Lake Highland High School’s valedictorian, Paxon Smith, deviated from her original speech to slam the new Texas “Heartbeat Bill” during her commencement speech. Smith wanted her voice to be heard and to shed light on current issues women are facing. “I refuse to give up this platform when there is a war on my body and a war on my rights,” Smith said. "This is a war on the rights of your mothers, a war on the rights of your sisters, a war on the rights...

On Tuesday, June 1, 2021, in Lubbock, Texas, the court dismissed a case intended to block the previous ordinance that made the city an anti-abortion “sanctuary city,” The Texas Tribune reported. The ordinance, passed by voters in May, bans abortions in the city and allows family members of the woman to sue anyone who aids in the process of attaining an abortion.  “Aiding or abetting an abortion” as stated by the ordinance on the Lubbock city website includes knowingly giving a woman transportation to the procedure,...

Trigger warning: This article includes detailed descriptions of abuse and sexual assault. That 70s Show actor Danny Masterson is on trial for three rape charges. After three days of tearful testimonies from the three women, the actor faces up to 45 years in prison if convicted, and remains free on a $3.3 million bond. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo found the women’s testimonies to be credible and asked Masterson to surrender his passport, CBS reported.  The alleged rapes occurred between 2001 to 2003. All three...

Anyone who is aware of how today’s media works in regards to culture, knows how much media relies on industries, such as sports, to keep their businesses running. Therefore, it is no surprise that four-time Grand Slam champion and No.1 Women’s Tennis Association player Naomi Osaka made headlines after her announcement on Instagram, in which she stated that she would not be attending any press for the upcoming Roland Garros event. Naomi Osaka, 23, is a changemaker within the tennis community, known for being the first...

Pulitzer Prize Winner Nikole Hannah-Jones has been denied tenure at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill after being appointed to the Knight Chair in Race and Investigative Journalism at UNC’s Hussman School of Journalism and Media, according to NC Policy Watch. The university’s board of trustees failed to approve the recommendation of faculty from the school, an unusual step that almost never happens. When Hannah-Jones was appointed to the chair in April, Susan King, dean of the journalism school, said, “Now one of the most respected...

On Wednesday, May 19, Demi Lovato came out as non-binary and shared that they will be using “they/them” pronouns. The Dancing with the Devil singer and former Disney star, 28, announced this on their podcast “4D with Demi Lovato'' with Anthony Allen Ramos of LGBTQIA+ non-profit GLAAD. The decision to come out was influenced by the singer's past couple of years of healing and self-reflecting. "Over the past year-and-a-half, I've been doing some healing and self-reflective work. And through this work, I've had the revelation that I...

New York City Pride organizers announced on Saturday, May 22, that NYPD and other law enforcements are banned from participating in the annual pride parade until 2025, NBC reported. Heritage of Pride, which organizes the annual event, said in a statement that police officers need to “acknowledge their harm and correct course moving forward.” The group is working on reducing the number of on-duty New York City officers and first responders by separating them from any NYC Pride event by “one city block,” CBS reported....

Trigger warning: This article includes detailed descriptions of abuse and sexual violence. Last week, Ashley Morgan Smithline opened up about her abuse with singer Marilyn Manson. Smithline confessed in her People Magazine interview that she “survived a monster,” and “I thought he was going to kill me.” Since her interview, women who were associated with Manson have spoken out, claiming similar abuse. Some of these women include Evan Rachel Wood, Esme Bianco, and Ashley Walters. Since then, about fifteen women have claimed abuse and filed lawsuits. During...

As tensions exponentially rise in Gaza, with Palestine's ongoing fight for liberation, activist Ahed Tamimi spoke with the Anadolu Agency on behalf of Palestinian women. Quite the controversial figure, Tamimi rose to public notability as a symbol of resistance in opposition to Israeli military occupation dating as far back as 2012; she was only 11-years-old at the time.  Recently, Tamimi has resurfaced to vocalize how Palestinian women are specifically affected by the escalating violence. “The Palestinian woman has long been suffering since the start of the...

On Monday, the Biden administration banned sex discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community in healthcare, according to The Guardian. This decision reverses the Trump administration’s narrowing of the definition of sex and returns to Obama-era policies. The announcement concerns Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act that prevents healthcare providers and insurance companies from discriminating against patients on the basis of "race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability in certain health programs and activities.” The Department of Health and Human Services’ action affirmed that laws preventing...