Feminist Weekly: Meet Our New Editor, Thomas Page McBee

Editor's Note: Every Thursday, I'll be rounding up my favorite pieces from the past week so that PolicyMic Pundits can more easily read and comment on the great content being written about sex, sexuality, gender, and race in politics and culture, in addition to updates from our community and GIFs galore! You can subscribe to get updates delivered straight to your inbox.

Highlights This Week:

I’m back. And I bring tidings of great joy.

On Tuesday, Thomas Page McBee officially joined the PolicyMic team. He will be working closely with me – and, by extension, all of you – to (in his words) “refine angles, clarify language, and make stories sparkle.” In addition to his role as an editor here, he is a contributor to the Atlantic, VICE, BuzzFeed, Salon, and many other outlets. Before coming to PolicyMic, Thomas was an editor at the Boston Phoenix. He has also taught writing to college students in San Francisco and Boston. I’m incredibly excited to have him with us!

Don’t be shy. Say hello to Thomas on Twitter or via email: thomas@policymic.com

Update: I’m looking to host PolicyMic’s discussion about education policy and ed reform sometime in mid-to-late September, likely the week of 9/15 – 9/21. Do you have thoughts for what we should cover,  which voices we should highlight, or who we should invite to participate? Let me know via email (sam@policymic.com) or on Twitter: @sameier12

Updates From Our Pundits:

Aww indeed, Daniela Ramirez.

Jewelyn Cosgrove: Public media heroine.

Outraged to see Danielle Paradis being harassed via Storify, but happy to see people taking her harassment seriously. *Please alert me or another editor immediately if you see social media harassment spreading to PolicyMic.*

What did you do last week? I’ll share any outstanding writing achievements in our community, and highlight the great work that all of our Pundits do offline as well. If you have anything you’d like for me to include about yourself or a fellow PM writer, please send it along!

Must Reads From Last Week:

FEMEN’s Topless Protestors Get Schooled in the Muslim World (Sara Yasin, @missyasin) — FEMEN is searching for new members in the Muslim world, after Tunisian member Amina Sboui quit the group. Here's why they might have a hard time recruiting.

These Young Activists Are Risking Their Lives to Speak Out On Bahrain’s Despotic Regime (Jared Milrad, @JaredMilrad) — An inside look at Bahrain's future through the eyes of young people facing dire consequences in their fight for democracy.

The American Savior Complex in India (Anita Rangunathan) — A CNN iReport account of sexual harassment faced by a female student on a study abroad trip to India forces both Indians and Americans to consider sexual violence at home.

Meet the Activists Who Just Humiliated Monsanto (Alex Cline, @alexcline) — A pair of press releases regarding GMO corn in Mexico purporting to be from Monsanto came out last week, now attributed to a group of activists. We got ahold of them to find out more.

Wisconsin Leads the Way On Fighting Prison Rape (Mrinalini Shinde, @MrinShin) — Wisconsin's Department of Corrections will become the first state to post statistics on the internet in a bid to raise awareness and prevent sexual assault in prisons. It's a bold, laudable move.

Feminism is For White Women (Marjorie Romeyn-Sanabria, @buddingscholar1) — Women's rights should be available to all women, not just the privileged few.

How This 92-Year-Old Woman is Leading the Fight Against NC’s Rigid Voter ID Laws (NicholasDemas, @nickdemas) — When Rosanell Eaton was 21, she had to take a literacy test to vote in North Carolina. Now she's fighting to prevent history from repeating itself.

Why Christiane Taubira is Exactly What Democracy Should Look Like (Sania Salman) — Christiane Taubira, the Minister of Justice of France, is a reminder of what a democracy could and should be about.

How George Takei Went From Being a Trekkie to a Gay Rights Hero (Darcy Bullock,@darcyk_b) — George Takei is one of October's LGBT History Month icons. So how exactly did Takei go from helming the USS Enterprise on Star Trek to championing social justice?

What White Poverty Really Looks Like in America (Kelley Kidd) — The Associated Press discussion of poor America portrays poverty in a way that should cause us to reexamine how we relate to this "invisible" problem, especially as white poverty grows.

Thanks for reading! Please encourage friends to subscribe here. Send me your feedback, give me a tip for what I should be reading, and tell me how I can do better:sam@policymic.com.

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