Kim Snyder’s The Librarians follows women in a long-undervalued and underpaid profession—who are now coming under attack. The film premiered to acclaim at Sundance and later SXSW, and will be released in select theaters this fall.
SXSW
Midwifery Is as Old as Birth Itself. Why Are We Still Fighting for It?
As long as women have been giving birth, people have assisted mothers and newborns up to and through childbirth—making midwifery one of the world’s oldest occupations. The International Day of the Midwife, observed each year on May 5, aims to honor the profession and promote awareness of its vital role in healthcare.
A new documentary, Arrest the Midwife, follows a criminalized midwife, the Mennonite women who rallied behind her, and the political battle to legalize life-saving care. Director Elaine Epstein hopes viewers take away something powerful: that meaningful change is often slow, imperfect and comes from unexpected places. “We’re in a time where things are pretty bad and it’s easy to want to bury our heads,” she said. “But we have so much to learn from the Mennonites.”
Female Filmmakers at SXSW Face a Familiar Challenge: Funding
With South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival in Austin’s rearview mirror, some of its most talented female filmmakers still have a long road ahead to bring their movies to public screens. Even the women who clinched premieres at one of America’s most prestigious festivals have to hustle to support their craft.
“The streaming channels that dominate global viewership are no longer buying many smaller or risk-taking projects,” wrote Keri Putnam of the Harvard Kennedy School’s Shorenstein Center.
“The number one challenge is fundraising,” said Anayansi Prado, director of Uvalde Mom, which premiered at SXSW and tells story of Angeli Rose Gomez made worldwide headlines during by jumping a fence during a school shooting and racing in unarmed to save her two young sons.
Keeping Score: Trump Threatens Students and Universities; Texas Midwife Arrested for Abortion Care; Americans Criticize Federal Worker Firings, ‘It’s Time to Fire Elon Musk’
In every issue of Ms., we track research on our progress in the fight for equality, catalogue can’t-miss quotes from feminist voices and keep tabs on the feminist movement’s many milestones. We’re Keeping Score online, too—in this biweekly roundup.
This week: Trump pulled university funding and arrested student leaders over pro-Palestine protests; a Texas midwife faces felony charges for providing abortion care; Congress members avoid town halls after Department of Education and other federal agencies were decimated; abortion bans threaten the lives of Black mothers; and more.
Women’s History Month Is a Time for Optimism
Dispatches from Week 2 of Women’s History Month:
It’s Week 2 of Women’s History Month, and just knowing the federal government might well ban those three words in sequence—along with “gender,” “female,” “feminism” and about 250 others—you can bet I’m feeling extra rebellious as I write this column.
I am back from celebrating International Women’s Day (March 8) at South by Southwest. Among the festival keynotes, Chelsea Clinton urged that optimism is fundamentally a moral and political choice. Remaining optimistic, she remarked, is like “saying we do not have to accept the status quo. … We do accept that we may not be able to do everything all at once, but we can always do something.”
Women’s History Month is a solemn reminder that our reaction—and our commitment to action—also requires that we hold tight to the optimism our foremothers possessed.
‘Uvalde Mom’ Shows the Courage of Angeli Rose Gomez—and the Failure of Texas Leaders
Premiering at SXSW, Uvalde Mom follows Angeli Rose Gomez, the mother who defied police inaction to save her children during the 2022 Uvalde school shooting. The documentary not only captures her heroic actions but also reveals the relentless harassment she faced from local authorities in the aftermath. Through Gomez’s story, the film exposes systemic failures, community trauma and the power of mothers who refuse to stay silent.
Documentary ‘Preconceived’ Exposes Horrors of Crisis Pregnancy Center Industry: ‘I Came to You for Help. Why Did You Lie?’
Since the fall of Roe, anti-choice politicians have rushed to champion “crisis pregnancy centers” (CPCs) as a legitimate alternative to qualified reproductive healthcare. As they funnel millions of taxpayer dollars into these unregulated clinics, abortion ban states suffer high rates of maternal and infant mortality and widespread maternal care deserts.
A new documentary, Preconceived (now available to stream), shines a clear light on this evasive industry, deftly navigating a complex landscape of deception, privacy, finances and faith.
The GOP Wages a War on Drag
On Sept. 1, 2023, a ban on drag performances will take effect in Texas. Anti-drag laws—including legislation with sanitized language that takes aim instead at “adult performances” or “cabaret” shows, an anti-drag dog whistle—are already on the books in three states: Arkansas, Florida and Montana.
The GOP-led movement to limit who can see drag performances and where, is part of a larger nationwide push to stigmatize any content with LGBTQ themes, presenting it as a danger to kids. Rather than protect children, the frenzy around drag shows and at-large attacks on the LGBTQ community have detrimental effects on trans, gay and queer youth.
Weekend Reading on Women’s Representation: Brittney Griner’s Detention Matters for All Women; Is Serena Williams Retiring on Her Own Terms?
Weekend Reading on Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation in politics, on boards, in sports and entertainment, in judicial offices and in the private sector in the U.S. and around the world—with a little gardening and goodwill mixed in for refreshment!
This week: Is Serena Williams retiring on her own terms?; progress for women in Kenyan politics; India falls behind for parity; Brittney Griner’s detention is a travesty; women of color are well-positioned to take power after the Minnesota primaries; New York Times endorses three white men; and more.
Culture and Community: Inside the Jane Club’s Essence Festival Inspired Pop-Up
“Wherever you go, women are the same in our needs. We need the same support, love and village. Our NOLA pop-up was further proof that we need more Jane Clubs.