Cake, please!
Today…
is the birthday of Lorraine Hansberry (1930–1965), the first Black woman to have a play produced on Broadway – A Raisin in the Sun, in 1959.
In many areas Hansberry was ahead of her time. "She was a feminist before the feminist movement. She identified as a lesbian and thought about LGBT organizing before there was a gay rights movement. She was an anti-colonialist before independence had been won in Africa and the Caribbean." In other words, she was intersectional before intersectionality became a thing.
And look how cute she was. I know. But for real…
At the end of last year, in a fit of naive optimism, I bought a 2020 planner and dutifully wrote in all the primary dates – for today, I have Oregon and Kentucky. Oregon can move ahead as planned because they were already no-fault vote by mail. Kentucky’s was moved to June 23. And regardless, my enthusiasm is at zero. Yes, vote, ballot access, all of it, of course. I’ll do it. Fine. But I’m not that excited about it.
Anyway. Let’s end on a happier note. Today is National Devil’s Food Cake Day! I have all the stuff!
Sharing is caring…
Abortion
It's time to stop being nice, ladies. Politicians pushing anti-women laws must go
Mary Lou Marzian & Honi Marleen Goldman | Louisville Courier-Journal
Maybe it is being sheltered in place for over a month. But we are really fed up with all these continual macho power games, using women's uteruses and vaginas as collateral.
Pretty Much Everyone Hates the Republican COVID-19 Abortion Bans
Dennis Carter | Rewire.News
Doing away with abortion rights during the COVID-19 pandemic, like many abortion restrictions, is overwhelmingly unpopular. 65% of registered voters polled between May 8 to May 13 for Navigator said they don’t think lawmakers should fighting over or restricting access to “time-sensitive reproductive care.”
I Lead Doctors Without Borders’ Abortion Task Force. The Pandemic Is Forcing Us to Innovate.
Manisha Kumar | Slate
We have to be innovative, and part of that innovation is going to be developing more of these self-care community-based models, distributing condoms or emergency contraception pills. There are also now self-injectable contraceptives. That will help to see us through this pandemic, but hopefully will also impact the way that we envision health care or these services even beyond it.
LGBTQ
Aimee Stephens and Preserving Our Broader Understandings of Sex
Shirley Lin | JURIST
Although she will not hear the Supreme Court’s decision in her case, Ms. Stephens’ unwavering commitment to workplace dignity made history in 2018 in her landmark victory before the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, in one of the most nuanced examinations of sex discrimination ever issued.
On 1970s Feminism and Watching Mrs. America as a Trans Woman
Veronica Scott Esposito | Literary Hub
How can a transwoman in the 2020s find ways to identify with a show about 1970s feminist icons? How do I balance my genuine admiration for these women—who fought for freedoms that I now enjoy—with the knowledge that some of the most repulsive parts of the anti-trans movement also sprung from second-wave feminism?
LGBTQ+ Policy in the Time of COVID-19
Kassidy Tarala | Minnesota Women's Press
OutFront Minnesota and its partnering organizations are working to bring folx from rural areas to the forefront of the discussion. Minneapolis, for one, tends to have a more inclusive community, as the only known city in the country whose voters elected two black, queer, trans folx to its city Council.
Acceptance by peers reduced risk of suicide attempts among API LGBTQ youth, report finds
Agnes Constante | NBC News
The risk of attempting suicide among Asian Pacific Islander LGBTQ youth dropped by more than 50% as a result of widespread acceptance among their friends, according to a new report. The research, released Wednesday by the Trevor Project, also found that these youth reported lower rates of depressed mood and attempted suicide than non-API LGBTQ youth.
Trump Ambassador Blasts Poland's Homophobic Policies
Neal Broverman | Out Magazine
Georgette Mosbacher, the Trump-appointed U.S. ambassador to Poland, took part in a short video declaring support for LGBTQ+ rights. Co-starring with five other Polish ambassadors from countries like Canada and New Zealand, Mosbacher held up a sign reading "equality for all." She then had the U.S. embassy in Warsaw tweet out the video, and then twice retweeted the clip from her own account.
Reproductive Health & Justice
Pink Tax Pushback
Monica Obradovic | Riverfront Times
During her time in the Missouri state legislature, Rep. Gina Mitten has sponsored five bills all with the same objective: to lower the tax levied on feminine hygiene products to no greater than the tax levied on food. Some of the bills have called for a decreased tax on diapers as well. For each bill, Mitten says, she was given the same reason why it didn’t pass: It’s too expensive.
Most medical professionals aren't racist - but our medical system is
Ella St. George Carey | Washington Post
Evidence has emerged that doctors are less likely to refer African Americans for testing for covid-19 when they exhibit symptoms. This reluctance to give black patients adequate care isn't just a case of individual bias, or nefarious intent. Rather, it is a symptom of the broken system, over a century in the making, in which American hospitals operate and medical personnel are trained and educated.
State Representative Worried About Future Access to Birth Control
Sharon Jackson | WLPR-FM (Lowell, IN)
Access to contraceptives in Indiana could be up for grabs and State Representative Mara Candelaria Reardon, a Democrat from Munster, is worried.
Work & Money
The Uncertain Future for Workers
Harold Meyerson | The American Prospect
Just as important as a national infrastructure program is a national caring program, in which government directs massive funding to child care, elder care, and public-health programs that create living-wage jobs. Absent such policies, particularly in times of high unemployment, family caregivers—disproportionately women—will tend to these tasks at home, either uncompensated or barely compensated, depressing the nation’s purchasing power and economic vibrancy.
How men and women's salaries compare at Facebook, Google, Apple, and other top tech companies
Marguerite Ward | Business Insider
Women are offered 3% less money than men for the same tech job at the same company, according to 2019 data from Hired, a job website that focuses on placing people in tech jobs.
How greater diversity in the cockpit could help airlines avoid a looming pilot shortage
Shannon Morrison | The Conversation
There are many reasons for the anticipated pilot shortage, including increased regulation, growing demand for air travel and an aging workforce, coupled with a mandatory retirement age of 65. But there’s one cause that also offers a solution: The industry has long struggled to recruit women, people of color and members of other marginalized groups.
Emergency Paid Leave Helps Some Families, Leaves Others Adrift
Rebecca Gale | The New York Times
After years of lobbying for a federal paid family leave policy, coronavirus has forced the issue — but it’s just a stopgap.
In Her Shoes In A Pandemic
Alexis Maida | The Startup
Being a woman, a mother, and a professional, my experience lends me to feel connected to the situation that many women are finding themselves in these days. I feel it would do all a disservice to not pay attention to these women and the problems their situation presents to the business world. Not only are women taking on more at home, which creates stress, but many women are also having to put their job or job search on the shelf with little hope of reentering the job market any time soon.
More, More, More
There Are Real Reasons You're Playing Pioneer Woman In Your Apartment Right Now
Margaret Wheeler Johnson | Bustle
Making things by hand is a fairly typical reaction to periods of increased mass production and the loss of autonomy they bring. However, the sudden spike in homesteading behavior points to the real economic hardship that has hit millions of households.
Just so long as all the flour and dried beans I’ve had a hard time finding for 8+ weeks now isn’t going to waste, have a ball.
Ten Prominent Women Spotlight The Need For Women’s Leadership During The Pandemic And Beyond
Marianne Schnall | Forbes
I had the opportunity to reach out to a group of prominent female leaders to get their thoughts on … what women bring to leadership and what it will take to make sure we have them seated at the tables where important decisions are being made, especially at this critical time when so much is at stake for the present and the future of our country and our world.