Longform Editorial
After Surviving Torture, Noura Al-Jizawi Is Fighting for Other Syrian Prisoners
After working as a prominent activist against the Assad regime, Noura Al-Jizawi was "kidnapped" on a bus and sent to prison without charges for seven months. Upon her release, she became a key figure in the battle to make space for Syrian women's...
Defining Womanhood Is Almost Impossible, but '20th Century Women' Tries Anyway
Mike Mills's new film has been praised as a rare feminist story from a man's perspective. But while it's a lovely look at a small group of characters, it fails to acknowledge the fact that the 20th century hasn't worked out so well for us.
The Devastating Effects of a 1940s 'Wonder Pill' Haunt Women Generations Later
DES was a form of synthetic estrogen marketed to women in the mid-20th century, and an estimated five to 10 million women took it while pregnant. The drug was later found to cause miscarriage and a rare form of vaginal cancer in girls.
'It’s Hard to Show the World I Exist': Chelsea Manning's Final Plea to Be Seen
In 2010, Chelsea Manning leaked thousands of classified documents in an attempt to shed light on the "true cost of war" in the Middle East. But while other whistleblowers continue to attract media attention and concern, Manning is locked up.
Inside Grindr's Quest to Become the First Global Gay Lifestyle Brand
Though it's best known as a hookup app, Grindr is branching out by forming social justice initiatives and creating tailored user experiences. But while the company's expansion is exciting, privacy concerns loom large, and many wonder how a service that...
Meet the Death Doula Who Helps People Deal with the 'Bookends of Life'
Increasingly, people are turning away from institutionalized births and funerals, which some find impersonal and intimidating. Laura Saba is there to help on both sides.
When 'Staged' Voyeur Porn Gets Too Real
To appeal to viewers who want a more "authentic" experience, some porn production companies are creating fake voyeur porn, in which actors pretend not to know they're being filmed doing explicit acts. But advocates fear that it's impossible to...
China's 'Tongqi': The Millions of Straight Women Married to Closeted Gay Men
In China, many women in sham marriages only find out about their partner's sexuality after the wedding. What is life like for tongqi and the men that they marry?
The Muslim Women Fighting to Ban Instantaneous Divorce in India
Despite being banned in many Islamic countries, "triple talaq," the Sharia law that allows a man to instantly divorce his wife, is still legal in India. A massive organization of Muslim women is using the Quran to try and stop it.
How One Young, Gay Man Was Wrongfully Blamed for Bringing AIDS to the US
Gaetan Dugas, widely known as AIDS' "Patient Zero" was trying to be helpful when he provided a list of his past sex partners to the CDC. Instead, he was incorrectly maligned as a sociopathic deviant who knowingly infected countless people with the...
The Century-Long Battle to Disprove the Myth That All Women Want Children
In 1916, psychologist Leta Hollingworth published a paper in the "American Journal of Sociology" challenging the notion that women naturally want to procreate. One hundred years later, we're still struggling with the idea.
'Mom, I'm Dying': How Family Rejection Charts Trans Youth Toward Death
Violence against transgender people is at an all time high. For many, every day is a struggle to survive. Without parental support, that fight starts earlier and becomes much more dangerous.