Lauren Christensen, "Revisiting Simone de Beauvoir's The Second Sex as a Work in Progress"
An impassioned treatise on the female plight under the oppression of a male-dominated work force, this book stirred controversy in Europe and America and solidified her legacy as one of history’s most independent and influential thinkers.
Samantha Cooney, "Worried About Roe v. Wade? These Activists Have Been Coping with Severe Abortion Restrictions for Years"
Justice Anthony Kennedy’s announcement Wednesday that he will retire sparked a social media panic among some women and had them wondering aloud what they could do to protect their reproductive rights in the event that Roe v. Wade, the landmark abortion ruling, is overturned.
Jill Filipovic, "America Will Lose More Than Abortion Rights if Roe v. Wade is Overturned"
In 1973, Roe established women’s constitutional right to privacy for an abortion. But for many conservative legal scholars, it is practically canon that no such constitutional right exists. To them, Roe is based on an invented right.
"Film about abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell gets US cinema release"
The crowdfunded true-crime film Gosnell: The Trial of America’s Biggest Serial Killer is cleared to be released, following legal action by a judge portrayed in it.
Gillian Frank, "The Surprising Role of Clergy in the Abortion Fight Before Roe v. Wade"
In May of 1967, as mainline Protestants and Reform Jews called for the liberalization of abortion laws, a group of clergy in New York City founded the Clergy Consultation Service on Abortion (CCS), an international network of clergy that helped women obtain legal and illegal abortions from licensed medical professionals.
Russ Martin, "Monét X Change, Miz Cracker and The Vixen Get Real about Racism and RuPaul’s Drag Race"
Early on in this season of RuPaul’s Drag Race, the drag queen, The Vixen started a vital conversation about how the show’s audience treats queens of color.
Daniel Megarry, "K-Pop’s first openly gay artist MRSHLL on sexuality, representation and his new queer anthem Pose"
The world of K-Pop may be known for the androgyny of its idols and the glitz-and-glam of the big-budget bangers they produce, but the fact remains that queer representation is almost non-existent in largely conservative South Korea.
Joe Pompeo, "'Every bone in my body wants to defend Ali Watkins': Sex, Press Freedom, and the Complicated Case of a Times Reporter"
In the case of a millennial superstar, the paper of record’s characteristic introspection uncovered an ethical minefield in which no one was innocent.
Zoe Whittall, "Let's not lose sight of what a Pride parade really stands for"
"Pride celebrations are not for “everyone.” There’s a reason they are still necessary in 2018, but it’s hard to see in Toronto. The last time I attended the city’s parade I got hit in the head by a sample pack of razors thrown from the back of a flatbed truck. No thanks, Gillette, I don’t want your participation in the revolution."
"Women allowed to take abortion pill at home in Wales"
A decision to allow women to take abortion pills at home in Wales has been welcomed as a "significant" move. Until now they have had to take two trips to clinics to take medication to terminate the pregnancy, sometimes miles from home.
Episode Spotlight
In 1975, two years after Roe v Wade, an all white and mostly Catholic jury convicted Dr. Kenneth Edelin, an African American physician, of manslaughter for performing a legal second trimester abortion. His trial transformed the anti-abortion movement.
Books
Sexing History Swag
Podcasts
Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness's "How to Cut Suicide Rates Among LGBTQ Youth? with Amit Paley"
Amit Paley is the CEO of the Trevor Project and joins Jonathan to talk about the suicide rates among LGBTQ youth, destigmatizing the conversations around suicide & mental illness, and the importance of the work of The Trevor Project.
Hysteria's "Courts, Civility, and other C words"
In this episode, we meet all six of our bicoastal squad of cohosts to discuss the Anthony Kennedy retirement announcement, as well as civility and other c-words
Documentary
The Trap: American prisons' deadly sex trafficking cycle
The Trap investigates how prisons and jails across the United States have become recruiting grounds for human traffickers, who are targeting incarcerated women and trafficking them out of correctional facilities and into pimp-controlled prostitution. Revealed: how US sex traffickers recruit jailed women for prostitution.