The People Preaching No Votes for Women

August 12, 2025

Plus: waiting for T12 ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

August 12, 2025

Hello Meteor readers,

So pleased to make your acquaintance, and glad to be together in fellowship during these momentous times. (I’m of course referring to the end of both And Just Like That and the American experiment.)

I’m Mattie Kahn, writer, former culture director at Glamour, and interim editor of The Meteor, covering for the inimitable Nona Willis Aronowitz while she is out having and tending to her sure-to-be-cute newborn.

Likes: peach season, scammer longreads, eavesdropping, surprising people with the knowledge that I’ve run one marathon. Dislikes: blisters, self-importance, sardines, fascism. I just know we’re going to get along great.

In the meantime, today’s newsletter has it all: wretched men hating women, sane people hating authoritarian creep(s), and the rest of us loving Taylor Swift.

Thanks for having me,

Mattie

WHAT’S GOING ON

True colors shining: Luke 8:17 reads, “For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open.” This week, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth brought out into the open the worst-kept secret of this administration when he shared a video of a Christian Nationalist pastor saying that women should not be able to vote.

It’s hard to be shocked, considering all the ways this administration has been displaying its disdain for women—cracking down on women asylum seekers, waging open war on birth control, punishing Planned Parenthood, this, that, and the third. But the brazenness of this particular outburst was a little bracing. There isn’t even the pretense of a disagreement over priorities here. This is just a shameless, bald-faced belief that women are a subservient group and not worthy of the same rights as men. The MAGA faithful don’t want to send women back to the 1950s; they want to send them back to the first century AD.

There is, however, something positive to be drawn from Hegseth standing ten toes down on religious misogyny. We’ll put it in terms he can understand: You cannot cast out a demon until you know its name. The Trump administration has shown us, unequivocally, who they are, what they intend to do with the country, and just how deeply rooted their ideology goes. We could waste our energy trying to convince all these white men that they’re wrong, but who has that kind of time?

If the administration is hinting that they don’t want women to vote, then that’s exactly what we must do. Loudly, frequently, and as if our lives depended on it.

It’s been a long, hard summer for independent media. But despite everything, our goal of changing culture and battling disinformation—at a pivotal moment for women, girls, and nonbinary people—remains unchanged. And we’re grateful for your support!

DONATE

We have two weeks left in our summer 2025 impact appeal for The Meteor Fund, The Meteor’s nonprofit initiative, which supports woman-centered storytelling and community-building. If you’re inclined to give—please do! And please share with anyone you know who loves independent media or maybe just owes you a favor.

AND:

On Sunday, the Israeli military carried out an airstrike in Gaza, assassinating five Al-Jazeera journalists. As many have already made clear, governments only target journalists when the truth is an enemy, and since October 2023, Israel has killed nearly 200 media workers. Its government carried out a siege that has claimed thousands of civilian lives with the world’s eyes on them. What will they do when there are no more reporters left on the ground to document what’s happening? We may soon find out.
Donald Trump has mobilized the National Guard in Washington, D.C. to deal with what he described as “roving mobs of wild youth, drugged-out maniacs, and homeless people.” That’s flat-out inaccurate, since crime in D.C. is on the decline. What’s just as concerning is that Trump now says that for at least a month, D.C. police can do, and we quote, “whatever the hell they want.” Remember, kids, the cops are not your friends. (But mutual aid is, and if you want to support those most likely to be targeted, you can start here.)

Danielle Spencer, best known for her role as Dee Thomas on the 1970s sitcom What’s Happening, passed away today at 60. In a then predominantly white television landscape, she was a touchstone for Black children across the country.
Been following the story of the Texas redistricting that would effectively seize districts away from Black and brown voters? You can help: This weekend, several political action groups are staging protest events in 20 states to fight redistricting efforts. Drucilla Tigner, a lead organizer and executive director of Texas for All, told NBC, “Though this fight started in Texas, it doesn’t end here. This isn’t just about redistricting or one state’s politics. It’s about the future of our democracy.” See y’all outside.
Thankfully, the news isn’t all bad today. T12 is coming.
The most unlikely sports news of this (or any) lifetime has finally come to pass: Georgina locked it down. Congratulations to all of us for waiting this long.