2016 Presidential Election
Must-Read Links: History of Witches, Evil Women + Worrying About Hill
The most compelling stories from our favorite sources.
This article was made possible because of the generous support of DAME members. We urgently need your help to keep publishing. Will you contribute just $5 a month to support our journalism?
Ridin’ Dirty: A Sweeping Look at Witches Mounting Their Broomsticks
Happy Halloween!! Why not celebrate by reading Broadly’s infuriating history of witchery, by Nell Frizzell. “It was a question of female agency as much as alchemy. And, as is often the case, women paid the price of punishment.” We’ve got to go see some candy about this.
Another Black Girl Assaulted by White Cop: Do We Matter Yet?
“Even when there is no evidence that this girl was in any way disrupting class, the very suggestion that she could have been a ‘mouthy’ black girl has been enough for some people to ignore their responsibility to her, and others to ask, ‘Well, did she deserve it?’ The answer: Hell no.” In the wake of the horrifying treatment and arrest of a black female South Carolina high school student, we turn to DAME contrib Kirsten West Savali at the Root for her wisdom and to share her outrage.
Female Scientists Asked How They Will Cope Without Men or Makeup in Space
In Russia, six female scientists boarded an experimental ISS-like capsule to study what life might be like for them in space. One small step for women, one giant leap for womankind, right? Wrong. As Danielle Wiener-Bronner writes at Fusion, sexism in science is alive and well.
Guys, I’m Super Worried About Hillary Clinton
“I mean, do you really want a crying werewolf in a pantsuit drinking a glass of chardonnay and screeching, ‘Give me those nuclear codes and a bunch of chocolate, and send in Gary Schlesinger, the junior senator from Wisconsin so I can ride him like a roller coaster!’ We want to shower Wendy Molyneux with all the chardonnay and chocolate for penning this high-larious piece about the possible future Madam President at McSweeney’s.
The Broken Logic of Last Night’s GOP Debate: How Conservative Ideology Just Tore Itself Apart
It’s no secret that Wednesday’s GOP Debate was a total shitshow (more akin to American Horror Story than anything in real life). At Salon, Marcy Wheeler breaks down just how bad things in the Republican party have gotten.
Being a Doctor Who Performs Abortions Means You Always Fear Your Life Is in Danger
Diane J. Horvath-Cosper is an ob/gyn, an abortion provider … and a target of the extreme anti-choice movement. This piece she wrote for The Washington Post is an illuminating reminder that simply performing a legal medical procedure subjects her to a life of constant terror.
We’re pretty sure writer Mike Albo could make anything hilarious, but he takes sperm donation to the next level of laughs and feels in this excerpt at The Cut from his new book Spermhood: Diary of a Donor.
Why Are Old Women Often the Face of Evil in Fairy Tales and Folklore?
Is it a fear of female power? At NPR, Elizabeth Blair takes a fascinating look at one of storytelling’s oldest and most pervasive tropes.
What America’s Immigrants Looked Like When They Arrived on Ellis Island
When Ana Swanson says at The Washington Post that America’s “cultural melting pot” is a phrase that feels like a tired cliché, you’ll agree. Then she’ll blow your mind with this roundup of photos from Ellis Island featuring immigrants in their native dress—clog-wearing Scandinavian children, caped Russian men, and a tattooed German stowaway just to name a few.
Where Are Black Children Safe?
“For black children, for black people, to exist is to be endangered,” writes Roxane Gay in this New York Times op-ed, reminding us that even in this tech-heavy era of watching and being watched systemic racism still goes unchecked.
American Horror Story: The Cecil Hotel
When Elisa Lam, the young female tourist who was found dead in a rooftop water tank in Los Angeles (and subsequently watched by millions in some of the most unsettling elevator surveillance footage the internet has ever seen), it was just the latest in a long line of horrors at The Cecil Hotel, thought to be the inspiration for the bloody Hotel Cortez in this season’s American Horror Story. Josh Dean’s look at the infamous building and the theories swirling around Lam’s death is a spooky and enthralling read.
Before you go, we hope you’ll consider supporting DAME’s journalism.
Today, just tiny number of corporations and billionaire owners are in control the news we watch and read. That influence shapes our culture and our understanding of the world. But at DAME, we serve as a counterbalance by doing things differently. We’re reader funded, which means our only agenda is to serve our readers. No both sides, no false equivalencies, no billionaire interests. Just our mission to publish the information and reporting that help you navigate the most complex issues we face.
But to keep publishing, stay independent and paywall free for all, we urgently need more support. During our Spring Membership drive, we hope you’ll join the community helping to build a more equitable media landscape with a monthly membership of just $5.00 per month or one-time gift in any amount.