Posts Categorized: Uncategorized
It’s More than ‘Just a Hairstyle’
So, I want to start off by saying that I’m sorry for jumping on the bandwagon real quick and talking about the current media phenomenon; Miley Cyrus and her VMA fiasco. There are many aspects of her performance as host of the MTV Video Music Awards that we could analyze and call problematic, but I would like to just focus on those long, blonde, dreadlock extensions for a minute. Some may not understand why the internet has erupted with so much negativity towards Miley for her choice of hairstyle, and I would like to talk about the reasons for this outrage. I would also like to preface this by saying that this isn’t just about one person and this definitely isn’t just about hair. This is about years of oppression… Read more »
Building a More Inclusive Boy Scouts
Joining the Boy Scouts of America can be a tricky thing for someone who identifies as anything other than cisgender and heterosexual, and despite recent changes to their membership requirements, the BSA is still wrangling with conflicting factions within its own organization. Now, some scouts are trying to build a more inclusive organization at the ground level. In 2013, the BSA made national headlines when they openly debated changing membership requirements to allow scouts to join regardless of their sexual orientation. As a compromise measure, the BSA still excluded hiring lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer leaders until last July, when the executive council passed a new guideline stating that scout troops may hire whomever they wish to fill leadership roles. However, troops chartered by a religious organization may still… Read more »
We Shouldn’t Have to Fear the People Sworn to Protect Us
I got pulled over by a police officer for the first time earlier this year. I was driving down the highway with my best friend, who was in the passenger seat. I had music playing loudly, and it was kind of late, around 10:00 pm. We were on our way to meet up with some friends in the city. I was admittedly speeding, but did not realize it until I heard the sirens. When I saw the familiar but foreboding flashing blue and red lights in my rearview mirror, my hands started shaking. My best friend is so much better at composing herself and emotions than I am, so naturally, I looked at her with widened eyes. However, I saw the same thing being mirrored in her eyes as well, before she… Read more »
On Solidarity and the Movement for Black Lives
Two weeks ago, an anti-choice group released heavily-edited undercover videos aimed at discrediting and potentially dismantling Planned Parenthood. As the country’s largest provider of reproductive health care, this campaign to take down Planned Parenthood could have disastrous effects on the millions who need access to abortion and other healthcare services. The movement for reproductive health, rights, and justice swiftly rallied to Planned Parenthood’s defense against these malicious attack. Here at URGE, we did the same and were one of 92 organizations that signed on to a letter to Congress in support of Planned Parenthood’s work. Our movements worked quickly to stand in solidarity against these attacks — that’s a good thing — but we also hope we can use this as a moment to bring our solidarity to another vital… Read more »
Being A Black Woman in the Reproductive Justice Movement
I recently asked one of my black female friends about her activism. “Why don’t you feel connected to reproductive justice and reproductive health work?” Her response was, “Access to abortion is important, but we are getting killed for simply existing. I want to focus on that.” I understood where she was coming from, because I definitely felt that exasperation too. Like many of us, I was not always familiar with the concept of reproductive justice or even feminism. These were terms I had loosely heard about before, and I vaguely remember in high school reading a Seventeen magazine article about it, but that was the gist of my exposure to it at that time. I grew up in the South—southern hospitality, really amazing sweet tea, and mouth-watering soul food are… Read more »
What Could King v. Burwell Mean for Young People?
The Supreme Court is poised to release a decision on the King v. Burwell case any day. This case may have not received the attention it deserves for its possibly devastating outcome, especially for young people. Many people have discussed this case in terms of tax credits, something that young people may not think about very much. However, if the plaintiffs are successful, it would mean that any state using the federal government’s infrastructure for its healthcare exchange would not be able to receive federal financial assistance. Currently, that financial assistance in the form of tax credits helps low- and middle-income people pay their monthly insurance premiums. Without that assistance, monthly payments will increase substantially. For example, in Alabama where the average monthly insurance payment in 2013 was $178, that… Read more »
What the Class of 2015 Won’t Have
The U.S. Department of Education recently released its National Postsecondary Student Aid Study. Congratulations Class of 2015! You’re graduating with the largest student loan debt in history. Mic recently reported the findings and I couldn’t help but feel déjà vu as I read through it. Why? Because the online publication reported on this historical accomplishment last year, with the Class of 2014. Now, two may not make a trend, but I’m calling it anyway. This historical accomplishment will be made by each graduating class from now on unless we do something about the cost of higher education. As a member of the Class of 2015 graduating with loans myself, I can’t stress the need for this change enough, especially since older generations don’t quite understand what this means for our… Read more »
How ‘Diversity in the Workplace’ is Still Failing Women
Last week I had a phone interview with a consulting agency. The agency is focused on targeting racial and ethnic minorities to better engage them in the consumer market, so, as a Latina, I thought it was something I could potentially do. I felt I had an interesting perspective I could bring in as an ethnic female; I did not however, feel the same way after my interview. My minority status was somewhat relevant, but something my interviewer said kind of threw me off and really made me think about the pitfalls of the business industry. At the start of my interview, conducted by a man, I was reminded that the consulting firm sought to engage people of color. My interviewer tried to cite the fact that minority groups are… Read more »
Gender, Just Like Sexuality, is a Spectrum
Last week I wrote about sexuality and how contrary to what we have been raised to believe, sexuality exists on a fluid spectrum. This week I’m going to talk about gender and how it too exists on a spectrum. In Western culture we were raised to understand that gender exists on a binary, male and female. It was explained that whatever genitals we have at birth are what determines our gender for the rest of our lives. However, I’ve come to learn that gender itself is a social construct and isn’t determined by our genitals but rather by our minds. Cisgender is the term given to those of us who identify mentally with the gender we were assigned at birth. Slowly our society has begun to become more accepting of… Read more »
Child Free by Choice
Our society is based in many ways on children and families. Our culture devotes massive amounts of time and resources to the raising of children. Certainly this is good, as children are the future of our society, and that investment is worthwhile. But one side effect of this culture is the automatic expectation that people have children. I understand that as a man, I certainly don’t face the same type or intensity of pressures as my wife or any woman in our society does. And some of that comes from people believing that a woman’s job is to have children. So part of being seen as an adult woman in our society is having children. So as a man I don’t face the same level of stigma for not having… Read more »
