1. Malala Visits Student Refugees at Denver School.

Image by Russell Watkins/Department for International Development. 

Malala Yousafzai, AKA the world’s most inspirational activist in human history (yes, we will fight you on this), visited a high school in Colorado this week to speak with and uplift refugee students. South High School, Malala’s destination, is what is called a “newcomer center” that tailors education specifically to fit the needs of refugee students (who, at South High, represent about 60 countries, BTW) who have undergone trauma and/or an interrupted, non-linear education experience. Instead of allowing these students to fall behind, this school emphasizes the need for an empathetic system that allows for success among a wealth of different personal experiences. A survivor of state-inflicted violence and oppression herself, 19-year-old Nobel Laureate and education activist Malala was able to connect with these students in a unique way.  Malala’s surprise (!!!) visit to the school obviously prompted lots and lots of fangirling, tears, and unending feels. Waterworks! Happening! Now!

2. Reykjavik Women Walk Out For Equal Pay.

Image via Instagram

Remember when roughly six million women swarmed the streets of Poland to protest an unjust law proposed to outlaw abortion, nationwide? This week gave us another badass display of feminist European unity (European Union-ity??) against systematic oppression when thousands of Icelandic women walked out of work at 2:38 PM, making their work day roughly 14% shorter than normal, to symbolize how, in Iceland, women are paid 14-18% less than men doing equal work. The massive walk-out sent a message to employers and public figures that women are not willing to continue doing the same work as men with less robust compensation. Powerful and public exhibitions of protest have been a cornerstone of feminist news in 2016, and we are HERE for it.

3. Young Meninist Confuses Bladder with Uterus, Advises Women Not to Burden Taxpayer Because of Period Incontinence.

Guess what, y’all!? The tampon tax issue is #solved, thanks to the incredible detective work of Dr. Meninist in England’s Essex County who has discovered that women--who can obviously hold our period blood the way we hold urine until we’re seated safely on a toilet--don’t actually need tampons at all! Sorry, menstruators, it looks as though we’ve been faking it this entire time. Say goodbye to your life of luxury and just hold it in until you reach your golden toilet seats where your Bladders Full of Blood (the new Binders Full of Women?) can unleash all your icky bits without bothering a single male that you come into contact with throughout the day. This just in: doctors are now saying that UTIs are just God’s little preview of eternal hellfire as punishment for premarital sex. Find more of our totally non-sarcastic thoughts on this here.

4. Native Woman Shot by Police on Tribal Land.

Thanks to the incredible and brave work of movements like Black Lives Matter, discussion of the chronic police brutality carried out against black communities around the country (and the world) has pretty much saturated the conversation about race. And while it’s more than necessary for us all to be talking about black oppression, we can’t allow ourselves to ignore the other consequences of racism and violence that affect more than just black communities. Renee Davis, a pregnant Native woman in Washington who was struggling with depression, was shot this week by police who entered her home on Muckleshoot tribal land. Police are saying they were at Davis’s house conducting a “wellness check” after they received a call from Davis’s friend who was concerned that she might commit suicide. They are also saying Davis was armed when they broke down her door after two unanswered knocks. This story speaks to a system that is broken in many different ways, including unjustified police violence, and a severe lack of mental health care options which has positioned police as first responders to crises of mental health--which is clearly not a safe option for non-white communities who are most at-risk for police violence. #NativeLivesMatter

5. UN Votes to Terminate Cuban Embargo, US Abstains.

As President Obama’s eight-year stint as Coolest POTUS winds down, the world has been keeping one super squinty eye on U.S.-Cuba relations, in anticipation of some kind of groundbreaking shift in diplomacy, such as the termination of the Cold-War-era embargo placed on Cuba in 1960. The decades-long embargo was first placed on Cuba as an anti-communist, “containment” policy measure carried out by U.S. politicians anxious to stop the spread of communism and to maintain an economic and ideological stronghold in the western hemisphere. Since its implementation, the embargo has cost Cuba an estimated sum of many billions of dollars, and has prevented the import of basic medicines and goods for the Cuban people, leading to the spread of largely preventable poverty and disease in the socialist country (a response to any “why is the Cuban embargo a feminist issue?” questions. Zing). Regarding the repeal of the embargo, there has been a considerable stubbornness from conservative politicians in the States who do not believe the U.S. should open itself to Cuba in any capacity, which has resulted in a congressional stalemate on the issue. Interestingly enough, however, this week the UN (symbolically, because the final say on embargo-lifting must come from the U.S. Congress) voted unanimously against upholding the embargo. This is notable because, for the first time in 5ever, the U.S. chose to abstain from the vote, instead of casting its usual “Embar-GO Ahead!” vote in favor of upholding the embargo. For more info about the Cuban sitch, check out this, this, or this.

Miss-Me-Nots

1. Updates about the Harvard service workers strike found here!

2. Racial diversi-SHE? #JustGirlyThings.

3. There's a call to release these Black Panthers from jail. Wait, they were in jail?? Why didn't we get that push notification??

4. Vag-ornaments are a thing. #KeepTheClitInChristmas

5. Women are saying no to 'dressing your age' standards. We'll drink to that.

by Team Thinx