Author: Roxy Szal

Roxy Szal is the digital editor at Ms. and a producer on the Ms. podcast On the Issues With Michele Goodwin. She is also a mentor editor for The OpEd Project. Before becoming a journalist, she was a Texas public school English teacher. She is based in Austin, Texas. Find her on Twitter @roxyszal.

‘Voters Showed Up for Democracy’ Despite Record-Breaking Suppression: The Ms. Q&A With Maya Wiley

U.S. voters have faced significant changes in the voting rights landscape over the years—but when it comes to restrictions, the last two years take the cake. Since the beginning of 2021, lawmakers have passed at least 42 restrictive voting laws in 21 states, making last year the worst on record for voting access. Many of the same trends continued into 2022, affecting both midterm turnout and race outcomes, and putting U.S. democracy through the ultimate stress test.

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights has been fighting laws like these for over seven decades. Today, it’s led by Maya Wiley. In a conversation with Ms., Wiley gave her frank take on the 2022 midterms and the upcoming Georgia Senate race; discussed the role of voter suppression in key races this year; and shared her vision for the future of U.S. civil rights.

Dismantling the ‘Latino Republican Voter’ Myth—With Voto Latino’s María Teresa Kumar

In the last several years, a popular narrative has emerged: The rise of right-wing extremism has been fueled by a surge in Latino support. María Teresa Kumar, head of Voto Latino, says this is simply untrue. 

Ms. spoke to Kumar to try to understand the proliferation of the ‘Latino Republican voter’ myth. As the head of an organization focusing almost exclusively on engaging young Latino youth in the U.S. political process, she helped me make sense of the election aftermath, the messages she thinks Latino voters sent through the way they voted, and why it’s time for progressives to double-down on Texas.

‘We Condemn the Public Shaming of Amber Heard’: 130 Women’s Rights Signatories Sign Open Letter

“In the Depp v. Heard trial, behaviors that are common to survivors were relentlessly mocked and misunderstood,” said Dr. Emma Katz, author of Coercive Control in Children’s and Mothers’ Lives. “These common survivor behaviors—including covering injuries with makeup and leaving your abuser then arranging to meet with them again—were widely condemned as signs of deception. Many survivors watched these public conversations unfold with dread, as the question, ‘Will I be believed if I come forward?’ seemed to be met with a resounding ‘no.’”

What’s Wrong With This Picture? (COP27 Edition!)

Running from Nov. 6-18, the United Nations COP27 conference brings together political leaders and representatives from 190 countries to discuss climate-related topics including climate change adaptation, climate finance, decarbonization, agriculture and biodiversity.

And from the looks of the photos emerging already from day one, women’s representation at COP27 is practically nonexistent.

What Michigan’s Prop 3 Could Mean for National Abortion Rights

Ahead of the midterms, feminist and civil rights groups are urging Michiganders to vote yes to Proposal 3, a ballot measure that would add an amendment to the state constitution explicitly establishing the right to abortion, as well as a broad range of other reproductive healthcare, including prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, contraception, sterilization, miscarriage management and infertility. 

The ballot measure will determine whether the state’s 1931-era abortion ban can remain on the books—a law prohibiting abortions without exceptions for rape, incest or health of the pregnant woman. (It only allows abortions that “preserve the life” of a patient.)

Abortion Bans Are Already Affecting Young Women’s Personal and Professional Plans

A significant portion of young women are already making plans about where they are willing to live and work based on whether abortion is protected or banned in states, according to new Ms. magazine and Feminist Majority Foundation (FMF) polling by Lake Research Partners across the nine battleground states of Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Abortion and Equal Rights Are Driving Young Women Voters—and High Turnout Is Expected

Among young women voters ages 18-29 in the battleground states, abortion and women’s rights are the most important and highly motivating issues in determining their vote—22 points higher than inflation. And youth voter turnout is expected to match or exceed the record set in 2018.

“The overturning of Roe v. Wade has lit a fire under women voters, and especially young women voters, who have the power to determine close elections,” said Katherine Spillar, executive editor of Ms.