25 Women Who Shook Things Up in 2014
From mounting revolutions to redefining realness, these are 25 women who made waves in the world this year.
FDA Will Allow Gay Men to Donate Blood Under Amended Restrictions
After weeks of discussion on the subject, the agency has finally announced it will replace the current lifetime ban with a one-year restriction period for men who sleep with men.
After 16-Year Struggle, New York State Medicaid Will Finally Cover Trans Healthcare
“Trans people of color and low income trans people have been struggling and organizing all along, because this is a life or death issue.”
Audre Lorde Project Hosts Vigil and Flashmob To “Free Our Sisters, Free Ourselves”
“To be clear, we are not here to change the system. We are here to SHUT IT DOWN.”
Dispatches From The Millions Marches: Thousands Show Up For #BlackLivesMatter Nationwide
“While it is definitely tragic we still have to march, there is something beautiful and hopeful about the fact that I am fighting for [my mom’s] freedom as much as mine, and we’re both out here so that my nephew, who just turned one, hopefully won’t have to march when he grows up.”
3 Things to Know About Protecting Your Tech While Protesting
While data is technically — partially — protected from search by the Fourth Amendment, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that our right to privacy is not always honored by law enforcement.
FDA Upholds Status Quo Banning Blood Donations From Gay Men
The FDA is the one politicizing the issue, not the blood organizations and medical associations that support lifting the lifetime ban.
Rebel Girls: Police Violence Happens to Black Women, Too
This is a women’s issue because our sisters are being impacted directly, and because they’ve been harassed, beaten, raped, and killed by cops for centuries.
Backwards Mitten: Michigan Might Be The Next “Right To Discriminate” State
Michigan picks up where Arizona left off and tries to “restore” the right to discriminate based on religious beliefs. Worse yet, the bill has better traction that a bill to protect LGBT residents.
This Might Be The Most Important Moment Ever To Fight Rape On Campus
Let’s talk about the ways women, communities and even institutions are responding to the situation in ways that can bring us hope.
The QTPOC Speakeasy: On Community Care During Times of Civil Unrest
“It’s so important to do what makes you feel centered and strong again as a QTPOC trying to deal with this country right now. It would have taken Herculean levels of self-care to come close to what one Speakeasy Google Hangout did for me last night.”
I Believe Jackie: On Credibility, Rape Culture, and Rolling Stone
A 9,000 word Rolling Stone piece about rape culture at the University of Virginia is falling apart at the binding as details of its central narrative, the story of a vicious gang rape at a fraternity party, come under scrutiny.
No Indictment for NYPD Police Officer Who Killed Eric Garner, WTF
A Staten Island grand jury decided not to indict Daniel Pantaleo, a white police officer who choked Eric Garner to death during the summer.
FDA To Consider Adjusting Restrictions on Gay Blood Donors
A change to FDA policy matters not just because it is based on sound science and will potentially increase blood donations — it would be a powerful and tangible step away from a culture that criminalized homosexuality and AIDS for decades.
The QTPOC Speakeasy Reports Back from Ferguson Protests Around the World
When a grand jury failed to indict Michael Brown’s killer, protests broke out across the globe. Members of the Speakeasy, with heavy hearts and revolutionary intentions, were on the front lines.
BLACKOUT: 11 Queer Black-Owned Business/Organizations You Can Support Today
Plus a list of queer authors and artists of color, and information about hundreds of ways to support BLACKOUT.
The Myth of Plausible Deniability for Anti-Black Violence & How Ferguson Birthed a Movement
What do you do when you’ve done everything “right” and you are still mistreated? You take it to the streets. You take your rage and pain and power you make people listen. You burn and you scream and you keep screaming until someone else shows up and offers you a hand.
We Won Two Things: Same-Sex Marriage Bans in Arkansas and Mississippi are Ruled Unconstitutional
Both rulings have been stayed, but marriage equality in the South seems kind of inevitable now.
How You Can Show Up For Ferguson
You can do more than helplessly watch the news. You can use your voice, your money and your time to help spread the message that Black Lives Matter.
BREAKING: No Grand Jury Indictment of Darren Wilson for Mike Brown’s Death; Protests in Ferguson & Nationwide
Tonight, the announcement came that the grand jury did not indict Darren Wilson for his shooting of Michael Brown.