Everything you missed at Ms. this week.
Ms. Weekly Digest | May 23, 2020

Here at Ms., our team is continuing to report through this global health crisis, doing what we can to keep you informed and up-to-date on some of the most underreported issues of the pandemic. If you’ve enjoyed the Ms. Weekly Digest, we ask that you consider supporting our work to bring you substantive, unique reporting—we can’t do it without you.

Dear John,

Toxic masculinity—it’s a topic discussed often in feminist circles and in women’s studies theory, but I’ve noticed that, especially since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become a much more mainstream topic of discussion. And why is that? Donald Trump, of course.

Since he announced his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination in June 2015, Americans have had a front row seat to the bullying, hateful ignorance and narcissism—all components of the toxic form of ultra-aggressive ‘masculinity’ he swears by—that our President calls leadership. And now, in the midst of a global health crisis, it has become dangerously clear just how ill prepared Trump is to keep the country safe. After all, a mean nickname or series of aggressive Tweets do nothing to protect the healthcare workers who are lacking adequate PPE and who are putting their lives at risk every day, the Americans who are waiting in line at food banks because they cannot feed their families during the economic crisis, or the essential workers who are being forced to return to work despite unsafe conditions. Meanwhile, the Trump administration does nothing to hold employers accountable when safety standards are not met.

The President played the part of the ‘tough guy’ all the way to the White House—but he cannot ‘tough guy’ his way out of this health crisis.

Throughout these uncertain and trying times, the Ms. team has done our best to report on those making a difference and amplify the voices of those who have been disproportionately affected by the coronavirus pandemic. And in our own lives, we have tried to do what we can to be there for one another and our larger communities.

One easy thing all of us can do? Follow the recommendation of the CDC and wear a mask or face covering whenever you go outside and are around other people—it’s an act of love for your neighbors. President Trump’s toxic form of ‘masculine’ leadership won’t allow him to do even that, for fear of looking weak. Let us be better.

BY JACKSON KATZ | "This is a public health crisis that can’t be solved by angry tweets or theatrical displays of bravado...It is beyond tragic that the most powerful man in the world is such a small man, utterly incapable of rising to the occasion and providing the leadership this catastrophe so desperately requires."

BY THOMAS SMURTHWAITE | "For many years, I worked as a psychologist treating abusive men...President Trump reminds me of them."

BY CARRIE N. BAKER | In the final installment of her six-part series, Baker answers the question: where does the fight for constitutional gender equality stand now?

BY CARRIE N. BAKER | Feminists are going on the offensive in the battle to protect abortion rights—pushing to expand abortion access by calling for the removal of FDA restriction on the abortion pill mifepristone.

BY AUDREY ANDREWS | Sixty-five percent of Americans do not want abortion access to be restricted during the COVID-19 crisis.

BY CYNTHIA RICHIE TERRELL | Our friend, Cynthia Terrell, founder and executive director of RepresentWomen, is back with another installment of her weekly column, rounding up some of her favorite stories about women’s representation in the news this week.

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