If you haven't picked up the print edition of the Portland Mercury this week—DO IT! To celebrate International Women's Day and Women's History Monty, every byline, every comic strip, every piece of art, and every photograph was produced by women or nonbinary people. It's a good reminder that women's representation in the media is pretty woeful, and we all need to try harder. Here's what Senior Editor Megan Burbank said about it in her intro to this issue:
[This lack of representation is] a problem if you care about gender equality, but it’s also a problem if you care about good journalism, because if a publication isn’t staffed with a variety of voices, its reporting and criticism will be weaker, less comprehensive, and less nuanced. It will have blind spots. In a precarious, politically corrupt era when quality journalism is needed more urgently than ever, this is something we can’t afford to perpetuate.
And something else she mentioned that I agree with 100 percent:
From the account executives who sell print ads, to the copy chief who proofreads and fact-checks each piece of writing that goes in the paper every week, to the art director who chooses what goes on the cover, the Mercury is an operation that very much depends on the labor of women. You may not always see this labor week to week—not all of what I’ve just described is visible to a casual reader—but if we didn’t have women on our staff, we wouldn’t have a newspaper, full stop.
That's why I want to remind the world that I am honored every day to work alongside the women of the Mercury—if we are any good at all, it's largely because of them, and they are appreciated.
SO! Check out some of the great women-penned articles in this issue, such as...
Olivia Olivia's terrific essay on protests, marching, and if that is really enough.
Elinor Jones' very funny and interesting story about how recycled airplanes could be the "tiny house movement" of Portland's future.
Sophia Lee on being a transgender woman who still has to fight for her womanhood.
Andrea Damewood and Heather Arndt Anderson on the "wonder women" of the Portland food scene.
Bri Pruett's funny and rock solid advice on dating in "Let's Do It with Bri Pruett."
Jenni Moore on the very complicated world of misogyny in hip-hop.
Courtenay Hameister's heeeelarious and smart essay on Kellyanne Conway's hair.
And lots, lots more. Check it out online, or pick up a print edition to see it in all it's inspiring glory! In short, the women of the Mercury ARE THE BEST!