More Than A Magazine, A Movement
Wearing the hijab didn’t bother me—I had the sanctuary of my home and progressive parents, and I was privileged enough to immigrate to America. I had a choice. The “I oppose the mandatory hijab” buttons are for the Iranian women who don’t have choices.
Anyone who can name one or two of their fundamental rights under threat should wear a button, take a picture and post it on social media. To request a button, or for more information, email: freedombutton2023@gmail.com.
U.S. patriarchal authoritarianism is on the rise, and democracy is on the decline. But day after day, we stay vigilant in our goals to dismantle patriarchy at every turn. The fight is far from over. We are watching, and we refuse to go back. This is the War on Women Report.
This month: The FDA is set to review the application for the first over-the-counter birth control pill; World Athletics voted to ban all trans women from elite athletics; Republicans have introduced bills that would bring homicides charges for abortion; and more.
My hope is that each of you reading this column will do some research in your own communities to find out where the threats to the freedom to read lie. Talk to your local school and public librarians. Call your legislators, sign the petitions, run for your local school board, raise hell.
And also, keep reading. Read the 34 books on this list or whatever else you can get your hands on. Then pass those books on to your friends, your kids, your friends’ kids, or donate them to your libraries and schools.
Participation is often where the conversation starts and stops when Title IX is discussed. Very little attention is paid to coaches.
A federal district court judge in Texas issued a ruling on Thursday blocking certain Affordable Care Act (ACA) requirements that insurers cover preventative care services with no out-of-pocket costs. The ruling applies nationwide.
The judge’s decision means millions of people could lose access to over 60 essential preventive services aimed at early detection of diseases, including breast and cervical cancer screenings, as well as breastfeeding support and pregnancy-related preventative care, including screenings for postpartum depression, preeclampsia and gestational diabetes. Research has shown that the ACA cost-free coverage of preventative services led to more people using them and narrowed care disparities in communities of color.
Weekend Reading for Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation.
This week: Spain is one of the first countries in Europe to set legally binding quotas on gender representation; women’s advancement in the corporate sector reveals significant backsliding; ranked-choice voting could be coming to Connecticut; and more.
The Brooklyn Academy of Music relaunched Lorraine Hansberry’s The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window. Hansberry is best known for A Raisin in the Sun (1957), the first production written by a Black woman staged on Broadway, which won her a New York Drama Circle Critics Award in 1959.
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.
This week: Remembering Nashville’s Cynthia Peak, 61, Katherine Koonce, 60, Mike Hill, 61, and Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney, all age 9; “You lobbied for weaker rules [and] got what you wanted,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren demands Silicon Valley Bank takes responsibility for its collapse; LAUSD employee strike secures a pay raise and better benefits; Utah governor prohibits abortion clinics from getting licensed; study show abortion by mail is not less efficient; the House’s first-ever Congressional Caucus for the Equal Rights Amendment; and more.
From the August 1986 issue of Ms.:
“Men’s novels are about men. Women’s novels are about men too, but from a different point of view. You can have a men’s novel with no women in it, except possibly the landlady or the horse, but you can’t have a women’s novel with no men in it.”
“Men’s novels are about how to get power. Killing and so on, or winning and so on. So are women’s novels, though the method is different. In men’s novels, getting the woman or women goes along with getting the power. It’s a perk, not a means. In women’s novels, you get the power by getting the man.”
For my daughter Gwen Jorgensen, the benefit of Title IX offered not only a gateway to activities. Gwen’s generation grew up with a belief system—a mindset that young women deserve the same as men.
The impact of Title IX presents a stark generational contrast between my daughter and me. Equal opportunity afforded her the chance to pursue sports in elementary school, high school, college and on the world stage. She grew up believing in herself, her talents and her skills.