feminism
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I Have a Son Now, Which Means I Can Finally Start Respecting Men as People
Last week, my wife gave birth to a beautiful, healthy, bouncing baby boy. He is all the things that you hope new babies are. A blessing. Loud. Adorable. Soft. Precious. Gassy. Alert. Moderately bemused. Perpetually hangry. Vaguely human. Somewhat reminiscent of Fred Sanford. He is also life-changing. He’s our second child, but our first boy—my…
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A Look Back at the Reaction to 'Straight Black Men Are the White People of Black People' a Year Later
A year ago, a line in a piece from Saki Benibo—an assertion also articulated a year before in a tweet from Mela Machinko—inspired me to write something of my own based on that statement. The result (“Straight Black Men Are The White People Of Black People”) was my most read VSB piece of 2017. It…
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'R-E-S-P-E-C-T': Aretha Created a Women’s Anthem Out of a Song Written for a Man
If you grew up a lover of soul music, you know that today, Aug. 16, 2018, is a day to honor the memory of the undisputed Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, who died on Thursday at age 76 of pancreatic cancer. For those of us who will be playing her music for the remainder of…
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Good News: The Ms. Foundation Is Making a Major Investment in Women of Color
Finally, some good news to come out of Black Women’s Equal Pay Day: On Tuesday, the Ms. Foundation for Women announced a new strategic plan (PDF) which “will route $25 million to grassroots organizations led by, or serving, women and girls of color over the next five years in an effort to improve outcomes for…
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The 'Pick-He' (the Male Version of the 'Pick-Me'), Explained
One of what? Yeah, I guess it’s been a while, huh? This is perhaps why I haven’t done as many explainers. Some of this shit just can’t be explained. I’m as stumped as you are. Yes, I am! So, defining a pick-me is simple. It describes a woman, who, through her words and actions, is…
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Yes, Yara! Yara Shahidi Covers June Issue of Harper’s Bazaar Arabia
Now, this is what we call pretty in pink: Perennial fave Yara Shahidi looks poised to take flight on the cover of June’s Harper’s Bazaar Arabia, wearing powder-pink-feathered Chanel, with her glorious curls teased to voluminous perfection by go-to stylist Nai’vasha Johnson. Inside the issue, the actress and activist continues to think pink in an…
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It Was a Glorious Night for #BlackGirlMagic at the Ms. Foundation Gloria Awards
If the future is female, what of the present? Former editor-in-chief of Teen Vogue and now Black-ish writer and Ms. Foundation Gloria Awards honoree, Elaine Welteroth says, “As millennial women, we exist in this interesting intersection between the past and the future and we bridge generations. On one side, you have Gloria [Steinem] who has…
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Meeting in the Ladies’ Room: Tracee Ellis Ross to Interview Michelle Obama at United State of Women
Here’s a conversation we don’t want to miss: Black-ish actress and all-around brilliant bae Tracee Ellis Ross will interview our forever first lady, Michelle Obama, this Saturday, May 5, at the United State of Women Summit at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles—and we officially know how we’re spending this weekend. Now in its third…
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The Fire This Time: Tracee Ellis Ross Speaks on the Power of Female Fury
Death by a thousand cuts. A thousand micro (and macro) aggressions, a thousand dismissals, a thousand violations, both overt and oblivious. A thousand subtle—and not-so-subtle—ways in which women all over the world are told they don’t matter, that our bodies, autonomy and feelings don’t matter. And not only do we not matter or have the…
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Women Write the World in All the Women in My Family Sing
Women’s History Month may have ended for the year, but women are still making history all over the world. To elevate and celebrate these all-too-often underrepresented voices, editor, activist and philanthropist Deborah Santana harnessed the talents of 69 diverse women writers for a new anthology, All the Women in My Family Sing: Women Write the…