Call for Submissions: Gender Justice

How do we achieve gender equality? This issue will look at why women’s and LGBTQ issues are everybody's issues. Send us your pitches by Dec. 28.

Our Summer 2016 issue will explore current efforts toward achieving gender justice in the United States. From the mainstreaming of conversations about trans identities to the fight to maintain access to safe and legal abortion, some of today’s biggest headlines touch on what it means to be a gender minority and why female bodies and gender-nonconforming people are still too often silenced, underpaid, abused, and otherwise pushed to the margins.

This issue will look at why women’s and LGBTQ equality issues are everybody’s issues.

It will look at what feminism can learn from other movements—such as the movement that secured marriage equality—that have successfully crafted messages that appeal to and mobilize the broader public.

It will look at why “intersectional feminism,” which has always gone further than more mainstream understandings of feminism, is necessary to move beyond a focus on the inequalities faced by a privileged few: glass ceilings and disproportionate boardrooms.

The feminism that’s being more widely discussed today acknowledges that issues of gender transcend the boundaries of race, class, and identity, and has gained energy and leadership particularly from marginalized communities. If today’s feminism can address divergent economic circumstances and the needs of communities of color, then its goals can go deeper toward justice rather than mere representational equality.

Here are some of the ideas we’re interested in:

How intersectional thinking connects feminism to racial and economic justice movements such as Black Lives Matter, the fight for a $15 minimum wage, and domestic workers organizing.

Women’s bodies as a battleground: strategies for fighting the reproductive-rights war in the South, the future of Planned Parenthood and access to abortion, and rape as a weapon across cultures and classes, from college campuses to the military.

What’s the unfinished business of past feminist movements: How are conflicts between old and new versions of feminism being reconciled? What do women want for themselves, and what do they want from men?

What is modern masculinity? Men’s roles in the workforce and at home have drastically changed, shifting more men toward caregiving and equal sharing of responsibilities with their partners. How has this affected male identities and relationships?

What cultural shifts need to be made to value and support the work done outside the paycheck economy—work that is usually done by women. Feminism is usually fought out in the world, but changes also have to happen in the home.

Prison analysts say women bear the brunt of America’s incarceration frenzy, especially in communities of color. Why and what can we do about that?

1 woman in 4 takes medication for a mental health issue. Why those numbers are society’s problem, not women’s problem.

How can we stand in solidarity with gender minorities? What are the everyday actions we can take so that we don’t stand by silently when we witness women and LGBTQ people being diminished at the office, in the classroom, in online spaces, or elsewhere?

How do we advance a sex-positive culture that allows people to acknowledge and pursue their true desires, rather than what most media tell us we should want?

How can we encourage our children and young people to freely express their gender identities in a safe environment?

Gender identity and expression: Are we seeing the end of gender importance or just the beginning? How can our conversations about gender grow beyond a fascination with celebrities to include less glamorous but critical aspects of transgender people’s lives as many struggle to attain basic rights and acceptance?

We’re looking for stories that address useful solutions at all levels, from policies to communities to individuals. We’re especially interested in stories that show creative solutions already in place. Do you have an idea for a reported feature, deeply researched think piece, or personal essay that belongs in this issue of YES!? Send pitches to [email protected] by Dec. 28.

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