How else can one say it? The world is fucking bleak.

Looking at social media, reading media headlines, just being in the world, is to swim daily in a stinking cesspool of bigotry and closed-mindedness and unimaginable hate.

It’s so easy to feel hopeless, helpless, hapless. To not know where to turn for the kind of support and insight that’s needed to just.keep.fighting., even when your foes are bullies of immense power and boundless cruelty.

For me, at least, The Establishment community has been a true saving grace.

If you follow our social media or check out our site, you’ve probably heard a lot about this mysterious community. But you might not know what exactly it is. In the most basic of terms, the Establishment community is a Slack channel where our members convene. Yet over the last few months, it’s become so much more than that.

Nearly 500 people are currently part of the community, and in channels ranging from #news to #social to #resistance-resources, more than 15,000 messages have been posted. Together, we’ve nerded out on Dr. Who and Breaking Bad and the Marvel Cinematic Universe; discussed white fragility, asexuality, toxic sports culture, and reproductive rights; posted and discussed the latest Trump administration news; shared up-to-the-minute updates on the midterms and detailed info on local resistance marches; chatted in-depth about Establishment content; and reveled in GIFs of turtles and baby bears.

In the most basic of terms, the Establishment community is a Slack channel where our members convene. Yet over the last few months, it's become so much more than that.
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I recently had a baby, and the #parenting channel in particular has been the place I turn to not only to talk about the logistics of raising a human, but to go deep on important issues like fighting gender norms, managing anxiety and depression, and combating body shame.

I feel safe doing so because, and this is just the truth, Establishment members are the fucking all-time best: compassionate, open-minded, thoughtful, and good to the core.

It’s a beautiful thing. And I promise I’m not the only one to think so! Here’s what one of our amazing members, user @Inkwell, has to say:

“No matter the age of history in which one finds oneself, finding those people who are truly invested in the goings-on of the day is no mean feat. However, the Establishment community is that and so much more besides. We’re home to highly engaged people who have their fingers on the pulse of current events, and being able to discuss them in-depth with nuance and insight is a small miracle. What’s more, they take after the Establishment magazine’s tone and offer warmth and wisdom to any who ask. To me, they have been a source of strength, entertainment, comfort, and encouragement when all of those things seem to be at a premium. In short, the Establishment community is everything that you would want from not just an internet community but a community altogether. I can’t say enough kind things about it.”

Seconds equally-amazing member Anna Tarkov:

“The Establishment community is like a breath of fresh air. With most any online community, you’re never sure whether the people there will be on the same page with you on important things like social justice, racism, etc. And it’s always a rude awakening when you find out that someone in, say, your photography club is a raging bigot. But that’s something you don’t have to worry about here. And it turns out, maybe unsurprisingly, that people who are devoted to justice and activism are amazing, interesting, intelligent, kind, caring people. I think we could all use more friends like that.”

Want in? All you have to do is sign up right here, for 5 bucks a month (or more if you’d like!), to become a member. You’ll get an invite to our exclusive Slack channel plus gain access to awesome gated content plus be supporting our incredible, diverse writers.

The best place to go when the going gets tough is a safe space filled with people who care, who are right there with you on working to make things better. We’d love to have you be a part of what we’re building.

I’m here to answer all your burning questions about becoming an Establishment member.

Hey, Ijeoma here. I’m sure you’ve seen a couple (hundred) posts from The Establishment encouraging you to become a member. Now, you may be asking yourself, “What is an Establishment membership?” or “Why should I join?” or “Why do you keep bugging me about it?” or “Who are you?” If this is you, then allow me to tell you all that you need to know about The Establishment Member Community.

What Is It? It’s basically a cool club you can join here at The Establishment for as little as $5 a month. Think of every club you ever wanted to join as a kid, double it, add sparkles, and then you have a membership with The Establishment.

What Do I Get As A Member? You get exclusive content created by amazing writers — LIKE ME (and some other people), you get to ask me questions about life in my upcoming members-only advice column (WUT), and you get to join our loving, lively, and engaging chat community on Slack. WE EVEN HAVE A BOOK CLUB, NERDS.

Why Do You Keep Bugging Me About It? Because we need members! Look, it’s never sexy to talk about money (okay, not true, it’s often very sexy to talk about money), but the truth is — in order to exist in this space as a voice of resistance and pay our staff and writers for the amazing work they do — we need funds. We will always need funds (unless one of you wants to give us A LOT of money and then we will stop asking for a while) and in our search for sustainable and ethical revenue (which included 20 weeks of intense research and discussion in the Matter accelerator program), we’ve decided that paid membership is the best way forward. It allows us to continue to produce widely accessible free quality content, while providing extra paid quality content to those who can afford to help support our work, at a very reasonable support level. All while maintaining our pledge to *actually* pay writers (if you’re a freelancer, you’ll recognize that this is more novel of a concept than it should be).

WE EVEN HAVE A BOOK CLUB, NERDS.

Why Should I Join? You should join because you value the amazing work that we are able to publish here at The Establishment. You should join because few publications so consistently support high-quality work from marginalized voices, and pay for that work. You should join because we do our upmost to ensure that when you read one of our thought-provoking articles, you aren’t going to be suddenly smacked in the head with the racism, misogyny, ableism, classism, transphobia, and other bigotries that often make their way into mainstream writing — marginalizing all but the most privileged audiences. You should join because part of economic justice means paying for the labor of others when that labor benefits us. You should join because the bonuses are fun and cool. You should join because in a time when so much of our media aims to shock or entertain, but not inform — we often do all three with clarity, ethics, and — yes, goddamnit — panache.

If you love The Establishment, and you want MORE of The Establishment — or if you love us just the way we are and you want us to be able to keep doing just what we’re doing, I hope you’ll become a member of The Establishment today.

Thank you for your support,

Ijeoma

SUBSCRIBE RIGHT HERE:

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Establishment membership just got better.

We’ve long believed that The Establishment boasts the best damn readers in all the land. So we had a hunch that inviting our most loyal supporters to join an exclusive online community would lead to something magical.

How right we were.

Launched just last week, The Establishment’s beta Slack forum — open to writers and members only — has already become a place we can’t get enough of. In addition to plenty of cute puppy GIFs, the forum is filled with enlightening conversations about BDSM in fiction, ACA and abortion rights, blowhard political punditry, and more. And, since we deliberately don’t have a comments section, it’s fostered candid discussions about our daily content, no trolls allowed.

In an online world where vitriol is the norm, we’re thrilled to be building a community in the truest sense of the word; a safe, supportive space where we can grow and learn together during these dark times.

Want in? Lucky you! Signing up for membership is just $5 a month and easier than ever. Simply “Subscribe” below to get an invite to our super-cool online community, while also gaining access to sexy gated content, deals, giveaways, and more!

It’s not easy to remain sustainable as a digital media company, and it’s especially not easy to do so while maintaining integrity and prioritizing readers and writers above all else. But we wouldn’t and couldn’t do it any other way. Through this membership community, we feel confident we can do all of the above — while fostering the kinds of conversations we not only want to be having, but need to be having, now more than ever.

So what are you waiting for? Get in on the enlightening good times today — adorable puppies await.