Archive | The Persistent

Instagram is Home to Thriving Communities. Meta's Plans Risk Cutting Them Off.

Mark Zuckerberg's plans to change content moderation at Meta risk cutting off communities that have become vital lifelines for women.

by Emma Haslett

Why Can’t We Just Pass the ERA? It’s Complicated.

The Equal Rights Amendment is a simple 24-word piece of legislation. But it’s also a historic movement, more than a century in the making, that began with women’s suffrage and continues to this day.

by Josie Cox

Bright Light. Big Smile. Her Name Was Debrina Kawam.

The story of the woman set alight on the New York subway is a reminder that everyone, even when they’re anonymous, is a somebody.

by Josie Cox

Women Are Syria’s Best Hope for Lasting Peace. Will They Be Heard?

For years, Syrian women have fought to be heard in international negotiations. They aren’t about to give up ground now.

by Xanthe Scharff

'Ahh! Do I Have To?'— And Other New Year's Resolution Dilemmas

Read faster. Be present. Get organized. Choose joy. Eat this. Avoid that. Save money. Take risks. Make friends. Here’s a thought: Maybe you’re already just right, just as you are.

by Hyesu Lee

Giving Women the Last Word Since 2024

Our editor Francesca Donner looks back at The Persistent’s first year.

by Francesca Donner

Our Year In Books: Escape? Engage? Do Both?

The Persistent's editors round up their favorite reads of the year.

by Francesca Donner, +2

‘Women Should Have Children Instead of Poodles’—When Birth Control Came to Washington

The idea of birth control entered the national conversation in 1919, when an artist, activist, and single mother named Mary Ware Dennett brought the (quite shocking!) idea to Congress.

by Stephanie Gorton

How Can Equality Between Genders Still Be Up For Debate?

The Equal Rights Amendment is one of the most embattled pieces of legislation in the U.S. Supporters say it's just a question of publishing the damn thing.

by Josie Cox

Two Friends, One Diagnosis: This Is a Love Story

When Kat Alexander started looping through cycles of mania, it was her best friend, Mara Altman, who came to the rescue.

by Emma Haslett

As the Trial of ‘Mr. Every Man’ Draws to a Close, France Debates ‘Intent’ vs. ‘Consent’

The Pelicot trial pits the notion of intent against the concept of consent. The outcome could alter how these kinds of cases are handled in the future.

by Monique El-Faizy

What Taylor Swift Taught Me About Aging

No age is the right age to be a woman. Unless, of course, you're Taylor Swift.

by Josie Cox

'It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.' Wait, Is It?

Women take on almost all of the additional responsibilities during the holidays. Our cartoonist looks at the data.

by Aubrey Hirsch

Do Australia's Efforts to Protect Kids Online Go Far Enough?

Is passing an imperfect law really worse than not doing anything at all?

by Josie Cox

A Rash On My Face Made Me Reassess My Relationship With Makeup. Here’s What I Learned.

Can you wear makeup and still call yourself a feminist?

by Emma Haslett

Permission to Fail

Failing is as much a part of freelancing as bragging about working from home in pajamas. But we don't all fail equally.

by Josie Cox

What Is It About Boobs?

Some people like flowers on their homewares. Some like cute animals. I like boobs.

by Mara Altman

Could Advertising Be An Activist Tool?

How do you sponsor something that apparently nobody wants to see? You trick them into it.

by Francesca Donner

Designers Are Taught to Think of Their Work as Neutral. It’s Not.

Feminist design can show up in anything from the apps we use to the healthcare we receive. The issue is prioritizing it.

by Emily Goligoski

'Now It's Over, I Don't Feel Any Better At All’

The short film, “Incompatible,” tells the story of a pregnant-working class woman making an all-but-impossible choice.

by Emma Haslett

Not Ladylike to Laugh? Oh, Please.

For men to be funny, women don’t have to be unfunny. Both may chuckle.

by Suchandrika Chakrabarti

On Tuesday, Signs of Progress, Too

While all eyes were on Donald Trump's win, sure signs of progress emerged on Tuesday, too.

by Josie Cox

What Went Wrong for Kamala Harris?

In the end, it wasn't even a close-won race. Did the Harris campaign get it wrong—or did the Trump side spot something the Democrats didn't?

by Holly Baxter

The Day After the Big Day

This isn’t the note I was hoping to write. Harris lost. Trump won.

by Francesca Donner

As America Votes Harris vs. Trump, One Woman’s Legacy Looms Especially Large

How Shirley Chisholm, who ran for president against all odds, forever altered the landscape for women in U.S. politics.

by Josie Cox

‘Blame Women’—How the Trump Campaign Is Courting Voters...and Donors

With hours to go before voting begins, the Trump campaign is trying new tactics to establish a MAGA future—and many of those attack women.

by Holly Baxter

How Angry Should Women Voters Be?

The journalist Jessica Valenti chronicles the pro-life movement in forensic detail in her new book. Ahead of the election, she says, voters need to get angry.

by Emma Haslett

The Pain and Joy of Not Running the Marathon

Sure, I can run a marathon. But I can also not. And maybe, just maybe, in a few years I’ll be able to.

by Josie Cox

What’s Really Fueling U.S. Voters?

In the end, the election may boil down to different ideas about female and male roles; to gender equality and gender traditionalism.

by June Carbone, +2

‘If We Don’t, Who Will?’—How Women in Afghanistan Are Speaking Out

It is dangerous to protest in Afghanistan. But it is also dangerous to be a woman. That’s what keeps Afghan women speaking out in whatever ways they can.

by Ruchi Kumar

All’s Well In School. But Come University, Rwandans Wonder: Where Are the Women?

Rwanda’s young women aren’t making it to university. Cultural and societal factors are to blame.

by Ginanne Brownell

How I Met Your Other

Why, by dint of a husband being important, does his wife somehow become a less-than, no matter her qualifications?

by Josie Cox