Emerging Voices
Our voices matter. For too long, the narratives and expertise of young queer and trans people of color in the South and Midwest have been ignored or talked over. URGE showcases young content creators and storytellers who have the opportunity to gain skills in writing for a variety of blogs and media outlets, creating engaging digital content, while using social media to amplify their work. EmURGEing Voices highlights the views of young people on issues related Reproductive Justice and gender equity. Explore their work here.
Meet Georgia Dusk: A Narrative Project that is Preserving Black Birth Workers Stories in the South.
When I think about some of the most transformative work happening in the movement for reproductive justice, I think about two memory workers, Dartricia Rollins and Ashby Combahee. Since 2021, Rollins and Combahee started Georgia Dusk: Southern Liberation Oral History Project. Georgia Dusk is an intergenerational counter-narrative project that uses oral history to actively challenge the …
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"Why" is a Weak Question
Nov 14, 2024
/ Myriam-Fernanda AD
/ Our Folks
Larger systemic anxieties are at the heart of mine and others fear for having kids. ‘Why are people having fewer babies?’ A question posed more and more in recent years, as though the world population isn’t in the billions. In a UNC study from the 90s, a number of European countries were observed as they offered direct …
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Reproductive Justice in the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands: A Quest for Transnational Solidarity
Oct 10, 2024
/ Larissa M.
/ Our Folks
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Reproductive Justice (RJ) movement in the United States, a pivotal moment in the ongoing fight for bodily autonomy. The term “reproductive justice” was coined in 1994 by a collective of 12 Black women, known as the Women of African Descent for Reproductive Justice (WADRJ). Reproductive Justice merges reproductive rights …
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Beyond Citizenship: The Overlooked Struggles of Undocumented People in the Fight for Reproductive Rights
Oct 09, 2024
/ Larissa M.
/ Our Folks
As the 2024 election cycle approaches, reproductive rights and immigration are again at the forefront of national politics. Yet, because undocumented people are criminalized by the U.S. government and denied the right to vote, neither political party is incentivized to advocate for their rights. In fact, both parties have a vested interest in silencing this vulnerable community, …
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The trials and tribulation of tubal ligation
Oct 04, 2024
/ Myriam-Fernanda AD
/ Our Folks
Reproductive health costs $15 billion more for those with a vagina in the U.S. The number of health visits in the span of one year, amounted to more than one thousand dollars of medical bills under my belt. These included doctor visits, nutritional care, STI and vaginal check ups, a mammogram and of course, therapy. …
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My at-home pads are not revolutionary
Sep 17, 2024
/ Myriam-Fernanda AD
/ Our Folks
A lookback at period products and how we got here. The torn-up cotton shirt my mother so graciously volunteered began to take the shape of a standard period pad with wings that cost almost $15 at the store. Her face flashed in confusion, not fully understanding why I was so keen on tearing up and …
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Let’s call it what it is: Afratransfemmicide
[Content Warning: This article mentions anti-Blackness, transphobia, transmisogyny, violence against Black trans women and femmes, and other instances of reproductive and sexual violence.] Ten years ago, I began my medical transition. Perhaps it was the newness of my own journey that made me especially aware when, in 2015, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) began to release annual …
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IVF and Conceptions of Choice
“Olivia, according to your test results and symptoms, I do believe you have Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.” There I was, a sophomore in college having gained over 50 pounds in eight months and no menstrual cycle to be found, wondering what this meant for my future. Will I ever have a regular cycle again? How hard …
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Alabama Keeps Pushing Buttons, But We’ll Keep Pushing Back
On Thursday, March 7th, after weeks of public hearings and a vote through the Alabama Senate, the Alabama House made a final vote passing SB1 a.k.a. the “anti-absentee voters bill.” This bill makes it a felony to assist with “distributing, ordering, requesting, collecting, prefilling, completing, obtaining, or delivering” an absentee ballot for anyone apart from …
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