SINCE THE MID-20TH century, the derogatory phrase “blue rinse” has been used to describe a “matronly” white woman, sometimes of the type who clutches her pearls when faced with the shock of the new, be it miniskirts or gay marriage. Given that these are not the people one would associate with crazy-colored hair, what’s behind this ageist, sexist slur?  Blue hair has been around longer than you might think. Fashion designer Lucile had her models wear wigs dyed in shades of red, green, and blue during a 1913 show. “Until one...

As Women’s History Month comes to a close, I’d like to reflect on my feelings about this holiday and its implications. As a Black woman, ever since I knew what Women’s History Month was, I felt alienated from it. I constantly saw women of color sidelined for white feminist movements, and it made me distrust any kind of global “women’s” holidays. The first time I encountered Women’s History Month was in high school, through assemblies and special programming, but I never felt like it was...

On Wednesday, Senator Cory Booker gave an impassioned speech for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing that brought tears to the courtroom—and my living room. After two days and 20 hours of aggressive (and asinine) questioning from the GOP, Booker defended how Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson earned her spot as the first Black woman to be nominated to the supreme court, and highlighted how meaningful this moment in history is.  The final day of the grueling confirmation hearings for Judge Jackson concluded...

It was a frightfully revealing LinkedIn post by Madison Butler, that went viral and not only sparked a movement—but a whole business by accident. It went a little something like this: Empowerment doesn't pay the bills. Recognition doesn't pay the bills. If you care about Black people, pay us for our time & IP. While the aforementioned quotes don’t cover the post in its entirety, it certainly tells a larger truth that often goes unreconciled with issues surrounding pay, the lack thereof, and Black people in general. In short, Black...

Singer Fiona Apple is best known for her many hits, including Criminal and Ladies. But in recent months, Apple is becoming better known for something entirely different: she's become a staunch advocate for keeping courtroom proceedings virtual in Prince George's County, MD. On Wednesday, March, 17, she took to social media for @courtswatchpg stating "This is crunch time. Maryland has the opportunity to set the tone for transparency—an opportunity we cannot let pass by."  This is crunch time. It isn’t just about Maryland but about the future of...

On January 15, 2020, Virginia ratified the Equal Rights Amendment, making it the 38th state to do so. As the amendment, which makes discrimination by gender unconstitutional, only required 38 states to ratify it in order to pass, some groups, such as the organization Equal Means Equal, argue that the ERA should now be a legal part of the Constitution. So why isn't it? First, what even is the Equal Rights Amendment?  The first section of the amendment states: “Equality of rights under the law shall not be...

IN AUGUST 2021, the first Indigenous woman-owned airline in Canada took flight. Operating on unceded Musqueam land, Iskwew Air currently offers flights from Vancouver International Airport to Qualicum Beach Airport—an area that had been without service since the onset of the pandemic. But what started as a decade-long dream almost didn’t happen. In 2016, Iskwew Air’s Métis founder, aviator Teara Fraser, 51, considered hanging up her wings. “My letting-go ceremony turned into a start-up business ceremony,” she says.  In Cree, Fraser’s ancestral language, Iskwew means woman....

A popular UK supermarket chain, Asda, has ditched the phrase ‘feminine’ hygiene and is now marking their aisles to read ‘period products.’ This shift in language is a big win for women, trans, and non-binary people and a tangible step towards inclusivity and ideological change.  The removal of the word ‘feminine’ reminds us that people who don’t identify as female can still menstruate and the removal of the word ‘hygiene’ finally releases the stigma that the natural phenomenon of menstruating is something dirty and unhygienic.  People on...

Pussypedia.net is a free, bilingual, gender-inclusive, community-sourced, meticulously fact-checked, online encyclopedia that is all about the pussy* and put in terms that are easily digestible. The website has a portal that is full of rigorously vetted resources on all sorts of topics from gender to sexual and reproductive health; original articles (like “How to Wash It” and “Access to Abortion in the US and Latin America”); and also offers my personal favorite tool–a  3D interactive pussy*! At the forefront of the Webby award-winning website (and book...

In a history-making moment, Judge Ketanji Brown-Jackson was sworn in on June 30, 2022, becoming the first Black woman judge on the United States Supreme Court. President Joe Biden had formally nominated Judge Brown-Jackson in February to sit on the Court, a seat previously held by Justice Stephen Breyer.  The 51-year-old has already been vetted by the Senate and was confirmed in April. Jackson received her commission in June of 2021 to the U.S. Court of Appeals in DC. Judge Brown-Jakcson is not only the first...