More Than A Magazine, A Movement
Mere years after the Civil War, in United States v. Lee, the Court recognized that “[n]o man in this country is so high that he is above the law. No officer of the law may set that law at defiance with impunity. All the officers of the government, from the highest to the lowest, are creatures of the law, and are bound to obey it.”
One week into the Trump administration, this wisdom rings hollow.
Weekend Reading on Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation in politics, on boards, in sports and entertainment, in judicial offices and in the private sector in the U.S. and around the world—with a little gardening and goodwill mixed in for refreshment!
This week:
—Lifelong feminist, activist and former president of Planned Parenthood, Cecile Richards, died.
—A new report is sobering for anyone who have assumed increased women’s leadership was inevitable.
—Alaska’s legislative session begins, where women hold the majority of seats in the House and bipartisanship is flourishing.
—In New Mexico, women lawmakers have changed the legislative culture, addressing sexual harassment and championing policies to reduce child poverty and protect reproductive rights.
… and more.
At the end of her sermon at Tuesday’s inaugural prayer service, Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde directly addressed President Trump on his first full day in office.
“I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now,” she said. “There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and independent families, some who fear for their lives.”
Bishop Budde also asked Trump, who has repeatedly threatened mass deportation, to protect immigrants in the United States. She said, “The vast majority of immigrants are not criminals. I ask you to have mercy, Mr. President, on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away, and that you help those who are fleeing war zones and persecution in their own lands to find compassion and welcome here.”
In recent years, the use of abortion pills has skyrocketed and now accounts for an estimated 65 percent of all abortions performed in medical settings, including through both brick-and-mortar clinics and telehealth providers.
Carrie N. Baker’s fascinating new book, Abortion Pills: U.S. History and Policy, tells the story of a decades-long struggle for acceptance of this safe, secure and private method of ending an early pregnancy. It’s also a story of antiabortion attempts to suppress abortion pills.
Indian Americans have built a reputation as one of the most successful and influential immigrant communities in the United States, celebrated for our dedication to education, hard work and family values. Yet, when it comes to reproductive rights, our community has largely remained silent, even as these rights come under increasing attack across the country. This silence, quite frankly, is no longer acceptable.
To my fellow Indian Americans, especially women: this is our moment to step forward. Speak up in your communities, join organizations fighting for reproductive rights, and vote for leaders who prioritize these freedoms.
What if many of the working and middle-class men who voted for Trump were misled into thinking that feminists and racial justice advocates were their antagonists, instead of the denizens of what David Graham referred to in The Atlantic as a new “Gilded Age,” who were seated right behind Trump at his second inaugural?
To use a Star Wars analogy: What if many of the average men who supported Trump fancied themselves members of the Rebel Alliance, but one day came to understand they were actually working for the Empire?
Democrats don’t need to convert the MAGA faithful. I’m convinced that millions of men and young men who voted for Trump have not gone that far down the rabbit hole of hero-worship, conspiracy and delusion. That’s the source of my defiant hope.
Former President Joe Biden’s statement that the Equal Rights Amendment has been ratified and should be deemed part of the Constitution is welcome and correct as to the law. But it also is likely to engender great confusion and unfortunately has no legal effect.
The law is clear: It is for Congress to decide whether an amendment has been properly ratified—not the president, not the archivist, and not the courts.
Cecile Richards—former president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America and president of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund from 2006 to 2018; founder of Supermajority, an organization dedicated to championing women’s leadership; daughter of Gov. Ann Richards, the first and only female governor of the state; and a lifelong feminist and political activist and trailblazer—died Monday, Jan. 20, after a battle with brain cancer. She was 67.
Today is a day of stark contrasts. On one hand, it marks the inauguration of Donald Trump, a moment that may stir despair and fear for many who value equality, justice, and progress.
Yet, today is also Martin Luther King, Jr. Day—a beacon of hope that reminds us our nation’s true destination is one of change, equality, and unrelenting progress toward justice.
This moment requires us to hold steadfast in our values. To remember that setbacks are not defeats but opportunities to strategize and push forward.
Hard-won rights are steadily being rolled back. Authoritarianism is once again fashionable, dressed up in slogans and banners. And billionaires are calling the shots. This moment feels grim and hopeless—but it’s not. Consider it, instead, a call to action for feminists everywhere.
Ms. magazine was born for a time like this. Fifty-three years ago, Gloria. Steinem and a small band of determined women set out to create a magazine that didn’t whisper, didn’t apologize and didn’t avert its eyes from the truth. All these years later, Ms. remains—still defiant, still asking questions others won’t dare to touch, still answering those questions truthfully and boldly.