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In California, Nurse Midwives Deliver — But Still Answer To Doctors

By Sarah Torna Roberts After an almost too easy road toward adoption, California Assembly Bill 1306 died on the Assembly floor in the last hours of the last day of the most recent legislative session. Had it passed, the state of California would have allowed certified nurse midwives (CNMs) to fully utilize their education and training Read more

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‘One Creates Oneself’: The Feminist Who Loved Makeup

By Chelsea Cristene 1997: The girls at school collect Bonnie Bell Lip Smackers. We line them up on one of our desks, form a circle, compare. The most basic come in standard fruit flavors like lime and watermelon. Some, like my frosty blue snowflake gloss from a holiday collection, are laden with sparkles. The rarest offer Read more

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When I Lost My Baby, I Turned To Songwriting

Frida Kahlo’s “Henry Ford Hospital” (Credit: flickr/libby rosof) By Miriam Jameson Almost two years ago, I was at my doctor’s office, receiving some of the worst news of my life. I don’t remember what the room looked like, what the doctor was wearing, or where I was seated. I remember that I wanted to scream after the Read more

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Solange Beats The Deadly Clock Constraining Black Women Creatives

“A large number of black women writers, both past and present, have gone to early graves. To know their life stories is to be made aware of how death hovers . . . [their deaths] stand as constant reminders that life is not promised — that it is crucial for a writer to respect time.” Read more

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The Power Of Being A Submissive Black Woman In Bed

I was 18 when I first started asking men to hurt me. It began innocently: a request for a hand around my throat, usually in the heat of the moment to take the edge off. Some men obliged, reaching for me without a second thought, but most of them balked, fearing that they would bruise me Read more