Author: Oliver Haug

Oliver Haug is an assistant digital editor, audience editor and podcast producer with Ms. magazine. They are also a freelance journalist, focusing on LGBTQ+ issues and sexual politics. Their writing has previously appeared in Bitch Magazine, VICE, them.us, the New York Times' newsletter "The Edit," and elsewhere. You can read more of their work here, and follow them on Twitter @cohaug.

The Same Conservative Playbook That Overturned Roe Is Now Coming for Trans Healthcare

2024 marks the first time in several years that the U.S. Supreme Court will not hear a significant case relating to abortion rights—but the question of the constitutional right to bodily autonomy remains on the docket. On Wednesday, Dec. 4, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in U.S. v. Skrmetti, a case challenging Tennessee’s ban on healthcare for trans youth. The case is the first of its kind to be heard by the nation’s highest court—and as such will likely set an important precedent for future trans rights cases.

“The Court has the opportunity and duty to apply the law fairly, which means returning medical decisions to where they rightfully belong: to parents, their children and their doctors.”

How Trans Teens Are Finding Joy and Living Their Lives in Increasingly Hostile Times: The Ms. Q&A With Nico Lang

Nico Lang’s American Teenager spans states and perspectives, interviewing transgender teenagers from all walks of life—a girl in Florida who’s trying to figure out who she is while helping support her family financially; a boy in Chicago who’s excitedly planning for his first year of college in a city far away; kids who’ve been advocates since the were in diapers; and kids who just want to live their lives, away from the limelight.

Ms. spoke with Lang about the current state of the anti-trans movement, why children are an oppressed class, and what it means to foreground trans joy in a moment when institutionalized anti-trans hate is at an all-time high.

‘Astonishing Little Feet’: Maegan Houang Reimagines the Story of the First Known Chinese Woman in the U.S.

Nearly two centuries ago, Afong Moy became the first documented Chinese woman to arrive in the U.S. Brought by American merchants for the purposes of advertising their Chinese import business, she was exhibited across the U.S., for white audiences to marvel at her language, clothes and “little feet.”

Afong Moy is the subject of a new short film from director Maegan Houang. Houang sat down with Ms. to talk about why her story matters, and the role of historical fiction in revealing the dark truths of humanity. 

Rep. Ayanna Pressley Introduces Discharge Petition, Continuing ERA Push

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On Wednesday, co-chair of the ERA Caucus Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) introduced a “discharge petition” which seeks to compel the House to vote on H.J. Res. 25, a joint resolution to  remove the arbitrary deadline for ratification of the ERA and enshrine it in the Constitution as the 28th Amendment.

“Make no mistake—here is the closest we’ve ever been to seeing full equality recognized and equal rights in the Constitution.”

The Ms. Q&A: Jenny Odell on ‘Saving Time’ and Escaping the Clock

When Jenny Odell talks about “saving time,” she doesn’t mean what you might think—finding ways to live more “efficiently,” to optimize your life, to fit more hours into every day. 

In her new book, ‘Saving Time: Discovering a Life Beyond the Clock,’ the ‘How to do Nothing’ author explores the clock as a tool of domination from the earliest days of global conquest and colonization to the modern-day work week which seeks to colonize our minds and attention spans, in search of a conception of time that isn’t painful—but rather, liberatory. 

Here’s What Biden Had To Say About Abortion, the Child Tax Credit, and More in the State of the Union

In his State of the Union speech to Congress and the nation Tuesday night—during which Republicans found little to cheer for (and, in some cases, cause to disrupt)—President Biden specifically addressed some of the major issues of concern to feminists. From calling for advancing paid family and medical leave and expanding the Child Tax Credit, to LGBTQ+ rights and abortion—the latter of which is expected to be a major motivating issue for women voters in the 2024 election—he spoke on a number of feminist topics.

Congressional Leaders and Advocates Call on Senate to Clear the Way for the ERA

As the end of the year and the end of Congress’s lame duck session approaches, congressional leaders and women’s rights advocates are calling on the Senate to vote to list the time limit in the preamble of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), thus officially recognizing the ERA as the 28th Amendment to the Constitution.

“[The ERA] would empower Congress to better enforce laws protecting women,” said Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.). “And as we see the constant effort to whittle away at rights for women, everything from choice, they are bulldozing our rights into the ground.”

Oakland Museum of California’s ‘Hella Feminist’ Exhibit Grieves, Celebrates and Provokes

In a world where the meaning of “feminism” is increasingly being questioned by those on both the right and the left, a thoughtful contemplative examination of the term’s history and future can be hard to find. But the Oakland Museum of California’s “Hella Feminist” exhibition does just that.

(“Hella Feminist” is on view at the Oakland Museum of California in Oakland, California from July 2022-January 2023.)