Essays from The Persistent | Covering women for a change

A painting of a stylish woman walking in a city street with the moon rising. She is looking around her.

Design

Yes, Cities Can Be Sexist. Here’s How to Fix Them.

The idea that urban design can be discriminatory has become more established in recent years. Some city planners are making changes accordingly.

Collage illustration: a black-and-white photo of a woman is reflected in a mirror, with blue, orange and green adornments.

Technology

AI Skews Beautiful. What Is That Doing to Us?

Images of people generated by AI tend to be gorgeous, even when creators ask them to be ugly. That could have a profound effect on our emotional wellbeing.

We see the back of Dağdeviren at a piano on a pile of rubble, the shell of a building in front of her.

Turkey

‘A Scar That Stays With Us’—Two Years After a Devastating Earthquake, a Refusal to Be Forgotten

Two years after a 2023 earthquake devastated swaths of Syria and Turkey, lives are still being rebuilt. Women bear the brunt of it.

An illustration of a woman in a power pose looking into a safe full of gold coins!

Money

Trillions of Dollars Are About to Flow Into the Hands of (Mostly) Women. It’s As Big a Deal As It Sounds.

Women are set to be the primary inheritors of around $80 trillion—an enormous wealth transfer which has the potential to change our economic and social landscape.

A stylized illustration of three test tubes. There is also a tampon drawn to look like a test tube.

Science

Menstrual Blood Is Having a Moment

When it comes to medical diagnoses and health markers, period blood is something of a superpower. We should leverage it.

An illustration of a conference badge with a photo of a stressed speaker. Underneath it says "volunteer.".

Unpaid labor

I Thought My Year of Yes Would Lead to More Paid Work. How Wrong I Was.

Organizations only truly value what they pay for. The rest they dispose of easily and forget. Don’t let that be you.

An artist's rendering of Angela Merkel. She is shown against a blue patterned background and wears a blue blazer.

History Lessons

My Reluctant Feminist Hero

In a world in which wealth and opulence seem to beget political power, I long for a leader with un-showy discipline. I can’t help thinking of Angela Merkel.

A grainy black and white photo of a veiled Afghan woman is covered with brightly-colored Post-It notes.

Mental Health

When Dreams Are Put On Hold

In Afghanistan, women's blocked opportunities to have a career, contribute to society and earn a living are creating a mental health crisis.

History Lessons

Henrietta Lacks: A Moral Wrong That May Never Be Righted

Her name may not be a household name, but ‘HeLa cells’ from Henrietta Lacks's cervix changed the world.

Books

I Never Saw Myself in Romance Novels. Then, One Day, I Did.

Enthusiastic readers of romance novels would very much like to see themselves reflected on the page. When will the industry fully catch on?

Culture

‘The Fantasy Can Be Dirty, But the Values Must Be Clean’

Can porn be beautiful and ethical? Erika Lust says yes—unequivocally.

A cartoon-style drawing of individuals trying to simplify their lives with the aid of chatbots, tech and AI.

AI

Alexa, How Do I Stop This Meltdown?

AI can make our lives more efficient and streamlined, sure, but it can also make parenting easier.

A collage showing a cut up picture of a woman speaking into a megaphone overlaid with pink wool.

Persisting Through Politics

How Will Women Protest In a Second Trump Term?

Pussy hats and memes might provide some emotional relief, but the real work will take place behind the scenes.

History Lessons

Why Can’t We Just Pass the ERA? It’s Complicated.

The Equal Rights Amendment is a simple 24-word piece of legislation. But it’s also a historic movement, more than a century in the making, that began with women’s suffrage and continues to this day.

Black and white photo of a New York subway platform, where a train waits with closed doors.

Violence against women and girls

Bright Light. Big Smile. Her Name Was Debrina Kawam.

The story of the woman set alight on the New York subway is a reminder that everyone, even when they’re anonymous, is a somebody.

Women in Syria

Women Are Syria’s Best Hope for Lasting Peace. Will They Be Heard?

For years, Syrian women have fought to be heard in international negotiations. They aren’t about to give up ground now.