Essays from The Persistent | Covering women for a change

Reproductive Rights

‘Women Should Have Children Instead of Poodles’—When Birth Control Came to Washington

The idea of birth control entered the national conversation in 1919, when an artist, activist, and single mother named Mary Ware Dennett brought the (quite shocking!) idea to Congress.

Watercolor showing Gisele Pelicot, with short auburn hair, wearing a patterned scarf, blue striped shirt and black blazer.

Sexual violence

As the Trial of ‘Mr. Every Man’ Draws to a Close, France Debates ‘Intent’ vs. ‘Consent’

The Pelicot trial pits the notion of intent against the concept of consent. The outcome could alter how these kinds of cases are handled in the future.

A black and white photo of Taylor Swift on stage in the final days of the Eras Tour in Vancouver.

Culture

What Taylor Swift Taught Me About Aging

No age is the right age to be a woman. Unless, of course, you're Taylor Swift.

Illustration: rear view of a woman, in an olive-colored dress, staring into a mirror surrounded by feminist posters.

Beauty

A Rash On My Face Made Me Reassess My Relationship With Makeup. Here’s What I Learned.

Can you wear makeup and still call yourself a feminist?

A silhouetted woman at the centre of the image, surrounded by concentric collaged cutouts in cobalt, teal, lime and pink.

Worklife

Permission to Fail

Failing is as much a part of freelancing as bragging about working from home in pajamas. But we don't all fail equally.

An illustration of a woman wearing a boob robe and surrounded by boob homewares.

Design

What Is It About Boobs?

Some people like flowers on their homewares. Some like cute animals. I like boobs.

An illustration of a woman performing standup comedy. She is flanked by two giant men, making the woman look smaller.

Culture

Not Ladylike to Laugh? Oh, Please.

For men to be funny, women don’t have to be unfunny. Both may chuckle.

Illustration of female artists creating a mural of Kamala Harris, who wears a bright blue jacket

Persisting Through Politics

What Went Wrong for Kamala Harris?

In the end, it wasn't even a close-won race. Did the Harris campaign get it wrong—or did the Trump side spot something the Democrats didn't?

An illustration shows a woman running a race. She looks back at other versions of herself as she runs.

Essays

The Pain and Joy of Not Running the Marathon

Sure, I can run a marathon. But I can also not. And maybe, just maybe, in a few years I’ll be able to.

People sit on bleachers. Above them, giant letters spell out the words VOTE EARLY.

U.S. Election 2024

What’s Really Fueling U.S. Voters?

In the end, the election may boil down to different ideas about female and male roles; to gender equality and gender traditionalism.

A photo collage depicts Rwandan school girls overlaid by arrows and an airplane.

Education

All’s Well In School. But Come University, Rwandans Wonder: Where Are the Women?

Rwanda’s young women aren’t making it to university. Cultural and societal factors are to blame.

Watercolor of Lilly Ledbetter, with a blonde bob, white shirt and black jacket.

Fair Pay

Remembering Lilly Ledbetter: A Life of Grit and Persistence

Lilly Ledbetter, for whom America’s Fair Pay Act of 2009 was named, has died. She was 86.

A photo of a woman, seen from behind, wearing a denim jacket with Trump 2024 on it.

Politics

What They See In Him: The Women Who Know They’re Voting for Trump

Some women are still backing Trump, even though they don't love his behavior—and they're even more enthusiastic about JD Vance.

An illustration of a woman, shown twice, in the first version she says, I'm Great! In the second version, I'm Great?

Worklife

The Compelling Case for Careful Self-Promotion

Women are told to lean in and dare to lead, to be a girlboss and to speak up. But nothing is easy about this. And none of it is risk-free.

Deborah Copaken stands outside a store in Cairo in jeans and a utility jacket, with a camera around her neck.

Culture

Lee and Me

I wanted to be the objectifier of men and their wars, quirks, and shortcomings, not the objectified. Why was this so hard?

Culture

The Janice Problem

A rewatch of Friends reveals it isn't the post-feminist masterpiece we thought it was.