Careers in feminist journalism, Brazil's trans shelters rise, EU junior traineeships

How Rio's trans community defeated right wing leaders and saved a shelter: Violence against the LGBTQ+ community in Brazil increased during the pandemic. But across the country, many are mobilizing against this, amounting in one clear development: the rise of trans shelters. “It’s something good that has come out of something bad. Like the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Something bad, but it brought to light all of the LGBTQ+ civil rights that have been disrespected. Such is life. From war, peace. Death as a source of life.” >> Full Story

EU needs to better address the ongoing legacy of colonialism – ideas for a good start: Paternalism and racism must be tackled if the EU is to rebuild trust with Africa – a young, economically dynamic continent. Journalist Shada Islam takes us through various steps EU nations have taken, also in light of BLM protests last year, to begin to address colonialism, and proposes her own. >> Full Story

Black trans feminist thought can set us free: How can we move beyond a mindset dictated by the logic of prison, policing and anti-Blackness? What is “abolition feminism”? And how do the politics of gender, including the criminalization of trans and nonbinary people, dovetail with our understandings of race? How can deconstructing racialized gender binaries help us move toward justice and liberation? >> Full Story

If Amanda Gorman's incredible speech at Biden's inauguration has left you craving more inspiring poetry, we recommend taking a look at Naomi Shihab Nye's "Cast Away." The book is a collection of 80 poems about trash she's picked up, and all the things we decide to "throw away" as a society. It's a funny and heart wrenching reminder to be mindful of our waste. 

A drunk meeting sparked the formation of Skateboobs: a group of women skaters who are making their mark on the Scottish city of Edinburgh through TikTok.

Brazilian art curator Jennifer Inacio has put together an exhibition featuring 20+ female artists from around the world to examine “the mainstream portrayal of women, confronting the stereotypes, violence, limitations, and ideals imposed on the disputed image of the female body.” While the exhibit itself is in Miami, you can see parts of the exhibition online. 

This week The Bloom found some incredible job openings for those of you interested in feminist journalism - but what exactly is feminist investigative journalism? Learn more about the field through the stories of six journalists from around the world, and the groundbreaking reports they published last year – including one on "abortions without borders" we featured in a past newsletter last year! 

Whoever said that there's no such thing as the "perfect childhood" was very, very wrong– behold, the Harris women's household, in the words of Meena Harris (Kamala Harris' niece) from a recent interview: “A feminist household is all I’ve ever known. Even the idea of men in power wasn’t something I really learnt about until I got out into the world of work. Our little family unit was just women, fierce women: my grandmother, my mum, my aunt and me.”

A brief celebration of communities with a long standing tradition of living outside the gender binary.

Mexico's Oaxaca region is home to the Muxe people. The muxe generally represent individuals who are assigned male at birth and identify as various genders. Their self-identifications range from male but female-expressing to defying gender completely. Culturally, the muxe community live their lives free of labels, an aspect which is also reflected in their Zapotec language. Unlike Spanish, the Zapotec language is completely gender neutral.

In South Africa's northern province of Limpopo, you can find the Balobedu ethnic tribe. They are ruled by Queen Modjadji, the rain queen. The monarchy has been ruled by women for over 200 years. The rain queen is seen by her community as a sacred person who transcends societal norms by having a spiritual sense of identity. The queen is considered to be both male and female. She marries several maiden women who will bear children and these children will also be considered as her own. The rain queen can also bear children but the male's identity must remain a secret. South Africa legalised same-sex marriage in 2006 but for the Balobedu people this is nothing new as it has been happening for hundreds of years. It is also important to note that most South African languages, including the language of the Balobedu people, do not have male/female pronouns.