins
Julia Robins is a Ms. editorial intern and a graduate of William & Mary. Follow Julia on Twitter @julia_robins.
Is Serena Williams’ Body More Important than her Record?
Serena Williams just won her sixth Wimbledon and 21st Grand Slam title. The world number-one singles player has won almost as many Grand Slams as the rest of the Women’s Tennis Association combined. She is literally and figuratively on top of the world. But it seems like the media would rather talk about her body than […]
We Heart: Facebook’s New Feminist Icons
You may not have noticed, but there have been a couple visually small—but symbolically huge—changes made to Facebook recently. Caitlin Winner, a design manager at Facebook, was looking through archives of Facebook icons when she noticed something about the “friend request” icon that the rest of us have long overlooked—it depicted two people, a man […]
We Spleen: Former Disney CEO Michael Eisner
Last week at the Aspen Ideas Festival, former Disney CEO Michael Eisner said that women who are beautiful and funny are almost impossible to find. While speaking on stage with Goldie Hawn, Eisner graced the audience with his theory on why Hawn’s Hollywood career had been so successful: “From my position, the hardest artist to […]
Christian Grey is 50 Shades of Sexist
Oh E.L. James, what am I going to do with you?—is probably what Christian Grey would say if he had to read all 576 baffling pages of Grey, the newest addition to the blockbuster series Fifty Shades of Grey. Lucky for James, she doesn’t have to fear the wrath of Christian’s not-so-erotic punishments—she just gets to […]
Iowa Supreme Court Rules Telemedicine Abortion Ban Unconstitutional
The Iowa Supreme Court ruled last week that Planned Parenthood of the Heartland may keep using a telemedicine system, the first of its kind in the nation, to dispense abortion-inducing pills. Since 2008, more than 7,200 Iowa women have used the system, which allows Planned Parenthood doctors in Des Moines or Iowa City to interact […]
UCLA Failed to Protect Students from Sexual Harassment, Lawsuit Says
Already one of 106 colleges and universities under investigation by the federal Department of Education for possible violations of Title IX, the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) now faces a Title IX lawsuit by two graduate students. On June 11, Nefertiti Takla and Kristen Hillaire Glasgow filed the suit and demand for jury trial […]
10 Women Who Should Grace the New $10 Bill
In 2020, Alexander Hamilton will have to scoot over a bit on that $10 bill to make way for a powerful and inspiring woman’s portrait. While we’re still not sure who the woman might be—Harriet Tubman and Eleanor Roosevelt are frequent bets—we can’t wait for the historic change. Hamilton has been on the $10 bill […]
Jurassic World is Prehistorically Sexist
Jurassic World hit the big screen last week, breaking records for the biggest opening weekend in both North American and international markets and grossing over $500 million. That means around 50 million people watched Bryce Dallas Howard run away from—and sometimes fight—genetically-modified dinosaurs for two hours…in heels. I want to like Jurassic World, I really do. […]
An Open Letter to Jerry Seinfeld
Dear Jerry Seinfeld, I heard you on ESPN radio the other day. You were talking to Colin Cowherd about how you write jokes, where you like to perform and how much you love Colin Cowherd. I have to be honest, Jerry, you two were losing me until Colin broached the subject of political correctness and […]