Thank you. For your newsletter, for giving everyone an answer to the question “What can I do? I can’t do anything about it” except wring one’s hands and be in despair about the state of the union. Thank you for not giving up. Thank you for being a champion for human rights. Thank you.
It would be really more accurate if we stopped referring to opposite genders. This is because we are not opposites. Of course our potential roles in reproduction developed to "fit" together, but we are all members of the same species. We are not opposite. There is a lot of overlap between women and men, because, again, we are all the same species. Thus we may be different, and of different sexes. Continuing to use 'opposite' helps to maintain the gender silos, with the expectation that we shouldn't appear to be "like' the other sex in any way. This expectation can be used to shame people who don't fit the gender role expectations.
You're so right, and as the mom to a non-binary kid I know that better than most. I suspected my language wasn't entirely apt but, as usual when I make mistakes, was rushing to get the newsletter out. How could I have phrased that better? I'm sure Mj (my kid) could tell me but they're still at school!
First, gender and sex aren't interchangeable. Sex is a biological characteristic that determines our potential role in reproduction, while gender is as you have written, assigned, and is a social construct. Gender expectations do tend to conform to stereotypes of the sexes. Over the years, gender role has changed just as any other social construct has. When we want to distinguish between genders, or sexes the words we might use are 'different', or 'one of the other' (since there are actually more than two sexes). And I agree that limiting acting roles to those who belong to one sex or the other is truly weird, as we don't expect actors to only play characters who are exactly like them. It can actually be very useful for our whole society, not to mention the actors to "try on" the characteristics of those who are very different from themselves, and assuming the role of someone from a different gender would be interesting indeed. I believe that we are all "non-binary" to some extent, since we are all a mixture of the male and female. It's a shame that most societies tend to want to dichotomize us, rather than embrace all of the interesting variations of humanity. Gender roles can be limiting, even soul crushing for some of us.
You are marvelous, wonderful and terrific and I agree with your accolades about grassroots groups as I am a co-founder of one, Marjers For Democracy, and am working to build a coalition of grassroots groups so we can lift each other up-- the sun is greater than its parts. But we can't get rid of Mindless Mike ( my k icons me for him, Steven Cobert has got to play him on SNL) without winning the Hiuse. NY will be a huge factor in that victory. We had an abysmal
performance in 2023, reflecting a worsening trend. I hope you will find a way to address this issue as it is critical to the country and the world.
Are you seriously pretending that actors can only play characters that match their actual gender, however defined? That makes no sense at all. Greek theatre began with men playing all roles, including female characters. The same was true in Shakespeare's time. The Divine Sarah Bernhardt (female) was world renowned for her Hamlet (male). and so on. Are you next going to require that romantic roles be played only by actors who are married to each other in real life? That farmers be played only be real farmers (actually, that might be a good idea) or lawyers only by real lawyers? Why do you think it's called acting?
This looks very much like you are inventing absurd policies for the sake of attacking one trans actor. Shame on you, going out of your way to harm a child! and modeling bullying and hatred for your whole school!
I have a feeling that there will be a Blue West Virginia stirring to life, very soon. With No More Joe soon to be a reality, it'll be fascinating to watch, and support, whoever stands up to take on Jim Justice or Alex Mooney.
I've said it before and I'm saying it again.....I REALLY appreciate you putting the time and effort into the communications to call/write/telegraph our officials. It makes it so quick and easy to participate! Thank you!!
Thank-you Jess- YOU are the one that is amazing at helping us to continue to be energized during these rather dark days( some are a bit bright this week).My home state of Ohio has been exposed like the disingenuous Wizard of Oz for all to see and I am so proud of our voters here., Bravo Buckeyes!
Congratulations and envious (but still organizing) in Iowa. You said it yourself: "We cannot say this enough" (borrowing heavily from MVP and your substack).
Election results were victories for abortion rights, not necessarily reflective of a D ticket; it " was not necessarily a meaningful bellwether for 2024": As MVP, Chop Wood, Carry Water, and others wrote about: Off year elections are smaller, more educated motivated largely by abortion rights,than in Prez election years. Next November will largely be determined by lower-propensity voters in both parties. (See RuralOrganizing.org. and MVP.) What will work to encourage others to become willing and able and motivated to vote for Biden and other Democratic candidates even when they more disillusioned and upset than I have seen in decades of politics and organizing.
I have yet to read any analysis how TV ads resulted in Tuesday victories. What makes more sense is local organizing . MVP and others write: "Trusted messengers will be the difference-makers to engage tens of millions of voters to tip the scales in this excruciating and existentially- important election." I only disagree to add that messengers have to be identified and cultivated, esp. in this overheated world of ideas.
Not just messengers, but the message needs to be refined and magnified and amplified (think MAGA). Not just messengers and message, but the medium is just as important when millions of well -meaning Americans are turning off all news, not reading any news, and/or distrustful of all media.
Guess who wins when more of the world stops reading the news and becomes cynical of all politicians and governments? Who wins with this view of the media and the world?
Per Dan Rather. The polls do count. The ones you vote at versus the ones that are telling us Biden will lose.
I try to do at least one of your suggested actions daily. It’s easy enough and many don't take long. Tell your Senator or Rep what you are thinking, what you want. I have never contacted my legislators so much, federal and state.
An organization called SGCC, based in Brooklyn by children’s books writers, is a giving stream of money for States Project. They realized years ago that the state legislatures are where to begin. It’s apparent to me that as our federal freedoms get taken away, we need to bolster the state governments to carry out the popular wishes of their constituents. So get to work all!
If we sign up but cannot attend, will there be a recording? for ..." Trae Crowder and rural firebrand Jessica Piper TODAY at 4PM PT / 7PM ET for a special fundraiser to launch Blue Tennessee! 🙌🏼". I grew up in TN and it's hard to feel optimistic. Even though I now live on the left coast, I strongly support the Black women-led "The Equity Alliance". They give me hope. They are fearless. So is Trae Croder . So are you, Jessica!
Jessica, What can we do about the media not sharing with the people the accomplishments of the Biden administration but on the contrary painting a negative picture. This has to stop and we must find a way to convince people how much better off they are now instead of the other person being in the White House. Furthermore, that these accomplishments will continue when Biden is re-elected.
I think, as Robert Hubbell has said repeatedly, it has to be us. We just have to get louder. I wish there was a better way, but for now, at least, the MSM has decided to go all in on ignoring Biden's accomplishments and focussing on his age.
Definitely still basking in the joy of Tuesday—and not only because we won in VA (again), but because we also won in CT, IN, KY, NJ, OH and PA!
Up and down the ballot, Americans came together to vote their values and defend their freedoms; they chose between "vision and division" (https://www.tiktok.com/@kachowgirl_/video/7264199116312366379) — electing democratic judges, governors, state legislators, mayors, and even school board members!
I will take these and all the other ACTUAL democratic election wins in 2018, 2020, 2022 and 2023 and say that in fact that you were more right when you wrote yesterday to "forget the polls." We all need to cure ourselves of "mad poll" disease (https://www.weekendreading.net/p/a-cure-for-mad-poll-disease).
Let's escape the media's perpetual doom loop of horse race politics (I've already seen so many headlines since that start with why despite these wins, it's bad for Biden, the guy who won the most votes of any candidate ever, in the middle of a pandemic, and whose record of success is the best of any President in 60 years https://www.upworthy.com/joe-biden-s-23-greatest-achievements-as-president-of-the-united-states-so-far) where their obsession with binary, conflict-driven narratives, which force false equivalences, hides the reality of a slow, but steadily growing blue wave that's been building since I began volunteering with Sister District Project in 2017.
Let's keep hope burning bright as we keep winning, by reminding everyone we know: the country is better off under Biden, and he's been an EXCEPTIONAL President, particularly in the face of MAGA extremism.
Thank you again for your daily specific guidance. I am still feeling a lift from Tuesdays election results, realizing the cumulative power of seemingly small individual actions.
I forwarded today’s extra credit part to a listserv of 450 people who are and/or work with trans, non-binary and gender non-conforming folks. Hoping Max and his castmates feel the support from far and wide, that the school gets deluged with emails and that the show goes on as it was meant to.
Thank you. For your newsletter, for giving everyone an answer to the question “What can I do? I can’t do anything about it” except wring one’s hands and be in despair about the state of the union. Thank you for not giving up. Thank you for being a champion for human rights. Thank you.
That's really kind of you to say. And thank you for being here with us!
It would be really more accurate if we stopped referring to opposite genders. This is because we are not opposites. Of course our potential roles in reproduction developed to "fit" together, but we are all members of the same species. We are not opposite. There is a lot of overlap between women and men, because, again, we are all the same species. Thus we may be different, and of different sexes. Continuing to use 'opposite' helps to maintain the gender silos, with the expectation that we shouldn't appear to be "like' the other sex in any way. This expectation can be used to shame people who don't fit the gender role expectations.
You're so right, and as the mom to a non-binary kid I know that better than most. I suspected my language wasn't entirely apt but, as usual when I make mistakes, was rushing to get the newsletter out. How could I have phrased that better? I'm sure Mj (my kid) could tell me but they're still at school!
First, gender and sex aren't interchangeable. Sex is a biological characteristic that determines our potential role in reproduction, while gender is as you have written, assigned, and is a social construct. Gender expectations do tend to conform to stereotypes of the sexes. Over the years, gender role has changed just as any other social construct has. When we want to distinguish between genders, or sexes the words we might use are 'different', or 'one of the other' (since there are actually more than two sexes). And I agree that limiting acting roles to those who belong to one sex or the other is truly weird, as we don't expect actors to only play characters who are exactly like them. It can actually be very useful for our whole society, not to mention the actors to "try on" the characteristics of those who are very different from themselves, and assuming the role of someone from a different gender would be interesting indeed. I believe that we are all "non-binary" to some extent, since we are all a mixture of the male and female. It's a shame that most societies tend to want to dichotomize us, rather than embrace all of the interesting variations of humanity. Gender roles can be limiting, even soul crushing for some of us.
They definitely are for Mj. I've learned so much from having them as a kid. Thanks for articulating this so well!
You are marvelous, wonderful and terrific and I agree with your accolades about grassroots groups as I am a co-founder of one, Marjers For Democracy, and am working to build a coalition of grassroots groups so we can lift each other up-- the sun is greater than its parts. But we can't get rid of Mindless Mike ( my k icons me for him, Steven Cobert has got to play him on SNL) without winning the Hiuse. NY will be a huge factor in that victory. We had an abysmal
performance in 2023, reflecting a worsening trend. I hope you will find a way to address this issue as it is critical to the country and the world.
Yeah, I'm hearing a lot about it today. I will certainly lean in to finding ways to address it. Thanks!
This is what I wrote to that school:
Are you seriously pretending that actors can only play characters that match their actual gender, however defined? That makes no sense at all. Greek theatre began with men playing all roles, including female characters. The same was true in Shakespeare's time. The Divine Sarah Bernhardt (female) was world renowned for her Hamlet (male). and so on. Are you next going to require that romantic roles be played only by actors who are married to each other in real life? That farmers be played only be real farmers (actually, that might be a good idea) or lawyers only by real lawyers? Why do you think it's called acting?
This looks very much like you are inventing absurd policies for the sake of attacking one trans actor. Shame on you, going out of your way to harm a child! and modeling bullying and hatred for your whole school!
There is still time for you to change course.
So good. I made a TikTok about it that's been viewed almost 20K times--I think they're getting LOTS of emails! Whooo!
I have a feeling that there will be a Blue West Virginia stirring to life, very soon. With No More Joe soon to be a reality, it'll be fascinating to watch, and support, whoever stands up to take on Jim Justice or Alex Mooney.
I've said it before and I'm saying it again.....I REALLY appreciate you putting the time and effort into the communications to call/write/telegraph our officials. It makes it so quick and easy to participate! Thank you!!
Honored to help!
Thank-you Jess- YOU are the one that is amazing at helping us to continue to be energized during these rather dark days( some are a bit bright this week).My home state of Ohio has been exposed like the disingenuous Wizard of Oz for all to see and I am so proud of our voters here., Bravo Buckeyes!
Bravo indeed! Sounds like the fight isn't over there--those Republicans won't stop until they're all voted out.
Congratulations and envious (but still organizing) in Iowa. You said it yourself: "We cannot say this enough" (borrowing heavily from MVP and your substack).
Election results were victories for abortion rights, not necessarily reflective of a D ticket; it " was not necessarily a meaningful bellwether for 2024": As MVP, Chop Wood, Carry Water, and others wrote about: Off year elections are smaller, more educated motivated largely by abortion rights,than in Prez election years. Next November will largely be determined by lower-propensity voters in both parties. (See RuralOrganizing.org. and MVP.) What will work to encourage others to become willing and able and motivated to vote for Biden and other Democratic candidates even when they more disillusioned and upset than I have seen in decades of politics and organizing.
I have yet to read any analysis how TV ads resulted in Tuesday victories. What makes more sense is local organizing . MVP and others write: "Trusted messengers will be the difference-makers to engage tens of millions of voters to tip the scales in this excruciating and existentially- important election." I only disagree to add that messengers have to be identified and cultivated, esp. in this overheated world of ideas.
Not just messengers, but the message needs to be refined and magnified and amplified (think MAGA). Not just messengers and message, but the medium is just as important when millions of well -meaning Americans are turning off all news, not reading any news, and/or distrustful of all media.
Guess who wins when more of the world stops reading the news and becomes cynical of all politicians and governments? Who wins with this view of the media and the world?
Thanks again to MVP and others.
MVP is a great place to send resources. They know how to do this.
Per Dan Rather. The polls do count. The ones you vote at versus the ones that are telling us Biden will lose.
I try to do at least one of your suggested actions daily. It’s easy enough and many don't take long. Tell your Senator or Rep what you are thinking, what you want. I have never contacted my legislators so much, federal and state.
An organization called SGCC, based in Brooklyn by children’s books writers, is a giving stream of money for States Project. They realized years ago that the state legislatures are where to begin. It’s apparent to me that as our federal freedoms get taken away, we need to bolster the state governments to carry out the popular wishes of their constituents. So get to work all!
I know of them--they're great! And yes, States Project is absolutely critical to our chances of success!
If we sign up but cannot attend, will there be a recording? for ..." Trae Crowder and rural firebrand Jessica Piper TODAY at 4PM PT / 7PM ET for a special fundraiser to launch Blue Tennessee! 🙌🏼". I grew up in TN and it's hard to feel optimistic. Even though I now live on the left coast, I strongly support the Black women-led "The Equity Alliance". They give me hope. They are fearless. So is Trae Croder . So are you, Jessica!
I think so, yes!
I registered and made a donation. Here’s hoping.
Glad to hear you’re getting some sleep. Too much nonstop people activity can definitely drain the batteries 😊
Indeed!
Jessica, What can we do about the media not sharing with the people the accomplishments of the Biden administration but on the contrary painting a negative picture. This has to stop and we must find a way to convince people how much better off they are now instead of the other person being in the White House. Furthermore, that these accomplishments will continue when Biden is re-elected.
I think, as Robert Hubbell has said repeatedly, it has to be us. We just have to get louder. I wish there was a better way, but for now, at least, the MSM has decided to go all in on ignoring Biden's accomplishments and focussing on his age.
Definitely still basking in the joy of Tuesday—and not only because we won in VA (again), but because we also won in CT, IN, KY, NJ, OH and PA!
Up and down the ballot, Americans came together to vote their values and defend their freedoms; they chose between "vision and division" (https://www.tiktok.com/@kachowgirl_/video/7264199116312366379) — electing democratic judges, governors, state legislators, mayors, and even school board members!
And it wasn't ONLY last night.
For all of 2023, democratic candidates in special elections in Congress and in ballot measures have won, again and again and again—at margins higher than both Biden's win in 2020, or the predicted partisan lean of those places (https://abcnews.go.com/538/democrats-winning-big-special-elections/story?id=103315703).
I will take these and all the other ACTUAL democratic election wins in 2018, 2020, 2022 and 2023 and say that in fact that you were more right when you wrote yesterday to "forget the polls." We all need to cure ourselves of "mad poll" disease (https://www.weekendreading.net/p/a-cure-for-mad-poll-disease).
Let's escape the media's perpetual doom loop of horse race politics (I've already seen so many headlines since that start with why despite these wins, it's bad for Biden, the guy who won the most votes of any candidate ever, in the middle of a pandemic, and whose record of success is the best of any President in 60 years https://www.upworthy.com/joe-biden-s-23-greatest-achievements-as-president-of-the-united-states-so-far) where their obsession with binary, conflict-driven narratives, which force false equivalences, hides the reality of a slow, but steadily growing blue wave that's been building since I began volunteering with Sister District Project in 2017.
Let's keep hope burning bright as we keep winning, by reminding everyone we know: the country is better off under Biden, and he's been an EXCEPTIONAL President, particularly in the face of MAGA extremism.
Thank you again for your daily specific guidance. I am still feeling a lift from Tuesdays election results, realizing the cumulative power of seemingly small individual actions.
I forwarded today’s extra credit part to a listserv of 450 people who are and/or work with trans, non-binary and gender non-conforming folks. Hoping Max and his castmates feel the support from far and wide, that the school gets deluged with emails and that the show goes on as it was meant to.
Awwww that makes me so happy! I pray they get lots of letters! Thank you!
Thank you for sharing Antonia Scatton’s Substack “Reframing America”. It was excellent and I subscribed.
It is ASTONISHINGLY good. I can't believe I on;y found it recently. She's amazing.