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Is it time to cancel the term “bodice ripper,” for its connotations of aggressive, potentially non-consensual sex? Some readers think so . But, thankfully, not all bodice rippers fall under that brand anymore.
The widow, son and sister of Venezuelan dissident Ronald Ojeda attend his burial service in Santiago, Chile, on March 8, 2024. The former military officer was kidnapped, killed and buried under cement in a slum.
This week Grammy-winning singer SZA, née Solána Imani Rowe, shared that she had received a formal autism diagnosis. In a now-deleted Instagram post, she joked that the diagnosis meant she was “smarter than u.
When the Supreme Court says, as it did earlier this month in West Virginia v. B.P.J. , that banning transgender girls from school sports is about protecting the safety and fairness of women's and girls' sports, I hear that claim against everything I actually lived.
In May, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported one of the greatest public health victories of the past 50 years. A government survey found that cigarette smoking among U.S.
A pair of consecutive court actions this week brought renewed attention to policies in Republican-led states to control lessons and conversations on gender and race in public colleges and universities. A group of legal advocates sued the Texas Tech University system Wednesday over curriculum restric…
After President Donald Trump gained ground with young men and rode his ascendant, aggressive brand of masculinity into a second term in the White House, a group of progressive Democratic strategists bet big on a new kind of candidate: aesthetically masculine men who could run economic populist campa…
What happens when a legendary actress and producer, world-renowned chef, iconic television producer and writer, and Pulitzer prize-winning journalist come together to not only curate the ESSENCE Festival of Culture but also grace the cover of the newly imagined ESSENCE magazine? You get a once-in-a-…
When I was asked to be a model for the Teyana Taylor Makeup Challenge at Beautycon during this year’s ESSENCE Festival of Culture , I thought I understood the assignment. As an intern, I’d spent days on the move, completing a myriad of tasks before and during the festival.
On July 2nd, Survival of the Thickest released its third and final season on Netflix, and the show is definitely closing out on a fashionably high note. This season, Mavis truly steps into her own, on her own terms, and has some major career breakthroughs.
A year ago, abortion opponents were celebrating one of their biggest victories under the Trump administration: Planned Parenthood, the movement’s arch-villain, had been temporarily kicked out of Medicaid, one of the nation’s largest health insurance programs.
In this solo episode of B*tch, Listen, Imani Gandy argues that the best political humor doesn’t just get laughs—it changes what people think deserves respect. From The Daily Show, to Abortion Access Front’s campaign against Anthony Comstock, to Tim Walz calling Republicans weird, Gandy explores how …
Rep. Analilia Mejia knew when she joined Congress in April that she wanted to use her post to highlight what she believes is an existential threat to everyday freedoms: attempts to erode and redefine the 14th Amendment.
Thanks to all who joined us at our term-in-review event yesterday at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center in Washington, D.C., which was presented by the ACLU. Scroll to the Closer Look section below for a brief overview of the discussion.
Two Gen Z women who research gender equity unpack the "aspiration gap" in their generation's parenting desires.
Rewire News Group has granted the author anonymity because he signed a confidentiality agreement, and also because his law school classmates still think he still works there. My name is Brad. I’m not going to give my last name.
Originally published by PolitiFact . The U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing the Trump administration to end Temporary Protected Status for Haitians could create a caregiving crisis, lawmakers from both political parties said.
Click to expand Image Protesters gather outside the Georgian parliament in Tbilisi, Georgia, on May 26, 2026. © 2026 Sebastien Canaud/NurPhoto via AP Photo Georgian authorities are using repressive laws, funding restrictions, and politically motivated criminal investigations to dismantle independent…
Click to expand Image Protesters gather outside the Georgian parliament in Tbilisi, Georgia, on May 26, 2026. © 2026 Sebastien Canaud/NurPhoto via AP Photo Georgian authorities are using repressive laws, funding restrictions, and politically motivated criminal investigations to dismantle independent…
The Heritage Foundation has once again taken it upon itself to craft a plan for how to supposedly save America. The report—"Saving America by Saving the Family: A Foundation for the Next 250 Years"—focuses on marriage, family and the American Dream, and has become widely known as "Project 2026," a f…
As a documentary photographer and photojournalist , my life has kept me on a perpetual global track. For years, when summer rolled around, I was simply out of the country. One year, I was attending intensive workshops in Cape Town .
Picture a map of the United States. It’s 2022, and in southern states like Texas and Tennessee, there are clusters of black dots that represent independent clinic closures. These are abortion care black holes: communities where it’s no longer possible to get an abortion at a nearby clinic.
The contraceptive implant is the most effective method of birth control available, and while it’s use is still low compared to other methods, its provision and use are increasing.
WerQfest, St. Louis ‘s premier Black queer arts and culture festival, is back for its seventh year, and the 2026 edition is shaping up to be its biggest yet. On July 11, the festival returns to The Atomic Pavilion by Jamo with a headlining lineup that brings together some of the most exciting names …
This article was copublished with Truthdig . Taylor Townsell remembers her OBGYN reassuring her that her IUD insertion would feel like “just a pinch.” The pain came a split second later. The 32-year-old described it to Truthdig in still-vivid detail: “Bright, electric, as if my body had become nothi…
The grass grows tall on the MacDowell residency’s 450 acres, making arrival on its grounds feel like trespass and invitation at once. In Peterborough, New Hampshire, the road gives way to a quiet grammar of field, wood, and studio all existing in harmony.
Everyone is talking about affordability right now, mainly because of skyrocketing gas, grocery, and housing prices. But I’ve noticed this discourse lacks any mention of an essential expense millions of Americans rely on: birth control .
Please note that SCOTUS Outside Opinions constitute the views of outside contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of SCOTUSblog or its staff. In a previous piece for SCOTUSblog, I suggested a somewhat unconventional way to gauge which are the most important Supreme Court cases: simpl…
Please note that SCOTUS Outside Opinions constitute the views of outside contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of SCOTUSblog or its staff. Every day, Americans are witnessing the most significant expansion of presidential power in modern times.
Gilmore Girls is a tale of reproductive justice. I’ll die on this hill. Where many see just a perfect, cozy show to watch in the fall, my many, many rewatches have shown me something deeper about this 2000s-era TV hit.
Rebecca Lindsey is no stranger to challenging the status quo. From an early age, she built a reputation for being outspoken. Her mother, a teacher, encouraged an inquisitive spirit on Lindsey and her sister Mary, even to the chagrin of administrators at the schools they attended.
Click to expand Image A demonstration against the deportations of young adults held at Sergels torg in Stockholm on May 10, 2026. © Susanne Bergsten (Stockholm) – Sweden is deporting young women to countries where they could face severe gender-based rights violations, Human Rights Watch said today.
On Friday, July 3, ESSENCE LUXE transformed the garden at the Four Seasons New Orleans into an intimate luxury shopping destination. Festival attendees and VIP guests had the rare opportunity to shop directly from some of fashion’s most celebrated Black designers.
Click to expand Image An activist at EU Commission headquarters protests against a meeting with a Taliban delegation in Brussels, Belgium, June 23, 2026. © 2026 Nicolas Tucat/AFP via Getty Images The European Union hosted a delegation of Taliban officials in Brussels on June 22 for the first time si…
Most of us have seen the photograph by now. I keep coming back to the masks. Masks have always carried meaning. A surgeon wears one to protect a patient. Someone recovering from an illness wears one to protect themselves and others.
US Communications Assistant Organization Founded in 1968, the Guttmacher Institute is a global leader in advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights. Through a unique and interrelated program of high-quality research, evidence-based advocacy and strategic communications, the Institute…
Over 70 million people depend on Medicaid. The Trump administration and members of Congress who constantly turn to the program to make cuts, want you to think that's a problem. It isn't—it's the point .
Later abortion is one of the most stigmatized and least understood aspects of reproductive health, and yet some of the voices perpetuating that stigma come from inside the reproductive rights movement itself.
On Sunday, T.I., and his live orchestra, wasn’t the only closing act of Essence Festival 2026. Earlier that day, Essence hosted our first Black Women in Music Awards in eight years, honoring the artists who’ve made historic contributions in the industry.
On the morning of June 11, agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation raided the Cleveland offices of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative (OOC), a grassroots pro-democracy organization focused on registration, civic engagement and community organizing for marginalized communities.
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