More Than A Magazine, A Movement
Throwing trans and nonbinary people under the bus is a terrible compromise to the very authoritarian ambitions that liberals say they’re stepping up to fight. We need more love and support for people who are stigmatized and under assault, not less. And we desperately need more understanding of sex, gender and sexuality.
Let’s equip ourselves with the intellectual tools that will help us understand how would-be tyrants use gender to divide us.
This piece, based on three funds in the Northeast, is the fourth in a series of articles spotlighting interviews with fund representatives across the U.S.
We interviewed representatives from the New York Abortion Access Fund (NYAAF), New Jersey Abortion Access Fund (NJAAF) and Abortion Liberation Fund of Pennsylvania (ALF-PA). Activists at each of these funds noted the delicate balance between supporting abortion seekers from their home states and helping the influx of folks traveling to “blue states” for abortion care.
The 2024 elections are a watershed moment for Black women in politics.
As Americans—particularly young people and people of color—become more disillusioned by our political processes, the intentional and strategic advancement of Black women candidates may infuse a much-needed dose of confidence in decency, democracy and dignity in politics.
A feminist approach to philanthropy, as demonstrated by the Hive Fund for Climate and Gender Justice, focuses on two key tenets: making long-term, flexible grants to empower women of color leaders, and supporting collaborative leadership that fosters collective action. This approach has proven effective in addressing complex societal issues, particularly in the U.S. South, by providing financial security, affirming leaders’ expertise, and recognizing the value of building broad coalitions for democratic engagement and climate justice.
(This essay is part of a Women & Democracy package focused on who’s funding the women and LGBTQ people on the frontlines of democracy. We’re manifesting a new era for philanthropy—one that centers feminism. The need is real: Funding for women and girls amounts to less than 2 percent of all philanthropic giving; for women of color, it’s less than 1 percent. Explore the “Feminist Philanthropy Is Essential to Democracy” collection.)
As the world approaches a critical juncture with over half its population heading to the polls by the end of 2024, philanthropy faces a pivotal moment.
While conservative foundations intensify funding to restrict rights, progressive donors often stall. Black feminist movements, working at the forefront of transformative change, receive a shockingly small fraction of philanthropic funds—between 0.1 to 0.35 percent. There is an urgent need for philanthropy to support these efforts in the face of growing global challenges and anti-rights organizing.
(This essay is part of a Women & Democracy package focused on who’s funding the women and LGBTQ people on the frontlines of democracy. We’re manifesting a new era for philanthropy—one that centers feminism. The need is real: Funding for women and girls amounts to less than 2 percent of all philanthropic giving; for women of color, it’s less than 1 percent. Explore the “Feminist Philanthropy Is Essential to Democracy” collection.)
(This essay is part of a Women & Democracy package focused on who’s funding the women and LGBTQ people on the frontlines of democracy. We’re manifesting a new era for philanthropy—one that centers feminism. The need is real: Funding for women and girls amounts to less than 2 percent of all philanthropic giving; for women of color, it’s less than 1 percent. Explore the “Feminist Philanthropy Is Essential to Democracy” collection.)
Black women have been at the forefront of social and political movements, tirelessly advocating for gender and racial justice. Despite their invaluable contributions, they face systemic exclusion and underfunding.
There is an urgent need for greater investment in Black women’s organizations and leadership, emphasizing the transformative impact when Black women are properly resourced and respected as visionaries.
Bold and personal, Roxane Gay unpacks gun culture and gun ownership in America from a Black feminist perspective in her latest work, “Sand Your Ground.”
“It is appalling that women and people with uteruses have lost such a fundamental right to bodily autonomy. And it is not lost on me that women in many states have more rights as gun owners than they do as women. The power to take a life is more constitutionally and culturally valuable than a woman’s right to live freely. I do not know how to reconcile this reality with my feminism.”
Sarah Jones—the face of Ms. magazine’s October 2000 issue—is using storytelling to teach us how to heal. Tony Award-winning performer, activist and comedian, Jones brings her multicultural characters to life to examine our country’s myth of resilience in her debut podcast America, Who Hurt You?
The first season of the podcast, released last month, combines storytelling and interviews with guests such as Laverne Cox, Jane Fonda, Ai-jen Poo and Krista Tippett. She explores the personal and the political, both critiquing the systems in power while revealing our universal connections that are often overlooked. In doing so, America, Who Hurt You? provides renewed hope and optimism for our future.
Feeling the optimism of the moment and the energy of a fired-up political base, Ms. spoke with Black feminist scholar Carole Boyce Davies on the legacy, meanings and promises of Kamala Harris’ presidential run.
“We have to be ready to see the new reality, and then to move with it.”
The late Faith Ringgold was a feminist, an activist, a teacher, a mother and an artist known for her innovative use of mediums, ranging from the more traditional oil on canvas, murals and mosaics, to story quilts, protest posters and soft sculptures.
(This article originally appears in the Summer 2024 issue of Ms. Join the Ms. community today and you’ll get issues delivered straight to your mailbox!)
