Everybody's workin' for the weekend!—but what a week it was. Just in case you're wondering what the hell just happened—wasn't it just Monday?! Have I entered a vortex and collapsed the space-time continuum?!—we've rounded up some of our most delectable mind-fodder from the past seven days to keep you up to speed on our strange society.
If Black Lives Matter, Trans Lives Must Matter Too
Harmony Rodriguez, survivor and activist tackles the invisibility of trans women in their struggle against police violence.
Choice quote: "We, women of color as a whole, have always been at the hearts of movements; our work and words adding fuel to the fire of necessary revolutions. Yet, even so, this occurs facelessly. Movements grow and become powerful without acknowledging who made it so. That’s what makes the erasure of trans women of color from discussions of police violence a slap in the face; the modern day queer battle for equality was sparked by a series of riots that we started."
The Dangerous Conflation Of Race And Reliability In News Anchoring
Contributing writer Camira Powell reveals why Brian Williams' recent betrayal surfaces so much ire in the American psyche—and it's not just because we want the truth.
Choice quote: " Since the early days of evening news when Walter Conkrite and his contemporaries began entering the homes of Americans each evening to calmly explain what’s happening in our world, news anchors have stood as unbiased purveyors of truth. Perhaps, we have come to associate honesty and integrity with white and male.
Like so many industries, the News is an infamous boys club. It took over 30 years (as broadcast evening news began in the 1940s) before female anchor Pat Harper appeared on a local TV station in 1975 and another two years before Barbara Walters became the first woman to co-anchor a broadcast network newscast. Incredible gains have been made, but in truth, not too much has changed between then and now when it comes to the demographics of people who deliver the news."
Forget Amber Rose: 5 Reasons Why We're Obsessed With Laurel Dewitt's Show
Staff writer Giana Ciapponi waxes poetic on Laurel Dewitt's genre-defying designs at New York Fashion Week.
Choice quote: "Yes, Amber Rose (who, for those of you happily hiding beneath a pop culture rock, is a former stripper-cum-model who was "discovered" by none other than Kanye West) is a bona fide sex-goddess-beast and her come-hither thighs would make any scrawny girl (like me) weep. And sure, yeah, it's nice that Amber Rose was willing to sacrifice her vaginal mystery for the sake of art, I guess, but if that was your only takeaway from the show, we're going to go ahead and rip your sex-crazed blinders off.
Laurel DeWitt's designs was nothing short of mesmerizing, and it breaks my shallow heart to see Amber Rose's crotch take center stage in the headlines."
Shit My (Non-Biological) Kids Say About Race And Gender
Writer Sarah Gladstone reveals some hilarious, some heartbreaking revelations on race and gender from the mouths of babes.
Choice quote: "Each year, the theme day before the Fourth of July is a sort of red, white, and blue homage to America. Not wanting to blend into the background, my friend and I concocted a plan to be George Washington and Thomas Jefferson—powdered wigs and all . . . I was also singing a lot of "Proud to be an American" when one brown girl I was just getting to know, a fifth grader, turned to me and said: 'Well, I’m not really American.' 'Oh, were you born in another country?' I asked. 'No.'
'Well then, you’re American,' I happily reassured my new friend. 'I’m African.' 'Are your parents from Africa?' 'No.' I made a face of confusion with a wrinkled nose and brow. 'Are you saying you're not American because you're African American?' I asked and she said, 'Yes.'
'No, that’s not a thing. Just because you’re African American doesn’t mean you’re not American.' "
I Hate The Politics Of The Home State I Love
Writer Jessie Fetterling laments an age-old conflict: how do you go home again when home is full of homophobes, racists and misogynists?
Choice quote: "It hasn't exactly been easy explaining to San Francisco Bay Area natives that the Kansas government continues to debate whether or not evolution should be taught in schools. And now, it's become known as one of the most egregiously anti-gay rights states in the nation. My beloved home state has even become a national laughingstock.
Last week on The Daily Show, Jon Stewart cracked, "I guess Brownback clicked his heels three times and said, 'There's no place like homophobia.'
I am embarrassed. I am horrified. And I am sad."
