Dear Readers,
When we came up with the concept for this issue, we wanted to highlight some of the things that women fight for on a regular basis—from access to birth control to equal pay. But we weren’t anticipating that as we put this issue together, we would also watch a female presidential candidate fight one of the toughest political battles in history.
Now, in the wake of the recent U.S. election, we realize even more that although we’ve overcome so much over the course of the past few decades, we still have a long road ahead. The coming years are likely to challenge many of the rights we’ve come to count on as women in the West, including reproductive rights and the freedom to marry whomever we choose. We’ve also been reminded of just how important it is to keep fighting for these rights and to support everyone doing the same in other underrepresented and marginalized communities.
With these things in mind, we’re prouder than ever to be able to share our Fight issue with you. Marking our 10th quarter of publishing, Fight comes with eight additional pages showcasing the work of artists in our community and cover art by Nadine Faraj. Faraj’s series “Naked Revolt” depicts women from around the world who are using their bodies as part of their activism.
Also featured in this issue are an examination of the negotiation-free workplace, an essay on the gendered treatment of mental illness, and a close look at what it takes to sustain an independent women’s media publication.
We’re so thankful you’re supporting us already with the purchase of this issue. As you know, we’re a community of women who are working to make women’s media more diverse, in both viewpoints represented and topics addressed. For us to keep doing what we do, we need your continuous support. This support doesn’t necessarily have to be financial—reading and sharing AWT with others helps us grow our presence and further our mission.
As always, let us know what you want to read and how we can make AWT better for you at hello@awomensthing.org—we always enjoy hearing from you!
Your AWT Team