These Movies Really Miss the Mark on Abortion
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 October 4, 2022 Howdy, Meteor readers, It’s been 100 days since the overturn of Roe v. Wade, and we’ve got reproductive rights on the brain. Maybe it’s the fall weather keeping some of us indoors or maybe it’s the absolutely wild anti-abortion scene in Blonde (the Marilyn Monroe biopic), but today we’re thinking about the ways abortion is portrayed in film and television. In today’s newsletter, author Scarlett Harris looks at another recent Netflix movie that does a disservice to accurate abortion storytelling by pretending abortion simply doesn’t exist. Before we dive head-first into the news, The Meteor wishes a blessed Yom Kippur to those who observe tomorrow. May your fasts be easy. Glued to the screens, Shannon Melero  WHAT'S GOING ON
AND: SACHEEN LITTLEFEATHER AT AN EVENT WITH THE ACADEMY EARLIER THIS YEAR. (IMAGE BY FRAZER HARRISON VIA GETTY IMAGES)
 THE SMALL SCREENLook Both Ways Willfully Ignores AbortionHas post-Roe Hollywood learned nothing?BY SCARLETT HARRIS  LILI REINHART, STAR OF NETFLIX'S LOOK BOTH WAYS. (IMAGE BY EMMA MCINTYRE VIA GETTY IMAGES) Look Both Ways, the Lili Reinhart movie now on Netflix, was marketed as a sweet rom-com in the vein of Sliding Doors about a college senior who takes a pregnancy test. In one scenario, she has a pregnancy scare; the other, a life-changing positive result. The film follows Natalie (Reinhart) who plans to graduate college and move to Los Angeles with her best friend Cara (Aisha Dee). She has a five-year plan and having a baby is not part of it. “I did not see ‘single, unemployed, 22-year-old mom’ on my tarot card reading,” she laments. In both scenarios, one thing is glaringly omitted: the option of abortion, legal or otherwise. Instead, the film glosses over the abortion conversation in a short, two-minute scene with Natalie’s casual hookup/baby daddy Gabe (Danny Ramirez), who weakly asserts that he’s pro-her choice. Like Knocked Up, the odd-couple pregnancy comedy that preceded it by 15 years, Look Both Ways never utters the word “abortion.” Both Reinhart and director Wanuri Kahiu have said that the film is not an “abortion movie;” it’s a movie about “following your heart.” This seems like a cop-out. And it pales in comparison to more recent abortion-themed movies: Unpregnant (2020), Plan B (2021) and Never Rarely Sometimes Always (2020) all engage with dwindling reproductive rights explicitly, and explore the lengths young women will go to in order to obtain them. It’s true that screenwriter April Prosser’s script and Kahiu’s final cut were in motion long before the devastating Dobbs ruling that came in June. But the entertainment industry has an opportunity to grapple with the many ways people experience unplanned pregnancies and not doing so is downright irresponsible. Instead, Look Both Ways normalizes a post-Roe world, in which the only result of an unplanned pregnancy is a birth. Netflix and absolutely not chill.  Scarlett Harris is a culture critic, author of A Diva Was a Female Version of a Wrestler: An Abbreviated Herstory of World Wrestling Entertainment, and editor of The Women Of Jenji Kohan.  ABORTION STORIES DONE RIGHTHere are a few shows (and one movie) that stick out by addressing the topic of abortion with integrity and thoughtfulness. Light spoilers ahead! (But also some of this is old, so don’t @ me. Step up your TV game.) The majority of people who seek abortions are Black—but over the last five years, 66% of abortions shown on television featured white characters. That’s one of the reasons Vida stands out. A STARZ television series following the lives of two Latine sisters, Vida includes a storyline about medical abortion in its third season. The show handles the entire thing with grace and tenderness and reminds us that abortions are not invasive, frightening procedures, even when they might be emotional. You may not remember it, but I vividly recall the abortion plotline in season four of everyone’s favorite Texas-based soap opera. Without giving too much away, this one has less to do with the procedure itself and more with accessing it (and helping someone access it) in an environment that prevents abortion seekers from making their own choices. It’s quite infuriating but newly relevant as Texas is once again at the center of a reproductive rights shitstorm. (Don’t worry, there is lots of Connie Britton to help you get through this watch.)  Did you know that only 34% of characters in abortion plotlines actually face any barriers to obtaining the procedure (as many real-life abortion-seekers have for years)? This French film, based on true events from the 1960s, shows a young college student navigating a maze of anti-abortion barriers—some of which still exist today. Be warned: It is graphic and unrelenting in its pace. Certainly not a relaxing watch, but a necessary one. This one hits hard. In the show’s second season, released in 2022, a woman seeks an abortion in Mississippi from the Jackson Women’s Health Organization—the exact same organization at the center of the Dobbs decision. The episode is also a sweeping commentary on Black maternal health. Studies have shown that Black women in America are three times more likely to die during childbirth than white women, a statistic that one character on the show explains summarily by saying, “Pregnancy is life and death for us.” (For an extremely full and comprehensive list of every mention of abortion onscreen since the beginning of time, visit ansirh.org.)  FOLLOW THE METEOR    Thank you for reading The Meteor! Got this from a friend? Sign up for your own copy, sent Tuesdays and Thursdays. |
Whoopi Goldberg's Candid Message on Abortion
  September 29, 2022 Felicitations, Meteor readers, Hurricane Ian continues to move inland after tearing a path through Cuba and Florida, with its sights set on Georgia and South Carolina before (we hope) slowing down. Floridians are waiting to see how long their recovery will take, but at least they’ll have the support of local and federal agencies. It still remains to be seen whether the same can be said for Puerto Rico, another U.S. territory waiting for aid from the powers that be—who are, in fact, profiting off of the devastation of Hurricane Fiona. We’ve got something very exciting for today’s newsletter: Meteor editor-at-large Rebecca Carroll sat down with the one and only Whoopi Goldberg last week at our #SaytheWord event to talk about her long-time commitment to saying that word: abortion. But first, some news. Shannon Melero  WHAT'S GOING ONAG on the run: No, this is not a John Grisham novel: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and his wife actually fled their home earlier this week to avoid being subpoenaed in a federal lawsuit. (Many of the state’s non-profits are suing to be able to help pregnant people receive abortion care out of state.) Paxton later posted on social media that he ran because he felt threatened by the server of papers. But I’m with Jil Filipovic: The reality is that Paxton, like much of the GOP, doesn’t really want to face the music of his draconian law-making and the fact that more than half of Americans are pissed as hell about it. The subpoena was dropped, but the cowardice still stands. About damn time: Renowned flutist Lizzo performed at the Library of Congress with a 200-year-old crystal flute belonging to prolific enslaver (and rapist) James Madison. As you can imagine, she killed. “I just twerked and played James Madison’s crystal flute from the 1800s,” she exclaimed to the crowd. While people who choose joy were celebrating this moment, other totally grown people like conservative columnist Ben Shapiro completely lost their shit. What exactly is “controversial” about a trained flutist and Black woman playing a former slave owner’s family heirloom, loaned to her by the first Black woman to run the Library of Congress? Oh, right, Ben—it makes you uncomfortable.  AND:
 SAY THE WORD“Change the fucking playbook”Whoopi Goldberg can't believe she's still here fighting the same battles for abortion rights. BY REBECCA CARROLL  WHOOPI GOLDBERG ADDRESSES THE CROWD AT JOE'S PUB IN NEW YORK CITY. (IMAGE COURTESY OF THE METEOR) Whoopi Goldberg has been making the personal political for a very long time. In 1983, she created her one-woman production The Spook Show because she hadn’t been unable to find acting roles as a Black woman. Combining razor-sharp humor and satire, the show featured five characters whose stories made poignant social commentary—a rehabbed drug addict with a PhD, a surfer chick, a physically disabled woman, a little Black girl who longs for blonde hair, and a Jamaican caretaker. The show started with a near-empty house until a rave review in The New York Times not only brought audiences in droves but landed Goldberg a Broadway production and TV special on a then-fledgling cable network called HBO. I was 16 years old at the time and at the height of an intense relationship with my white birthmother, with whom I reunited at 11. One of the things we bonded over was our pure, unadulterated love of popular culture. But, the pop culture we most frequently consumed primarily centered white people. So it was oddly on the mark that when Whoopi’s one-woman show debuted, the character we honed in on was the (presumably white) teenage surfer girl. The trill of Goldberg’s infectious voice, with its dizzying ease and unburdened youth (Uhkay, and I said Uhkay, and we said Uhkay, Uhkay?), buoyed the audience for a while until they realized what this story was actually about: abortion. And not just any abortion—a graphic description of a botched abortion. Nobody with that kind of platform was talking about abortion in 1985, much less a Black female stand-up comedian. What Goldberg did in that sketch was elegant and genius: She made the subject of abortion nuanced at a time when the conversation around them was not. Her now-iconic show left an indelible mark on my life as a Black teenager who grew up wishing she had long blonde hair (like the show’s little Black girl character who wears a shirt on her head), and who wanted desperately to see a Black woman express her love of Blackness while taking ownership of her resolute individuality. So it was an honor to sit down and talk to her backstage at Joe’s Pub last week, where she was appearing in Say the Word, a night in support of New York Abortion Access Fund, about that sketch and this post-Roe world. Rebecca Carroll: Your one-woman show changed my life. I just rewatched the Valley Girl sketch. And the way that it goes from this kind of beautiful lightness to this heavy-ass, harrowing wire-hanger description—I was not prepared, watching it again, to be so moved by it. What did it feel like to play that every night? Whoopi Goldberg: Well, I loved her as a character. And for me, all of the work that I did was really predicated on stuff I wanted to talk about. And I knew I couldn’t talk about it without putting it in a context people could recognize, and they could recognize their teenage daughter. And seeing the character go to the confession booth, and the priest says, “You’ve created a sin in the eyes of God.” And she’s like, “What are you talking about? I actually had a really good time.” Yeah, because sex is really fun. If you don’t arm people with the information, they end up pregnant. And ss a little kid, I remember two women in Chelsea, where I grew up, at different times—one [being] taken out of a bathroom, and seeing…them pulling things out of the bathroom, and seeing them haul this bloody hanger. That’s how I know what it looked like. The visceral reaction I had to watching it again, I just thought, “What must that have felt like?” Every time you acted it out, the slow untwisting of a coat hanger—this is, in a way, like what all actors have to figure out, what to leave behind and what seeps into your viscera and what stays with you. But to be here in this political landscape, what does that feel like for you? Well, it’s annoying…because I did all this shit…so we wouldn’t have to again. But I realize you can’t be angry with people because no one ever thought this was really going to go backward…nobody thought people would cheat and lie and do the shit that they did because we weren’t prepared for that. Unfortunately…the consequence is going to be very, very bad. Except that they’re so protected. Well, as it turns out, nobody’s protected… that’s the bottom line: When you have money, you can do whatever. But you know, you’re not as protected as you think. You can’t go and have a D&C now. You can’t even have your baby die in your body and get relief. That’s how much they don’t give a fuck. Another thing that struck me about rewatching that sketch is that the language is the same [as it is now]—the shame, and the idea that “you have committed a sin.” How do we make new language? Well, you change the fucking playbook. You get in a place of power where you don’t let that shit happen. You start to perform it, and you put it in the parts, and you do it on television, and you do it everywhere you can. When you say “get in positions of power”—what are those positions? Become a mayor. Become a senator. Become a congressperson. I’m trying to not be cynical, but do you still believe that those are positions of actual power? Well, they were until everybody gave them up…I don’t know. I thought everybody was still kind of smart when Obama was in. And then suddenly, everybody’s stupid as fuck. And pretending that there are no civics lessons and that there are no morals that we all have to function with… I often hold with me something that [the late civil rights activist] Julian Bond once said to me: “You find the ease in the struggle.” That’s all we can do. Because it’s hard to keep fighting. It’s real hard. People talk about being woke. I always say, “I was never asleep”...because we [Black folks] always knew that nothing that has to do in particular with us is solid. Voting rights. Why can people fuck with voting? Why isn’t that sacrosanct? Why hasn’t that been made sacrosanct? You know what’s coming, and yet you can’t find a way to get it together to make it sacrosanct.  Rebecca Carroll is a writer, cultural critic, and podcast creator/host. Her writing has been published widely, and she is the author of several books, including her recent memoir, Surviving the White Gaze. Rebecca is Editor at Large for The Meteor.  FOLLOW THE METEOR    Thank you for reading The Meteor! 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It's About More Than a Hijab
  September 27, 2022 There’s a lot of pressing news in the world today, but before I get to it: Can we take a moment to bask in the fact that Rihanna will be performing at the Super Bowl halftime show next February?? Naturally, I have questions: Does this mean new music? A new tour? Will her baby come on stage as a special guest? Also, why did Taylor Swift turn down the performance? My synapses have been firing all weekend. More soberingly, Hurricane Ian has made landfall in Cuba and is making its way toward Florida. We hope all of our readers and colleagues are staying as safe as they possibly can. Lots to cover today—including a potential government shutdown and the growing protests in Iran—so let’s dig into it. Waiting for R9 and Midnights, Shannon Melero  WHAT'S GOING ON“What are you setting on fire?”: The unrest in Iran continues following the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman who was detained by the country’s morality police and died in their custody. Based on photos of Amini’s bruised, comatose body lying in a hospital, many believe she was severely beaten by police, but officials have denied this version of events. Iran’s foreign minister even went so far as to assert during an NPR interview that the protests in Iran are “not a big deal” and the noise around Amini’s death is being caused by “foreign media and outside agitation.” But videos on social media, showing thousands of people around the world—and, tellingly, within Iran itself—marching and demonstrating, tell another story.  PROTESTORS REMOVING THEIR HEADSCARVES OUTSIDE OF THE IRANIAN EMBASSY IN ISTANBUL. (IMAGE BY CHRIS MCGRATH VIA GETTY IMAGES) The most profound symbols of this multi-national protest have been women (and a few men) removing their head coverings and cutting their hair in public—acts that are illegal under Iran’s theocratic law. As a Muslim woman living in the U.S., I have been reluctant to enter the debate about Islam’s role surrounding this tragedy. Hijab—which is an entire lifestyle, not just a scarf on one’s head—is often touted as a symbol of the oppression of women abroad, used to flatten the complexities of Muslim women’s experiences. Head coverings have been used to justify wars, invasions, xenophobic laws, and Islamophobic hate crimes. As women living in the West, we often feel the need to plant our feet firmly on only one side of the debate: We champion women who defy the laws forcing them to cover, but when it comes to those who want to cover—even if, just like the former group, their choices are being limited by the government—we adopt either silence or a sort of conversational waffling. (Yes we support you but that scarf is a sign of internalized patriarchy, so why cling to it?) But two realities can exist at once and both are deserving of more nuance than they get. As a practicing Muslim in a country hostile to them, it’s difficult to both speak out against these oppressive practices and defend my faith without colleagues, employers, or strangers in general challenging whether or not I’m really a feminist.  PROTESTOR IN GREECE CUTTING HER HAIR IN SOLIDARITY WITH IRAN. (IMAGE BY MILOS BICANSKI VIA GETTY IMAGES, ILLUSTRATION BY THE METEOR) But what is happening is not merely an issue of unclipping the shackles of a religion that’s already been demonized in the West. What is happening in Iran is a political uprising against a corrupt government—so let’s beware of conservative Western politicians who are jumping on board the “liberate Iranian women” train, while helping engineer one of the greatest losses of women’s rights in the U.S. for 50 years. Writer Mona Eltahawy puts it perfectly: “So successful has white supremacist patriarchy been at convincing you that you’re lucky to live in the U.S. and not Saudi Arabia or Iran, that so many of you did not pay enough attention to the theocracy that white supremacy was building right here, at home.” The U.S. flavor of theocratic rule Eltahawy refers to is, of course, forced pregnancy, which is not that different from a nationwide dress code. Both stem from a willful misinterpretation of ancient texts and the desire to control women’s bodily autonomy. To be abundantly clear, hijab is not merely the scarf we see. It is a religious practice that comprises one’s dress, comportment, and language and is an outward manifestation of the relationship one chooses to have with their maker. It’s also not just for women.  PROTESTOR IN CHILE TOUTING WOMEN, LIFE, LIBERTY. (IMAGE BY LUCAS AGUAYO ARAOS VIA GETTY IMAGES, ILLUSTRATION BY THE METEOR) While we can argue all night and day about whose god is right or wrong, the fact remains that there is no version of a god that is a politician. The fight ahead both here and abroad isn’t against personal beliefs, but the political structures that have allowed men of privilege to turn their own beliefs into laws and political policy. Iranians burning their hijabs are not committing an affront to Islam; they are saying loudly and proudly that choice and bodily autonomy are fundamental human rights. So for anyone who’s been having strong feelings about what’s happening across the world but not about what’s happening in your backyard, I’m asking the same existential question Eltahawy is: What are you setting on fire?
 University of Idaho’s newest gag order: The Intercept just released a communication between the University of Idaho’s general counsel and its staff, telling employees of the university how to talk to students about abortion. The short version? Don’t. “During all times that university employees are performing their jobs,” the letter says, “the law prohibits them from taking any action, and from using or providing institution funds or facilities, for any of the following…promoting abortion…providing or performing an abortion…counseling in favor of abortion,” and so on. The memo also notes that the school will stop providing birth control (an unusual move for a university), and that the consequences for breaking these rules could be firing. It’s possible that other large public universities in states that, like Idaho, have largely banned abortion or are trying to also have similar policies, whether written or implicit. But these guidelines deprive students of crucial health information—and they’re especially disappointing considering that Idaho has in the past at least nodded to a more compassionate stance. Last month, when The Meteor’s Talia Kantor Lieber asked 61 schools about their abortion travel policy, the University of Idaho told us that the university “does not provide money specifically for students to travel for an abortion. The university does have emergency funds available to students…While it is possible a student could use it for this, the university does not get involved in the medical decisions of our students….We provide information and resources that allow students to make informed and independent decisions.” Or maybe not anymore. AND:
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Iranian Women Are Burning Their Hijabs
  September 22, 2022 Dear Meteor readers, It’s officially the Fall Equinox which means summer is truly, truly over. But the silver lining is we can all start sporting our fall fashions—which, in my opinion, are the only good fashions. Also: leaf peeping! In today’s newsletter we’re covering the latest on the growing unrest in Iran after the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who died under suspicious circumstances after being detained by Iran’s morality police. Sitting under a sun lamp, Shannon Melero  WHAT'S GOING ONBurning their hijabs: Last Tuesday, 22-year-old Mahsa Amini was arrested by morality police in Iran for allegedly failing to cover her hair in accordance with the law. Three days after “mysteriously” falling into a coma while in police custody, she died. Witnesses to her arrest say that Amini was beaten by officers on her way to a detention center (a story officials are refuting). But since her death, women have taken to the streets and the internet to protest Amini’s treatment and the restrictive law in Iran that states that women must fully cover their hair and wear loose-fitting garments. Protestors—led by women but supported by men—have been cutting their hair in defiance, while others are burning headscarves in the streets. So far nine people have been killed in altercations with Iranian security forces. Videos and images from the protests have been moving, heartbreaking, and essential to our understanding of how dangerous the situation has become for those daring to protest.  PROTESTORS REMOVING THEIR HEADSCARVES OUTSIDE OF THE IRANIAN EMBASSY IN ISTANBUL. (IMAGE BY CHRIS MCGRATH VIA GETTY IMAGES) But now the Iranian government is slowly but surely trying to silence the voices of protestors by blocking internet access in cities where demonstrations are happening. Residents of Tehran have reported issues with Instagram and WhatsApp, platforms used to share messages about what’s really happening on the ground. Back in the United States, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was scheduled for an interview with Christiane Amanpour where one of the topics would be the unrest in Iran. However, after Amanpour refused to comply with his request that she don a head covering for their conversation, President Raisi declined to speak. It would be easy—lazy, even—to write off what is happening in Iran as a local issue of religious freedom. Instead, this is a huge opportunity for the international community to support women fighting for their bodily autonomy. We cannot allow Mahsa Amini to fade into another tragic hashtag. Here is a list of reporters and experts to follow and amplify as the situation unfolds.  PROTESTORS IN THE STREETS OF TEHRAN, CLASHING WITH IRANIAN SECURITY FORCES. (IMAGE BY ANADOLU AGENCY VIA GETTY IMAGES) Justice for Shireen Abu Akleh: According to a new report conducted by human rights group Al-Haq and research agency Forensic Architecture, there is sufficient forensic evidence to prove that Israeli forces “deliberately killed” Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh earlier this year. Abu Akleh was shot by a sniper while reporting from the city of Jenin while wearing a vest that clearly identified her as a member of a press. The report confirms the long-held suspicion that Abu Akleh was targeted by Israeli forces, despite the Israeli government’s claims that she was struck accidentally during an exchange of fire. There is even evidence that after Abu Akleh was hit, the shooter continued to fire on a civilian who attempted to give aid. On Tuesday, the report was presented at The Hague and an official complaint was filed. The IDF has released no response. AND:
 BEFORE YOU GO...THERE ACTUALLY WAS SOME GOOD NEWS THIS WEEK!The news cycle has been particularly bad this week, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t a few positive things going on in the world. Let’s get a quick hit of serotonin before the weekend.
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The Black Filmmakers You May Not Have Heard Of
  September 20, 2022 G’day, my Meteor mates, In today’s newsletter, Meteor editor-at-large Rebecca Carroll takes us to the movies. She interviews Rhea Combs, creator of Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898-1971, a new exhibit at the Los Angeles Academy Museum introducing visitors to a rich history of Black filmmakers, photographers, and creatives. Grab your favorite treat for this fantastic conversation. But first, let’s sort through some news, shall we? Watching more movies, Shannon Melero  WHAT'S GOING ON“El Apagón”: On Monday, Hurricane Fiona made landfall in Puerto Rico, leaving the entire island without power, destroying roads and bridges, and putting entire towns underwater. As Fiona moves towards the Dominican Republic (where one million residents are without power) and Turks and Caicos, some Puerto Ricans are seeing their power return—but the road to recovery will be long. If you missed the coverage (which you might have, since it was bumped down in favor of the royal funeral), the event was largely described as merely another unavoidable natural disaster. But the reality is, the hurricane’s effects were compounded by the mishandling of government funds, political corruption, and the incompetence of the company controlling the entire island’s power grid, LUMA.  To fully understand how unprepared Puerto Rico’s infrastructure was for this storm, I implore you—beg you—to watch the music video collaboration (above) between Bad Bunny and independent Puerto Rican reporter Bianca Graulau. Together, they lay out everything there is to know about what’s really happening in Puerto Rico. (The song is also a banger.) Click here to find out how you can help the island’s recovery. And in Mexico…: Unfortunately, when it rains, it really pours. On Monday afternoon, a magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck the western coast of Mexico, killing two, severely damaging a hospital, and cutting power to several thousand residents. Then, this morning, a second earthquake (magnitude 5.8) struck the region of Michoacán. While the affected areas are expected to recover, these two quakes felt eerie to citizens: They occurred on the anniversaries of two of the most devastating earthquakes the country has ever experienced. AND:
 AND THE ACADEMY AWARD GOES TO...Meet the Black Filmmakers That Changed Representation in Movies"The exhibit is a tribute to Black filmmakers who did their work not just in the face of structural racism, but in a burgeoning industry that refused to acknowledge them." BY REBECCA CARROLL  TITLE WALL, REGENERATION: BLACK CINEMA 1898-1971, ACADEMY OF MOTION PICTURES. (PHOTO BY JOSHUA WHITE, JW PICTURES/ © ACADEMY MUSEUM FOUNDATION) “When I was a little girl, all I wanted to see was me in the media. Someone fat like me, Black like me, beautiful like me.” –Lizzo If anyone needed a reminder of how important representation is in visual media, last week’s release of the new Little Mermaid trailer provided it. Dozens of cheerful, genuinely moving videos of little brown and Black girls, rejoicing in seeing a Black Halle Bailey as the new Ariel, hit social media—and were swiftly followed by racist backlash. Representation matters and its absence in visual media is not because Black folks haven’t been creating it; it’s that predominantly white gatekeepers who fund and distribute film and TV have chosen to exclude Black creators. And that’s why REGENERATION: BLACK CINEMA 1898-1971, an exhibit at the Academy Museum in Los Angeles exploring seven decades of the vast canon of work created by Black American filmmakers, is so important. The exhibit is a tribute to Black filmmakers who did their work not just in the face of structural racism, but in a burgeoning industry that refused to acknowledge them. I sat down with Rhea Combs, the co-creator of REGENERATION and director of curatorial affairs at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, to hear about what she learned.  RHEA COMBS DURING THE OPENING OF REGENERATION. (PHOTO BY STEFANIE KEENAN VIA GETTY IMAGES FOR ACADEMY MUSEUM OF MOTION PICTURES) Rebecca Carroll: This exhibition features films and visual art from nearly a century of Black filmmaking. Are there pieces that you still think about all the time? Rhea Combs: Yes, short answer. We open it with Something Good - Negro Kiss from 1898, a 29-second work that shows Gertie Brown and Saint Suttle in this kind of playful embrace (the first documented on-screen kiss between two Black folks in film history). It’s the piece that you see when you walk in, and it's emblematic of everything that Doris Berger and I were really looking to accomplish with this exhibition. And by that, I mean: You see this juxtaposed with a Glenn Ligon Double America 2 work that’s this neon piece that has America written right-side up and then written upside-down—that kind of double consciousness of knowing someone else is looking at you, but then also doing it for yourself and doing it with such pride and such dignity and such beauty. I think Something Good - Negro Kiss embodies all of that. The exhibition notes describe how the groundbreaking Black filmmaker Oscar Micheaux was working in an environment where the bar for what a film should look like was D.W. Griffith's Birth of a Nation—which, as most people aware of the film know, was wildly racist. What do you think the impact of that film was on Micheaux and other Black filmmakers? When we looked at this show and conceptualized it, we had to predate cinema and look at theater and photography, which then allows you to understand that there were these conversations around Black modernity that were happening. When you situate it within that framework, then you understand better an Oscar Micheaux. Yes, there was D.W. Griffith, [but] there were also people like Booker T. Washington and [W.E.B.] Du Bois, who were creating these really grassroots, organized protests against [Griffith’s] work.… So I think there were these kinds of social and cultural dynamics at play within the African American community that we try to address in the exhibition through showing forward thinkers like Sojourner Truth, who used photography, and Du Bois, Frederick Douglas, and Booker T. Washington.  AGENCY, REGENERATION: BLACK CINEMA 1898-1971, ACADEMY OF MOTION PICTURES. (PHOTO BY JOSHUA WHITE, JW PICTURES/ © ACADEMY MUSEUM FOUNDATION) That is sort of a summation of Black culture—so much of the work we create is in response to what we haven't been able to do, what we haven't been able to be. Were there moments in the exhibition when it was clear that these filmmakers were creating work that was not [only] in response to the ways in which we were and are oppressed? I think even within the spaces in which these works were shown (pop-up churches or community centers) suggest that while these social realities were happening with structural racism, I believe that filmmakers were doing this in part because they wanted to do the work. They weren't just doing it in response to.  Rebecca Carroll is a writer, cultural critic, and podcast creator/host. Her writing has been published widely, and she is the author of several books, including her recent memoir, Surviving the White Gaze. Rebecca is Editor at Large for The Meteor.  The REGENERATION exhibit will be on view at the Academy Museum in Los Angeles until April of next year. Forward this email to all of your friends that would love to see it! FOLLOW THE METEOR Thank you for reading The Meteor! Got this from a friend? 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Womanhood Is Not a Zero-Sum Game
 September 15, 2022 Salutations, Meteor readers, Today is September 15, which means that I am obligated to acknowledge the start of ✌🏼Hispanic✌🏼 Heritage Month: 30 days bestowed upon us to compress any and all Spanish-speaking cultures into one neat little box decorated with neon calaveras. I could go on and on about this month, but nada dura para siempre—so here’s an essay I wrote in 2020 about the racialization and politicization of Latiné people in America. (If you want to get into real history and not just bland HHM platitudes, I included a list of reads at the end of this newsletter—and here’s our own collective member Julissa Natzely Arce Raya on the subject.)  In other news: the escalating war on the existence (not just rights; existence) of trans people continues. Under the direction of Governor Greg Abbott, the state of Texas is still investigating parents for providing gender-affirming care to their trans children. But as the issue falls out of national headlines, we have to ask: Are LGBTQ+ allies doing enough to support the movement to protect trans lives? In today’s newsletter, superstar lawyer and trans rights activist Chase Strangio walks us through what’s really happening and what’s next. But first, some news. Shannon Melero  WHAT'S GOING ON
AND:
 Questions Like “What is a woman?” Work to Divide the Left"When trans inclusion and the overturning of Roe are seen as...“erasing women,” we all but ensure that government actors succeed in their longstanding plan to curtail all our health."BY CHASE STRANGIO  PROTESTORS IN THE UK SPEAKING OUT AGAINST THE BBC OFFERING A PLATFORM FOR ANTI-TRANS MESSAGING. (IMAGE BY HOLLIE ADAMS VIA GETTY IMAGES) If you have been activated by the fall of Roe v. Wade but have failed to notice the endless onslaught of anti-trans sentiment and legislation that’s been sweeping the country, you have fallen into a well-laid trap to divide natural allies in the fight for gender justice and liberation. While the left has spent the last few years embroiled in a battle over the contours of womanhood, the right has capitalized on our willingness to fight each other to advance legislation that will curtail bodily autonomy for all of us. Just last week, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a national leader in the fight against abortion access and trans health care, made strategic use of our internal divisions by announcing his support for a “Women’s Bill of Rights to Affirm Basic Biological Truths and Fight Back Against the Left’s Attempts to Redefine the Term ‘Woman.’” Though he claims to be taking a stand against “the Left,” the anti-trans rhetoric he endorses was actually developed by the center-left. For at least seven years, we have been subjected to a disingenuous and, unfortunately, very destructive discourse that purports to ask, “What is a woman?”—but ultimately seeks to question the legitimacy of trans existence. And it’s worked: The fear-mongering and concern-trolling has not only further propelled the far-right into power but has also caused some advocates for trans inclusivity in existing feminist and LGBTQ+ spaces to abandon their support for transgender people. Back in 2015, the New York Times published an op-ed from Elinor Burkett asking “What Makes a Woman?”, tied to Caitlyn Jenner coming out as trans. Burkett wrote, “I have fought for many of my 68 years against efforts to put women—our brains, our hearts, our bodies, even our moods—into tidy boxes, to reduce us to hoary stereotypes.” Somehow, looking at all the different ways sex stereotypes are deployed and weaponized in the world, Burkett points the finger, not at right-wing campaigns, not Victoria’s Secret catalogs, not dress codes or sex-separated learning, but at trans people.  Chase Strangio is a lawyer and trans rights activist who lives in New York City.  WHAT WE'RE READING THIS MONTH Heritage months are never enough, but they do provide an opportunity to learn about the various cultures, customs, and histories that get lost in fake official words like “Hispanic.” Here are some of our favorites to revisit during HHM: Inventing Latinos: A New Story of American Racism by Laura E. Gómez A fascinating, history-packed look at how indigenous Mexicans and, later, Spanish-speaking groups were racialized and absorbed into the American political system to make things like voting, polling, and white supremacy easier to manage. Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez I laughed; I cried; I thought long and hard about where I come from. Gonzalez’s debut novel is a beautiful intertwining of the two worlds many Latiné people inhabit. Not a Nation of Immigrants: Settler Colonialism, White Supremacy, and a History of Erasure and Exclusion by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz You know that old saying: “You don’t know what you don’t know.” But you can know, thanks to Dunbar-Ortiz’s breakdown of America’s unique brand of settler colonialism. War Against All Puerto Ricans: Revolution and Terror in America’s Colonies by Nelson A. Denis This book is one of my favorite non-fiction reads of all time. Denis takes the reader on a journey from Puerto Rico’s existence as the island of Borinquen to its conquest by the Spanish and its subsequent colonization by the U.S. The Decolonial Imaginary by Emma Perez A more academic (but groundbreaking) text that investigates the role of the colonial gaze in the historicization of “Chicanas.” An important read if you’re interested in the politics of rewriting history.  FOLLOW THE METEOR Thank you for reading The Meteor! Got this from a friend? Sign up for your own copy, sent Tuesdays and Thursdays. |
Queen Elizabeth's Complicated Legacy
  September 8, 2022 Darling Meteor readers, It is, with no exaggeration, the end of an era: Today the British royal family announced the death of Queen Elizabeth II at the age of 96 in her Scottish summer home, Balmoral Castle. After ruling over the United Kingdom for 70 years—longer than any other British monarch—she became a worldwide symbol of power, empire, and the complexities of leadership. Despite everything we know about the queen, the actual woman behind the crown was as much of a mystery as she was a constant presence. The young Elizabeth ascended the throne at the age of 25, assuming a persona of apoliticism and hiding her emotions from public view. Her stoicism, which read as cold indifference to many, marked her entire rule for better or worse. But despite being thrust into a role meant for someone else, she met the impossible task of ruling head-on in the face of a drastically changing world. Her death will mean an array of different things to different people as her legacy is examined and picked apart in the days to come. For some this is a moment to reexamine history, for others, it may be solemn—there’s no singular way to process the death of this particular cultural institution. So during this time, let’s all extend each other a little grace to feel whatever it is we feel, even if it’s nothing at all. And now, a little bit of news. From behind the mourning veil, Shannon Melero  WHAT'S GOING ONSigned, sealed, delivered: On Tuesday, after winning their match against Nigeria, the U.S. Women’s National Team made history once again with the stroke of a pen. Players from the women’s team were joined on the field by the men’s national team to sign their collective bargaining agreements—solidifying the USWNT’s equal pay victory and guaranteeing their $24 million settlement with the U.S Soccer Federation. “The agreement marks the first time in soccer history that a women's national team will receive the same amount of pay as their male counterparts in the World Cup,” the Federation told CBS. And they said it couldn’t be done!  FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: BECKY SAUERBRUNN, CRYSTAL DUNN, AND SAM MEWIS AT THE SIGNING OF AN HISTORIC COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT FOR U.S. SOCCER. (IMAGE VIA TIM NWACHUKWU VIA GETTY IMAGES) To spit or not to spit: Are we being gaslit? For the last two days, the internet (and the Meteor Slack channel) has been torn asunder by this single clip of Harry Styles at the Venice film festival, possibly spitting—or not spitting!—in the general direction of Chris Pine. My eyeballs tell me that Styles spit, or at the very least made a spitting motion in Pine’s direction. But Pine’s reps say no such thing happened and that Mainstream Media™ is just making up rumors. Who can I believe?! Who can I trust!? Is this all just an elaborate publicity stunt to get me to watch a movie I had no intention of watching??? The truth is out there! AND:
 HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!  FOLLOW THE METEOR Thank you for reading The Meteor! Got this from a friend? Sign up for your own copy, sent Tuesdays and Thursdays.
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The Steubenville Rape Case, Ten Years Later
  September 1, 2022 Glad tidings, Meteor readers, Do you hear that distant sound? It’s the gentle rustling of decorative fall knitwear being moved from the back of the closet to the front. (It’s also the sound of me frantically trying to finish knitting this sweater—you should try it!) We have crossed over into September so it’s basically fall which means it’s time to start planning Thanksgiving. And after that, you might as well pick your New Year’s outfit. Time is an illusion. But today’s newsletter isn’t! My brilliant colleague Samhita Mukhopadhyay spoke with author and filmmaker Nancy Schwartzman about her book, Roll Red Roll, which explores every facet of the Steubenville, Ohio rape case of 2012. It’s been a decade since Steubenville, and the way we understand rape culture and sexual assault has evolved—and, in some ways, hasn’t. First, a little bit of news. Counting stitches, Shannon Melero  WHAT'S GOING ONJackson, Mississippi in crisis: On Tuesday the city’s governor declared a state of emergency after 150,000 residents were left without safe drinking water. (There’s still no certainty as to when water will be restored.) The reason for this crisis, Vox explains, is twofold: Recent flooding damaged the city’s largest water treatment plant and there were pumping problems at a secondary plant. But the larger issue is “white divestment from a majority-Black city.” Underfunded and crumbling infrastructure over the course of decades has left the water systems fragile—meaning that now, with the rise in extreme weather, citizens are unable to shower, access drinking water, or even flush toilets. But there are ways to help. Locals in neighboring towns can volunteer to distribute water around Jackson. And for those outside the state, we have a list from The Cut of organizations accepting donations of water and funds.  THE NATIONAL GUARD HAS BEEN CALLED IN TO HELP MANAGE THE WATER CRISIS IN JACKSON. (IMAGE BY BRAD VEST VIA GETTY IMAGES) AND:
 "GOD, FAMILY, FOOTBALL"It's Been Ten Years Since SteubenvilleAuthor and filmmaker Nancy Schwartzman on how far we have and haven't come since the rape case that changed everything.BY SAMHITA MUKHOPADHYAY  ONE OF THE CLOSED MILLS IN STEUBENVILLE, OHIO. (IMAGE BY RICK GERSHON VIA GETTY IMAGES) Content warning: Sexual violence. Please consider your mental health before reading. Ten years ago this month, a young woman was sexually assaulted by a group of high school athletes in Steubenville, Ohio. The girl, who was unconscious, had been transported, stripped of her clothes, and digitally assaulted (meaning the assailants used their hands). Later there would be undeniable evidence: texts and posts on social media in which perpetrators documented, and even bragged, about the horrific acts that took place that night. Two of those students, Trent Mays and Ma’lik Richmond, both 16 at the time, were convicted of rape. Steubenville was a turning point in how we talk about sexual assault and rape culture. It was the first sexual assault case to go viral on social media, sparking major online activism in response. Nancy Schwartzman, a filmmaker and a writer, has followed this case since the beginning, first making a documentary about the town, and most recently publishing Roll Red Roll, a book about the incident. The New York Times called it a “meticulous account” of what happened that night and the culture that allowed for it. This week, I talked to Nancy about the film, the book, and what she learned from all of it. Samhita Mukhopadhyay: Why were you initially drawn to investigating the Steubenville rape case? Nancy Schwartzman: I had already been examining issues of consent in my first film, The Line—what is coercive consent, what is enthusiastic consent, etc. And by the end of having so many conversations with young people about the topic, what became very important, I thought, for us to all be looking at was perpetrator behavior. [Sexual assault was talked about] very much like the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard trial. The victim is scrutinized: her behavior, her alcohol levels, her outfit, her prior sexual conduct. For me, what was just never discussed, and actually where the problem was, was: What are the conditions that enable sexual assault to run rampant, and what are the behaviors we should be looking out for?” When Steubenville broke, [at first] I thought, “Nothing about this is new.” But when I started looking into it more closely, all of the text messages and social media were public. And it was a script of how these guys were talking about the victim, how they were planning it in advance, and how they were egging each other on. So all of a sudden, we had a window into perpetrator behavior.  IS GEN Z GOING TO SAVE US ALL?The kids are all right. The adults are fucking up! That’s not just my hot take—it’s the title of this week’s episode of UNDISTRACTED. Brittney Packnett Cunningham highlights all the ways in which Gen Z has been showing up and showing out to fight back on issues they inherited from elder millennials, boomers, and Gen X. From TikTokers lobbying for student debt relief to eloquent speeches against anti-trans legislation, the kids are leading the charge for the safety of their futures.  Also on the pod: author George M. Johnson and school librarian Jennisen Lucas discuss the latest round of book banning. With the school year already underway in most states, Lucas explains that book ban movements are taking a new shape: “It seems very organized and very national—in the past it’s usually been concerned parents that are worried for their children who come in to talk to us in the library.” Who’s behind these militaristic attacks on cool-ass books? You’ll have to listen to find out.  UNDISTRACTED IS SPONSORED BY:  Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses provides business education, support services, and pathways to capital for growth-oriented entrepreneurs. Participants gain practical skills to take their business to the next level, on topics such as financial statements, marketing, and employee management, and gain tools to develop a customized business plan for growth---for free. Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses has served over 12,800 businesses in all 50 states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico. Apply today.  FOLLOW THE METEOR Thank you for reading The Meteor! Got this from a friend? Sign up for your own copy, sent Tuesdays and Thursdays. |
Grieving Princess Diana Let Me Mourn My Brother
  August 30, 2022 Hola Meteor readers, I am a puddle of emotions this week. Last night Serena Williams walked onto the court for her first match at her last-ever U.S Open, a tournament she’s won six times over the years. The game was followed by a beautiful tribute from Billie Jean King and a special video narrated by Oprah thanking Serena for everything she’s done for the sport of tennis. And as if that wasn’t enough: Taylor Swift announced a new album for October, so I really don’t know how I’m going to manage all these feelings through the fall. Today’s newsletter is also somber and reflective. In honor of the 25th anniversary of Princess Diana’s death tomorrow, writer Susanne Ramirez de Arellano explores how the princess’s death helped her mourn a more personal one—and what she’s learned in the years since. But first: some news. Lighting a candle, Shannon Melero  WHAT'S GOING ON“Monsoon on steroids.” That’s just one phrase that’s been used to describe the onslaught of devastating floods that have put a third of Pakistan underwater. The word “dire” fails to capture how bad things are, with a death toll of over 1,000, nearly half a million citizens displaced, and entire cities, towns, and agricultural sites completely wiped out. It’s nothing short of a climate catastrophe, made worse by the country’s melting glaciers. To help those in need, please consider donating through UNICEF, the IRC, Islamic Relief, or LaunchGood.  Then there’s this: In a video shared by Jessica Valenti on Instagram, a story of forced birth that is too horrific told by a pediatric gynecologist in South Carolina.  AND:
 WE REMEMBERIt would be the last time I saw my brother alive. BY SUSANNE RAMÍREZ DE ARELLANO  PRINCESS DIANA IN PARIS, 1988. (IMAGE BY BY JAYNE FINCHER VIA GETTY IMAGES) Tomorrow will be 25 years since Princess Diana died in a car crash in Paris, chased by paparazzi on motorcycles in the Pont de L’Alma. Her tragic end shocked the world and caused an unprecedented outpouring of grief in Britain. Her death also embedded itself as a timepost in my life: It would be the last time I saw my younger brother alive. The sequence of that day plays out in my mind’s eye like an old film. I had traveled from London (where I was living and working for a news agency) to New York to see my brother. He was very sick, but he would be flying from Hawaii to see us. My sister called and bluntly said, “I think you’d better get on a plane.” In a blur, I packed, rushed to the airport, and arrived late at night. My beautiful brother, John Lawrence, known to us as Larry, had full-blown AIDS. I woke up the following day to the front page of The New York Times: Diana, Princess of Wales, 36, Dies in a Crash in Paris. I sat at my sister’s kitchen table, in her beautiful home, with a sense of impending doom, only able to read the first paragraph again and again. I refused to believe it. First, my brother, a shadow of his former self, was dying. And now Diana. Two people whose stories would become surreally intertwined in my life. Diana was a facet of daily life in London. Her face was everywhere: in newspapers and magazines, on television programs, and on tea towels. I had seen the fairytale wedding, witnessed the unraveling of her marriage, and been inspired by the emergence of a strong-willed woman coming into her own. And, of course, we all remember that “revenge dress” at the Serpentine Gallery. My brother and I watched the funeral together. (In truth, I think I forced him to watch it.) He lay on the sofa next to me as I stroked his thin legs, and we spoke of the woman who championed the cause of people living with AIDS. Diana publicly took on the HIV crisis as a cause in 1987 when she opened the U.K.'s first HIV/AIDS unit at London’s Middlesex Hospital. She changed the way people thought about AIDS with just one gesture by shaking hands (without wearing gloves) with an AIDS patient who was terminally ill. It was the 1980s, and the shame around the illness was virulent. For me, her gesture was a visually powerful way to confront HIV/AIDS stigma, a public challenge to the notion that HIV was passed from person to person by touch. It was the opposite of my family’s reaction. My father refused to acknowledge that Larry had AIDS, avoiding the crushing inevitability of what would happen. After my brother passed away, he would say that Larry had died of a tumor.  PRINCESS DIANA EXCHANGING HOLIDAY GIFTS WITH A PATIENT IN AN AIDS HOSPICE IN CANADA. (IMAGE BY TIM GRAHAM VIA GETTY IMAGES) The princess was just 36 when she died; my brother, who passed away two months later, on October 30, 1997, was 37. Today, Diana would be 61 and my brother 62—two lives cut short when both had so much in front of them. At present, there are approximately 38.4 million people across the globe living long and healthy lives with HIV. In 2021, 28.7 million people with HIV had access to antiretroviral therapy globally. Yet I am still angry that more was not done to fight AIDS earlier. It could have saved my brother. Maybe it would have given him time to teach me how to surf. Instead, I can still see him riding the waves, lithe and athletic, like a dancer. Larry would laugh because I never stayed on the board for more than a minute. (But how exhilarating that minute was!) This interlacing of stories—Diana's death and my brother's—is not a weepy fascination; there are no happy endings here. But Diana's funeral, and the collective grief of the British, allowed me to deal with what was happening in my life. The mourning of her loss permitted me to grieve mine.  Susanne Ramírez de Arellano is an author on race and diversity, opinion writer, and cultural critic. The former news director of Univision, she writes for NBC News Think, Latino Rebels, and Nuestros Stories, among other outlets. She lives in Brooklyn and is busy writing her first novel.  FOLLOW THE METEOR Thank you for reading The Meteor! Got this from a friend? Sign up for your own copy, sent Tuesdays and Thursdays.
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I Asked 61 Colleges If They Would Pay for Students to Travel for an Abortion. Only Five Hinted That They Might.
BY TALIA KANTOR LIEBER
On the morning that Roe v. Wade fell, I turned to my father and declared I would not be attending college in a state where I could not legally have an abortion.
Strikethroughs began to appear on my running list of potential schools, a document that is growing and shifting as I enter my junior year of high school. I knew I was in a position of privilege: If I did go to college in one of the 14 states where abortion was banned, I’d have the financial means to travel if I needed to. But that isn't true for many of my friends and classmates. And even with the ability to pay, there are so many students—myself included—who don’t want to take that chance. In fact, a recent survey found that over a third of students seeking higher-ed degrees say the Dobbs decision will affect which institution they attend.
So an idea occurred to me. After the Supreme Court’s ruling, many private companies promised to cover the travel expenses of employees seeking out-of-state abortions (much to the chagrin of some state lawmakers). Why couldn’t colleges do the same? After all, shouldn’t the aim of any school be to support its students, and rid them of any obstacles disrupting their education?
I decided to compile a list of schools in states where abortion is banned (or at high risk of being banned) and ask them one simple question: Would they cover the travel expenses of students forced to seek an out-of-state abortion?
Here’s what I found.
Of the 61 schools I surveyed, only five gave me anything close to a yes. The College of Wooster, Kenyon College, Oberlin College, the University of Idaho, and Vanderbilt University referenced “emergency” or “Student Success” funds that students could potentially access for abortion care or abortion-related travel expenses.
Twenty-one schools—mostly smaller, private institutions—gave ambiguous answers, either saying they were still developing plans or simply stating their commitment to their students.
Nine schools—mostly large public universities—said that they would not pay for travel or had not discussed the topic.
And 26 schools, almost evenly split between public and private, did not respond to repeated requests for comment, even as their students began to set foot on campus.
All in all, the vast majority of the schools I called (which, by rough calculations, are attended by at least 480,000 students who could become pregnant) were not ready to help those students access crucial abortion care.
Read the full list of schools’ responses here.
SO WHY ARE SCHOOLS NOT STEPPING UP THE WAY PRIVATE COMPANIES DID?
Schools are scrambling to create policies around abortion travel, and the reasons are complex. First, there are legal fears, especially for public universities whose budgets are controlled by the same legislatures that banned abortion in the first place. States such as Missouri have laws in place that prohibit the use of public funds for “performing or assisting abortion.” A public institution’s money may very well fall under that category. Other states’ abortion laws are too in flux, or not definitive enough for schools to create concrete policies.
Some states have even begun to explore legislation that outlaws crossing state lines for an abortion. According to Kimberley Harris, a constitutional law professor at Texas Tech University School of Law, “there is supposedly a constitutional right of interstate travel, or at least there has been in the past, but we’ve kind of seen what can happen with constitutional rights.” Bans such as these could even prohibit private schools from supporting abortion-related travel.
And colleges must not only consider the question of where students may go, but the details of their abortions as well. Harris notes the case of Sidley Austin, a law firm that promised to pay for employees to go out-of-state to acquire abortion pills. The firm is facing legal threats from a group of Texas Republicans who claim that Sidley Austin facilitated “illegal” abortions. In a letter to the firm, they argued that “criminal prohibitions extend to drug-induced abortions if any part of the drug regimen is ingested in Texas, even if the drugs were dispensed by an out-of-state abortionist.” If a school were to pay for a student’s abortion travel, says Harris, it could leave the institution susceptible to a similar legal threat.
These questions of liability, Harris explains, may prevent many schools—especially public institutions or those with religious affiliations—from paying. “A lot of colleges are very risk-averse when it comes to this,” she says. “There is a whole lot of fear.” Paying for students’ travel could fall under the category of aiding or abetting abortion, an action that civilians can now be rewarded for reporting in certain states.
That fear may also affect a college’s medical providers or counselors. Telling students abortion is legal in neighboring states has little risk, but Harris believes that providing a direct referral could be riskier. “I think it will be more hinted at,” she said. In other words, a pregnant student could ask their school for support and be turned away—not only without medical care or travel funds, but without any clear advice.
THE CHAOS IN STATE ABORTION LAW—AND HOW IT AFFECTS SCHOOLS
As the answers from schools came in, I felt outraged thinking about the students who would have no institutional support if they needed an abortion. But I also noticed that these schools were just as confused as the students applying to them. Many gave me unclear or placeholder statements, likely because this is uncharted legal territory for them. Beyond travel, colleges are facing an onslaught of questions about abortion in a post-Roe world: How will they protect students' privacy given that, as Jessica Valenti has reported, college students are often not covered by medical privacy laws? Will lack of access to abortion impact other reproductive or medical care at college health centers? And will health centers themselves understand how to respond to the new laws? (A Chronicle of Higher Education survey implies they may not.)
Even the use of emergency funds raises questions about records left by financial transactions, which could serve as legal evidence. And it’s unclear whether students on campuses with funds are even aware those resources exist; colleges generally have an alarming track record when it comes to helping their students put emergency funds to use.
The outlook is grim. But as I spoke to representatives from the schools surveyed, I began to feel sympathetic toward each party involved. Administrators are creating plans with incomplete legal information and an unclear sense of what the ramifications could be. College students are coming to campus unsure of where their school stands or what to do if they or someone they know needs an abortion.
But one thing is clear: This fall, in every state, students will show up on campus and they will, for a variety of reasons, seek out abortions.
What is less clear is what colleges will do to protect them.
WHAT THE SCHOOLS SAID
The 61 colleges and universities in this list are located in 21 states which have either enacted abortion bans or are among those considered likely to do so.. (We also included Florida, which constitutionally protects abortion but has enacted a 15-week ban likely to impact students.) These schools are a mix of the most highly attended schools from each state and smaller, highly-ranked liberal arts schools. Like the American college landscape in general, they include public, private, and religiously affiliated institutions.
I asked each school: Will you pay for the travel expenses of students who need to seek abortions out of state? (Note: I categorized as a “yes” any school with a fund or support that would allow this travel, even if the school itself stopped short of explicit support of abortion travel or made clear that its policy is not to inquire about how the funds are used.)
Agnes Scott College
Decatur, Georgia
No comment.
A spokesperson from Agnes Scott College stated that “there is no comment at this time.”
Arizona State University
Tempe, Arizona
No.
If abortion were to become illegal in the state, Arizona State University told us it will not pay for the travel expenses of students who seek access to abortion.
Auburn University
Auburn, Alabama
No response.
Auburn University did not respond to requests for comment.
Baylor University
Waco, Texas
No response.
Baylor University did not respond to requests for comment.
Berea College
Berea, Kentucky
No response.
Berea College did not respond to requests for comment.
Brigham Young University
Provo, Utah
No response.
Brigham Young University did not respond to requests for comment.
Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland, Ohio
Under review.
Case Western Reserve has not stated whether it will cover students’ travel expenses. A university spokesperson stated that the school is “carefully assessing the situation and has convened a task force to assess all aspects of the decision and its implications for our faculty, students and staff.”
Centre College
Danville, Kentucky
Under review.
A spokesperson for Centre College said the college is “studying the legal restrictions and requirements, and they are in flux until the courts in Kentucky make final decisions on what bans are actually in place.”
Clemson University
Clemson, South Carolina
No response.
Clemson University did not respond to requests for comment.
College of Wooster
Wooster, Ohio
Yes, through an emergency fund.
A College of Wooster spokesperson stated that “if a student needs health care services that are not available locally, the College will support them in accessing care as nearby as possible. For some types of reproductive health care, such as abortion, that may mean assisting a student in accessing care in another state, for example. As for all medical care, students are eligible to apply for emergency funds from the Dean of Students’ office to support urgent reproductive healthcare, including abortion.” In a follow-up statement, the spokesperson said, “Students are able to request emergency travel funds from The College of Wooster for any reason. We will not require documentation of the specific need out of respect for the privacy of the individual.”
Cornell College
Mount Vernon, Iowa
No response.
Cornell College did not respond to requests for comment.
Denison University
Granville, Ohio
Under review.
Denison University has not explicitly stated whether it would cover students’ travel expenses. A spokesperson stated, “We are still assessing both our existing resources and potential new resources. We do anticipate expanding our resources to ensure our campus community members have access to the health care they need.”
DePauw University
Greencastle, Indiana
No response.
DePauw University did not respond to requests for comment.
Earlham College
Richmond, Indiana
Under review.
An Earlham College spokesperson said that the school is “evaluating all of our options to support a woman's right to reproductive healthcare” but could not provide an answer yet on whether it will reimburse students for travel expenses.
Emory University
Atlanta, Georgia
Unclear.
Emory University has not explicitly stated whether it will cover students’ travel expenses. A spokesperson pointed to a statement by Student Health Services, which reads, “Students should contact EUSHIP [Emory University Student Health Insurance Plan] directly to learn what support resources are available when a medical procedure is not available locally.”
Florida State University
Tallahassee, Florida
No response.
Florida State University did not respond to requests for comment.
Furman University
Greenville, South Carolina
Unclear.
Furman University has not stated whether it would cover students’ travel expenses. A spokesperson for the school pointed to a statement from President Elizabeth Davis, which says, “For our students, Furman will continue to provide education about and access to contraception and other healthcare services, as well as counseling for students who have pregnancy concerns, including providing information about prenatal care and available options for terminating a pregnancy.”
Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, Georgia
No response.
Georgia Institute of Technology did not respond to requests for comment.
Grinnell College
Grinnell, Iowa
No response.
Grinnell College did not respond to requests for comment.
Hanover College
Hanover, Indiana
No response.
Hanover College did not respond to requests for comment.
Hendrix College
Conway, Arkansas
Unclear.
In July, a Hendrix College spokesperson said the school could not give an answer because the “policy review/revisions relating to the coming semester will take place over the next several weeks, as they do every summer.” They did not reply when asked for a follow-up comment in August.
Indiana University-Bloomington
Bloomington, Indiana
Unclear.
“Until state legislation is passed, it’s too premature for us to determine if or how IU might be impacted,” said a spokesperson for Indiana University-Bloomington in July. The state has since enacted an abortion ban, but the university told us in August that it is “still assessing the impact and assessing any steps we may need to take for our employees.”
Kenyon College
Gambier, Ohio
Yes, through a "Student Success Fund."
A Kenyon College spokesperson sent us a statement that the school’s senior staff had made addressing reproductive health. It reminds students of a "Student Success Fund that offers financial assistance to students for a range of circumstances. Students may apply for these funds if they are experiencing hardship of any kind, whether or not they qualify for other forms of financial aid.”
Louisiana State University
New Orleans, Louisiana
No response.
Louisiana State University did not respond to requests for comment.
Oberlin College
Oberlin, Ohio
Yes, through the use of emergency funds.
In a statement on reproductive health, Oberlin College President Carmen Ambar said: “We will also continue to work with the Oberlin Doula Collective, which provides support and community for those seeking abortions. And while we have never inquired about the exact purpose of a student’s use of emergency funds needed for health procedures, these funds will still be available to those who meet its criteria.”
Ohio State University
Columbus, Ohio
Unclear, implied no.
Ohio State University “remains deeply committed to the health, safety and well-being of our students… and is closely examining the decision from the Supreme Court and changes in state law,” said a university spokesperson. “If necessary, Ohio State and the medical center will make adjustments to services, course offerings or resources to be in compliance with the law…” The spokesperson also mentioned the University's health care plan for its faculty and staff, which cites the Ohio law that public funds can not legally be spent on elective abortions—amounting to an implicit, if not explicit no.
Ohio Wesleyan University
Delaware, Ohio
Under review.
Ohio Wesleyan University has not explicitly stated whether it would cover students’ travel expenses. A spokesperson said that the school is “considering options to assist students, faculty, or staff who need access to women’s reproductive services that may be more inaccessible as a result of the recent court decision. We will be providing more information to our community when it is available.”
Purdue University
West Lafayette, Indiana
No response.
Purdue University did not respond to requests for comment.
Rhodes College
Memphis, Tennessee
Under review.
Rhodes College has not stated whether it would cover students’ travel expenses. A spokesperson said, “President Collins has assembled a task force to help the college address critical issues and questions resulting from the Supreme Court’s June 24 decision. They will begin meeting soon.”
Rice University
Houston, Texas
Under review.
Rice University has not stated whether it would cover students’ travel expenses. A university spokesperson highlighted a statement that former President David Leebron had made, which says that the school is “exploring how we can best continue to appropriately support the reproductive rights of our community, including access to abortion services. We…will share relevant information in as timely a manner as possible.”
Southern Methodist University
Dallas, Texas
No response.
Southern Methodist University did not respond to requests for comment.
Southwestern University
Georgetown, Texas
No.
Southwestern University told us that the school will not pay for the travel expenses of students seeking access to abortion.
Spelman College
Atlanta, Georgia
No comment.
Spelman College declined to comment on whether it would cover students’ travel expenses. A university spokesperson stated that the school is “closely monitoring the Title IX proposed rules and will make necessary updates based on the final regulations. Title IX has always provided protections regarding pregnancy and parenting. We will continue to assist our community members in accordance with the Title IX regulations and the values of Spelman College.”
Texas A&M University
College Station, Texas
No.
Texas A&M will not pay for its students’ travel expenses when seeking access to abortion. According to a spokesperson for the university: “Student Health Services does not supply funding for travel or medical care outside of our health center. It is only for on-campus medical needs; no surgeries are performed there (nor have they ever). So, for example, if a student had cancer, they would have to seek treatment elsewhere.”
Texas Christian University
Fort Worth, Texas
No comment.
Texas Christian University has not stated whether it would cover students’ travel expenses. A spokesperson told us they did not have information to share.
Transylvania University
Lexington, Kentucky
No comment.
A spokesperson for Transylvania University said that, to their knowledge, the school has “not held any discussions on the topic.”
Tulane University
New Orleans, Louisiana
No response.
Tulane University did not respond to requests for comment.
University of Alabama
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
No response.
The University of Alabama did not respond to requests for comment.
University of Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
No response.
The University of Arizona did not respond to requests for comment.
University of Arkansas
Fayetteville, Arkansas
Unclear.
The University of Arkansas has not stated whether it would cover students’ travel expenses. A spokesperson for the university stated, “The Pat Walker Health Center on campus is dedicated to supporting the health and well-being of the campus community and will abide by state and federal law.”
University of Florida
Gainesville, Florida
No.
Asked whether it might cover students’ out-of-state travel, a spokesperson for the University of Florida said that they were “not aware of any such plans.”
University of Georgia
Athens, Georgia
No response.
The University of Georgia did not respond to requests for comment.
University of Idaho
Moscow, Idaho
Yes, though only through the use of donated (not school-provided) emergency funds.
A spokesperson from the University of Idaho said that the school “does not provide money specifically for students to travel for an abortion. The university does have emergency funds available to students. These small allocations of donated dollars (typically a couple hundred dollars) are given out without verification of need or use. While it is possible a student could use it for this, the university does not get involved in the medical decisions of our students….We provide information and resources that allow students to make informed and independent decisions.”
University of Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa
No response.
The University of Iowa did not respond to requests for comment.
University of Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky
Unclear.
A spokesperson stated, “UK’s insurance plans do not cover elective abortions. We are in the process of analyzing the impacts of the Supreme Court’s decision as we move forward in compliance with state law.”
University of Miami
Miami, Florida
No response.
The University of Miami did not respond to requests for comment.
University of Mississippi
Oxford, Mississippi
No.
The University of Mississippi will not pay for the travel expenses of students seeking access to abortion.“The university only covers travel expenses for students when they are traveling on university-related business,” said a spokesperson.
University of Missouri
Columbia, Missouri
No.
The University of Missouri will not pay for the travel expenses of students seeking access to abortion. A spokesperson provided further context, explaining that “prior to the Dobbs decision, Missouri state law that was already in place prohibits university funds, employees and facilities from being used in any way to perform abortions.”
University of North Dakota
Grand Forks, North Dakota
No.
The University of North Dakota will not pay for the travel expenses of students seeking access to abortion. The school “does not have any policies in place to cover the cost for travel,” said a spokesperson.
University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, Indiana
No response.
The University of Notre Dame did not respond to requests for comment.
University of Oklahoma
Norman, Oklahoma
Unclear.
The University of Oklahoma has not stated whether it would cover students’ travel expenses. A spokesperson said the school’s “top focus is supporting the needs, aspirations, and well-being of our students. While the university must and will comply with all applicable laws, we remain unwavering in our commitment to serve our students to the fullest extent possible.”
University of South Carolina
Columbia, South Carolina
No response.
The University of South Carolina did not respond to requests for comment.
University of South Dakota
Vermillion, South Dakota
No response.
The University of South Dakota did not respond to requests for comment.
University of Tennessee
Knoxville, Tennessee
No.
The University of Tennessee told us that it will not pay for the travel expenses of students seeking access to abortion.
University of Texas at Austin
Austin, Texas
Unclear.
The University of Texas at Austin has not stated whether it would pay the travel expenses of students seeking abortion care. A spokesperson noted that University Health Services “does not dispense abortive medications, provide abortion services or obstetrical/prenatal services.”
University of Texas at Dallas
Dallas, Texas
No response.
The University of Texas at Dallas did not respond to requests for comment.
University of Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
No.
The University of Utah told us that it will not pay for its students’ travel expenses when seeking access to abortion.
University of Wyoming
Laramie, Wyoming
No response.
The University of Wyoming did not respond to requests for comment.
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, Tennessee
Yes, through a “Student Critical Support Fund.”
A Vanderbilt University spokesperson pointed to a statement from the school, which explains that students will have the opportunity to apply for financial support from the “Student Critical Support Fund, formerly the Student Hardship Fund, that aids with unexpected expenses, including costs related to any medical procedure not available in Tennessee. Details on how to apply will be shared in the coming weeks.”
Washington University at St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
No comment.
Washington University at St. Louis declined to comment beyond a statement made by the school’s Chancellor Andrew Martin and Dean David Perlmutter, which reads that “we must keep our focus squarely on the mission of the university — research, education, and patient care.”
Wofford College
Spartanburg, South Carolina
No response.
Wofford College did not respond to requests for comment.
Don’t see your school on this list, but wondering what its policy might be? Call the Dean of Students—or the department in charge of student life—or the President and ask. Here’s the wording I used: Will [insert college] cover travel expenses for students who travel out of state to seek an abortion?
If you do reach out to your administrators, send us an email at [email protected] and let us know what they say. As abortion laws change, we’ll be updating this list—with more states—this fall.
