Into the woods, it's time to go
Today…
was the birthday of Jeannette Rankin (1880–1973) who became the first woman to hold federal office in the U.S. when Montana elected her to Congress in 1916.
is German Chocolate Cake Day.
we’re heading out of town again for a few nights of camping. Am I totally packed and ready to go? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Abortion
Illinois
Lawsuit filed over Reproductive Health Act
Doug Finke | State Journal-Register
The Illinois Baptist State Association and two businesses have filed suit challenging a state law approved last year requiring health insurance policies sold in Illinois to provide coverage for abortions. The lawsuit said the mandate violates rights under the Illinois Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the Illinois Health Care Right of conscience Act because the plaintiffs have “sincerely held religious...
Maine
District Court Judge Dismisses Maine Family Planning Lawsuit Fighting Abortion "Gag Rule"
Patty Wight | Maine Public Broadcasting Network
A U.S. District Court Judge in Bangor has dismissed a lawsuit filed by Maine Family Planning against the Trump administration's so-called "gag rule." The rule blocks health care providers who receive federal Title X funds to serve low-income patients from making referrals for abortion, even when a patient specifically asks.
Bangor Daily News | Judge dismisses Planned Parenthood lawsuit over Trump’s abortion ‘gag rule’
LGBTQ
Queer Nightlife is About Being Together. The Coronavirus is Testing That.
Spencer Kornhaber | The Atlantic
LGBTQ people are having to find new ways to connect, and not for the first time.
5 Gender-Neutral Terms From Around The World
Suzannah Weiss | Bustle
Gender identity can't always be summed up with the words "he" or "she," but most languages don't have commonly used terms to describe everyone. In an attempt to solve this problem, some languages have created gender-neutral terms, including pronouns and symbols to denote non-conformity to the gender binary.
Chopping away at ACA reinforces COVID-19 crisis
Glenn Magpantay | Los Angeles Blade
Because we are vulnerable and unprotected under federal law, the Trump Administration can and is seeking to issue a final rule that would eliminate the ACA’s nondiscrimination provisions. Section 1557 of the ACA has been crucial for LGBTQ patients to access the care and coverage that they need.
George Floyd protests to end police brutality are the best way to honor Stonewall for Pride
Kera Bolonik | NBC News
Last June, it felt as if the entire world was converging on New York City’s West Village to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall rebellion, rebranded as World Pride. Around 5 million people from all over the globe descended upon the Big Apple in what was the largest LGBTQ gathering of its kind, and the city’s streets were literally paved with Pride.
How Queer Youth Are Surviving Quarantine With Their Homophobic Families
Gabe Bergado | NYLON
Many young LGBTQ people are stuck at home with homophobic parents due to the current pandemic. Some are out, others are not. In an arduous and potentially precarious situation, these members of the queer community have turned to a slew of coping mechanisms to weather the storm — largely ones made available through the internet.
Internet 'a lifeline' for the LGBTQ community: Why the spirit of Pride Month will prevail as events move online
Susan Miller | USA Today
Moving Pride events online is in many ways fitting for a community for whom the dawn of the digital age provided a safe space for connection and coming out. The accessibility of the online experience at such an unsettling time couldn't be more critical, advocates say.
J.K. Rowling Says She’s “Worried About Trans Activism” In New Statement
Jessica Wang | Bustle
Following backlash over her transphobic tweets, J.K. Rowling released a lengthy new statement about her decision to speak out about sex and gender issues on her website. Rowling’s distressing white feminist manifesto, published on June 10, breaks down five reasons behind her concerns about the “new trans activism” that has since arisen.
CBS | J.K. Rowling defends herself after accusations of making "anti-trans" comments on Twitter
Jezebel | J.K. Rowling Cites Transphobic Study to Explain She's Not Transphobic
Newsweek | J.K. Rowling's Inability to See Trans People is a Heartbreaking Failure of Imagination
U.S. News & World Report | JK Rowling Responds to Critics Over Her Transgender Comments
California
LA Pride Pulls out of Black Lives Matter March Facing Backlash
Sam Catanzaro | The Pride Los Angeles
Last week, Christopher Street West (CSW)–producers of L.A. Pride–announced a solidarity march with All Black Lives Matter on June 14. Soon after, CSW applied for a permit with LAPD for the event. Backlash ensued soon after with LGBTQ activists taking to social media to point out that partnering with police undermines the purpose of the protest against the police killing of George Floyd, Breanna Taylor and Tony McDade–a black trans man killed by police–among others.
Idaho
NCAA Urged To Blackball Idaho Over Trans Athlete Law
Ryan Boysen | Law360
Dozens of advocacy groups and more than 400 college and professional athletes have asked the NCAA to boycott Idaho in 2021, in response to a first-of-its-kind law passed in March that bans transgender girls from playing on girls sports teams.
Indiana
Indy Pride will no longer involve uniformed police officers in its Pride celebrations
John Riley | Metro Weekly
Indy Pride, the LGBTQ Pride organization for the Indianapolis metro area, last week announced that it will no longer have a uniformed police presence at its events, including the Indy Pride Festival.
Nevada
School district amends transgender policy
Toni R. Milano | Elko Daily Free Press
A policy requiring separate accommodations for transgender students was removed from a local school district policy to make it compliant with state and federal laws.
New York
Virtual NYC Pride March stays in step with protest and solidarity
Joe Dziemianowicz | MarketWatch
Since 1970, the New York City Pride parade has become a huge demonstration and celebration for the LGBTQ community. Its cancellation this year - a first in its long history - is especially difficult since 2020 marks the march's 50th anniversary. But the show of pride must go on.
Washington
A matter of Pride: Seattle's early embrace of LGBTQ rights
Joel Connelly | Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Seattle, and later Washington, have "been there" for LGBTQ rights for more than 40 years. With a committee chaired by Rosanne Royer, then-wife of Mayor Charley, city leaders defined the attempted repeal as an assault on the right to privacy — a right cherished in the Northwest. We live in a region settled by people who didn't want to be told how to live their lives.
West Virginia
West Virginia voters elect first out transgender official to Wheeling City Council
John Riley | Metro Weekly
On Tuesday, voters in Wheeling, W.V., elected Rosemary Ketchum to the Third Ward seat on the Wheeling City Council, making her the first openly transgender officeholder in the state.
LGBTQ Nation | Trans woman wins seat on Wheeling, West Virginia city council
Romper | West Virginia "Shattered A Lavender Ceiling," Elects Its First Openly Trans Official
Wheeling and I go way back. Good job, folks!
Pregnancy & Parenting
Coronavirus Has Had A Serious Effect On Postpartum Care, Explains Specialist
Alice Broster | Forbes
The pandemic has dramatically transformed giving birth and the postpartum period. Virtual care and video consultations have stepped up to replace face to face appointments to cut down on the people entering hospitals. A neonatologist explains how postpartum care has changed because of Covid-19 and, while virtual medicine has been good for this period, it will never replace the emotional support that new parents need in person.
Advocates Fear Another Devastating Impact of COVID-19: More Forced Pregnancies and Reproductive Control
Jallicia Jolly | Rewire.News
Black, brown, Indigenous, disabled, and low-income people have historically been victim to state-sanctioned forced sterilizations and reproductive coercion. With no protection from the control of their abusers and limited access to health services during the pandemic, many survivors have little or no opportunity to access reproductive care.
The pandemic’s mental health impact is dangerous for new moms. Especially black moms.
Kelly Glass | Washington Post
Reena Pande, chief medical officer for mental-health app AbleTo, says we have the perfect makings of a postpartum mental health crisis. “We’ve seen phased approaches for a return to normal, but none of them include steps to ensure mental health is on the upswing,” says Pande. “This is a huge problem.” And it’s a problem that could disproportionately affect black women.
Reproductive Health & Justice
A White Doctor's Viral TikTok Is Bringing Awareness To Racial Bias Against Black People In Medicine
Tanya Chen | BuzzFeed News
A viral TikTok from a doctor in Portland, Oregon, about systemic racism in healthcare and the disparities in the treatment of Black patients is opening up a dialogue online.
Embedding from Twitter since TikTok won’t let me…
Why Have Pro-Lifers Been So Quiet About Tear Gas Causing Miscarriages? Because They're Hypocrites.
Erin Corbett | Refinery29
Many people have pointed to the dangerous impacts of using a chemical irritant against protestors in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. The highly-contagious disease can lead to a severe or fatal respiratory illness. But the tear gas that police are deploying can also cause miscarriages, and the so-called pro-life movement has had little to say about it.
The Dangers of Excluding Women From HIV Prevention Drug Tests
Michele Cohen Marill | WIRED Magazine
After 35 years, Dázon Dixon Diallo is still waiting for gender equity in the research for drugs that could prevent HIV infection. The underrepresentation of women in all kinds of medical research—from heart disease to sexual dysfunction—is a longstanding concern among women’s health activists. With HIV, inequity not only leaves women vulnerable to a life-altering disease, but it also thwarts efforts to stop its spread.
Police terror, COVID-19 are women’s issues
Monica Moorehead | Workers World
Women are resisting on all fronts. Women of color, Black, Latinx and Indigenous, as well as anti-racist whites, a vast majority of them young, are on the front lines of this rebellion, not backing down from the police. Health care workers are rallying and marching against their terrible conditions, fighting both COVID and saying Black Lives Matter. Women are on the frontlines fighting these and other neoliberal policies emanating from the imperialist system both at home and abroad.
Michigan
Michigan Group Says Reproductive Justice, Racism Not Mutually Exclusive
Public News Service
With a global pandemic and national racial unrest, these are unprecedented times for youths in Michigan. And sexual health advocates say they can't commit to their mission without taking a stand against police violence and racism.
New York
The New York City Health Department Wants You To Have Kinkier Sex
Carolyn Steber | Bustle
The New York City Health Department is back at it again, this time with a recommendation that you consider the glory hole. Yes, you read that correctly. Health officials are suggesting people explore kinkier sex as a way of limiting the spread of the coronavirus.
BuzzFeed | New York's Latest Coronavirus Sex Advice Basically Encourages Glory Holes And Zoom Orgies
Mashable | NYC's safe sex guidelines for COVID-19 now officially recommend getting kinky
Work & Money
Push to Oust NOW President Toni Van Pelt Grows Amid New Racism Complaints
Emily Shugerman | The Daily Beast
More women have come forward with allegations of racism at the National Organization for Women after a Daily Beast investigation revealed a pattern of discrimination that stretched from the state chapters to the highest levels of the storied feminist organization.
Women In Film, Los Angeles is launching a campaign to continue pushing for gender and racial equality in the film and television industries hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meet Jennifer Carroll Foy, The Future First Black Woman Governor In America
Nadia Gapur | BUST Magazine
As of May 27, 2020, Carroll Foy is the first black woman to run for statewide office in Virginia, and if elected, could be the first black woman governor in the entire country.
How the Black Lives Matter movement can avoid #MeToo's missteps to create lasting change
Joanne Lipman | CNBC
Businesses alone aren’t going to overturn centuries of structural racism. That said, there are ways to move the needle, to build diversity into leadership, culture and practices. There is a playbook for this. To avoid the all-talk-no-action pitfalls of the #MeToo movement, here are steps companies can take right now.
Companies are making bold promises about greater diversity, but there's a long way to go
Pippa Stevens | CNBC
More and more companies are releasing statements and announcing initiatives aimed at promoting diversity and inclusion within their walls. Whether these promises lead to tangible outcomes remains to be seen, especially since corporations are not presently required to disclose statistics on employee make-up, which makes tracking broad progress difficult at best.
7 ways to ensure women don't backslide in their careers during COVID-19
Joanne Lipman | NBC News
The pandemic is economically hurting women and minorities the most. Lipman, an author and former chief content officer of Gannett talks about steps companies, individuals and the government can take to ensure women’s continued progress.
Pandemic Paid Leave Is Available: Why Some Parents Aren’t Taking It
Rebecca Gale | The New York Times
There may still be a lack of awareness about the benefit, but for families who do know, they’re weighing the risks
Bon Appetit employees share stories of 'toxic' culture, magazine issues apology
Michelle Gant | TODAY
Following the resignation of Bon Appétit editor-in-chief Adam Rapoport on June 8, current and former staffers have shared more stories showcasing a toxic culture that discriminates against people of color within the publication and its parent company Condé Nast.
Forcing Moms Without Childcare to Return to the Office Widens the Wage Gap
Meredith Bodgas | Working Mother
An estimated 20% of daycare spots are permanently disappearing because of family-run and center closures due to COVID. Many more might not have reopened at full capacity—or at all—since the initial shutdown. In addition, there are far fewer camps open for older kids. And yet other businesses are reopening and demanding parents return to their workplace instead of continuing to work from home with kids, leaving parents with little choice but to stay home to care for their children.
More, More, More
Too Great to Ignore: The Perils of Feminist Prominence
Rachel Lewis | Bitch Media
The perils of feminist prominence, and progressive prominence, are such that we risk losing hold of our own movements as we hand them off to a handful of leaders who, without fail, will make decisions that we view as movement-destroying mistakes.
Top U.S. Swim Coaches Abused Teens, Impregnated Them, Covered It Up for Decades
Pilar Bosch Melendez | The Daily Beast
Debra Grodensky was one of six women to file a series of lawsuits against USA Swimming on Wednesday, alleging the governing body ignored signs of sexual abuse by former U.S. Olympic coach Mitch Ivey and several other staff members in a decision that cultivated a culture of abuse for decades.
Why feminine design is the next frontier to more gender-inclusive video games
Jess Joho | Mashable
From a programming perspective, binary is embedded into the way developers make video games. But beyond the 1s and 0s of coding itself, for a long time another kind of binary has been imposed onto game design, genre labels, and industry marketing: gender.
P.S. If you’ve made it this far, you don’t need me to tell you why I’m a little late today.