Spoiler Alert: Feminists are still fighting on.
*Weekly Digest | July 13, 2019*
*Letter From an Editor*
The week began with a marathon celebration: After the U.S. Women's National Team won their fourth World Cup, the victory march continued on TV [ [link removed] ], on Twitte [ [link removed] ]r, on Instagram [ [link removed] ] and even in the streets of New York City [ [link removed] ]. (So did the cheers calling for equal pay for equal play [ [link removed] ].)
But while I was watching and re-watching a video of Megan Rapinoe declaring "I deserve this, I deserve everything," even more feminist stories were spilling into the headlines.
While abortion rights activists were putting up pro-choice billboards in Texas [ [link removed] ] to protest new anti-abortion policies, Jeffrey Epstein [ [link removed] ] and R. Kelly [ [link removed] ] were both arrested and charged this week for various crimes against women and girls after years of evading accountability. (And in a major victory, Labor Secretary Jeffrey Acosta stepped down this week for making much of that evasion easier [ [link removed] ].) On Tuesday, the Affordable Care Act ended up back in court [ [link removed] ], and the Trump administration launched a new agency to further its anti-woman, anti-LGBTQ agenda [ [link removed] ]. On Thursday, the President finally relented in his fight to add a citizenship question to the Census [ [link removed] ]. And on Friday, #Lights4Liberty events nationwide kept up the momentum of the fight against the Trump administration's intentional cruelty at the border [ [link removed] ].
What struck me in every story that filled my Twitter feed this week-and, then, filled our queue-was the persistence of feminists, and the power of their continued resistance.
Around the clock and across the calendar, feminist organizations have formed the front line in the fight to protect migrant children [ [link removed] ], and to provide necessary supplies to migrant families at the border. [ [link removed] ] Despite widespread gaps in sexual and reproductive health and rights worldwide, millions of women raised their voices to be part of the White Ribbon Alliance's groundbreaking What Women Want campaign [ [link removed] ]-which will now fuel policy agendas across the globe. And in advance of next week's news cycle, advocates are already ringing the alarm about unfinished feminist business on Capitol Hill. [ [link removed] ]
If this political moment has taught us anything, it's that feminists aren't giving up. And that's always great news.
Onward,
Carmen Rios
Managing Digital Editor, "Ms." _________________________________________
*More Must-Reads from "Ms." *
* [ [link removed] ]*
*10 Ways to Take Action for Immigrants* [ [link removed] ]
The most recent string of reports from the border demand our attention-and our action.
* [ [link removed] ]*
*What the Epstein Case Means for the Fight to End Sex Trafficking* [ [link removed] ]
Years of hard work by feminist survivors and the #MeToo awakening have shifted public consciousness about who's to blame for youth involvement in the sex trade and given survivors courage to speak out about sexual abuse and hold perpetrators accountable.
* [ [link removed] ]*
*Working Harder, Earning Less: Inside the Women's Soccer Team Lawsuit for Equal Pay* [ [link removed] ]
The U.S. Women's National Team works significantly more than the men's team and outperforms them-but they still earn significantly less.
* [ [link removed] ]*
*Black Mermaids, White Fantasies and the Need for a Black Feminist Imagination* [ [link removed] ]
This Disney remake needs more than just a "black mermaid." We need a story with a black feminist imagination.
** [ [link removed] ]
*An Open Letter to Playboy From Black Women* [ [link removed] ]
""Playboy", we don't believe that you deserve the best parts of any of us. We don't believe that you deserve our Black girl experiences and our dances as fodder for consumption by a readership which often has little to no regard for Black girls and are often the buyers of Black girls."
