It’s been—to put it mildly—a difficult few days for those who believe that trans and nonbinary people are (gasp!) deserving of health care. Public figures including New York Times columnist Pamela Paul, actor Bette Midler, and singer Macy Gray have all come out with statements indicating that the role of women in society is somehow … Read more
On July 19, 2016, Adama Traoré, a Black French man of Malian descent, was celebrating his birthday in the Paris suburb of Beaumont-sur-Oise when police restrained and apprehended him, ultimately leading to his death in police custody. In the six years since, Traoré has become a symbol of the fight against racist policing in France—and … Read more
Now, in the wake of Roe v. Wade’s unthinkable-yet-wholly-predictable overturning, I’m thinking about my college self and her born-too-late riot grrrl aspirations again. I know now that the riot grrrl movement was nowhere near as inclusive as it could or should have been; as Mimi Thi Nguyen wrote for the feminist theory journal Women & … Read more
I’m writing this on my phone while nursing my 10-week-old, with my four- and six-year-olds entertaining themselves in the other room. The four-year-old has missed the past week of school because he caught COVID one week before the FDA—after taking its excruciating time—approved a vaccine for under-5’s. He then passed it to his brother (probably), … Read more
“In 2018, Latinos voted in record numbers in a midterm election. In 2020, the turnout was 30 percent higher from Latinos than it was in 2016. We see a recognition of that, and barriers being thrown up—more Latino votes is not what some political leaders want to see,” he says. “Part of what we’re trying … Read more
The events of the Platinum Jubilee may have provided a distraction from the political turmoil enveloping the U.K., but this morning’s news of a vote of no confidence against British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has brought ongoing governmental issues back into laser-sharp focus. Later today, Johnson will face the biggest crisis yet in his tumultuous … Read more
On Tuesday, May 24, a gunman entered Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, and fatally shot 19 children and 2 teachers in what is now the deadliest school shooting since Sandy Hook in 2012. It’s difficult, if not outright impossible, to make sense of this kind of senseless carnage, but as hopeless as we might … Read more
On Wednesday, May 25, two years after the killing of unarmed Black father George Floyd by Minneapolis ex-policeman Derek Chauvin, President Joe Biden is expected to issue an executive order aimed at reforming police departments across the country. The order will direct federal law enforcement agencies to revise their use-of-force policies and to restrict tactics … Read more
On Tuesday, an 18-year-old gunman entered an Uvalde, Texas elementary school with a long rifle and proceeded to kill 19 children and two teachers in a single classroom. On Wednesday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott—a longtime NRA supporter who has been instrumental in relaxing state gun laws—held a press conference to pass the buck to “mental … Read more
It appears that the near-complete ban on abortions after six weeks in Texas was only the beginning of the rollback of reproductive rights in the U.S.: On Thursday, the Oklahoma Legislature gave approval to a bill that would prohibit nearly all abortions beginning at fertilization. The bill subjects abortion providers and anyone who “aids or … Read more