Reframing purity culture, step by step
Each week the Reckon Women newsletter includes a column from women in the South, in collaboration with See Jane Write. Click here to join the Reckon Women Facebook group. By: Lea Ervin Growing up, I didn’t have a purity ring, nor did I attend an elaborate ball pledging my purity [...]
Reckon’s top 10 stories of 2020
You might have noticed that Reckon started to look a little different this year. The biggest reason is because we're listening more closely to our readers, Southerners who are shaping the world around them in all the big and little ways we know are possible. Throughout the year, we've dug [...]
A look back at Reckon Women Voices essays that will inspire you to write your own
Each week the Reckon Women newsletter includes a column from women in the South, in collaboration with See Jane Write. Click here to join the Reckon Women Facebook group. By Javacia Harris Bowser I love a good superhero story. On December 25, I sported a Wonder Woman Christmas sweater to [...]
Kwoya Fagin Maples talks poetry, trauma and the craft of writing with See Jane Write
Kwoya Fagin Maples is a poet, writer and a University of Alabama professor from Charleston, South Carolina. In her poetry collection, “Mend,” she explores the traumatic strife of enslaved women used as medical guinea pigs in the mid-1800s. She recently sat down with See Jane Write founder and editor [...]
How to Have a Perfectly Imperfect Christmas
Each week the Reckon Women newsletter includes a column from a woman in the South, in collaboration with See Jane Write. Click here to sign up for the newsletter. Click here to sign up for the Reckon Women Facebook page. By: Linda Lyle In 1994 I was teaching English in Seoul, South Korea [...]
How this Covid nurse hoping to get pregnant made her decision about taking the coronavirus vaccine
In the days and months ahead, millions of Americans will be asked if they want the coronavirus vaccine, a mixture of mostly unpronounceable ingredients that prepare your immune system to fight the disease should you become infected. For most people, according to a November poll, the decision to take the [...]
The Reckon List 2021: These people are fighting to build the future South
Chokwe Lumumba, the late mayor of Jackson, Miss., used to say, "To change America, you have to change the South." That's been true since the first enslaved Africans were delivered to Virginia in 1619, a year before the Pilgrims landed up North, since the federal government was forced to cut [...]
Why I No Longer Celebrate Christmas
Each week the Reckon Women newsletter includes a column from a woman in the South, in collaboration with See Jane Write. Click here to sign up for the newsletter. Click here to sign up for the Reckon Women Facebook page. By Janelle Graham Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Christmas Day will look [...]
Looking for better sex education? Try these resources
If you read our series on purity culture and sex education in the South and you’re hoping to make sex education better for your children and community, we’ve complied a list of resources to help you have better conversations about sexuality and relationships. For parents Talking to your children about their bodies and sex can be [...]
These people are making sex education better in the South
Toy Rollins knew she had to find some way to talk to her two older daughters about sex after she learned her children’s Atlanta-area charter school wasn’t planning to teach a robust sex education curriculum. Rollins, who also grew up in Georgia, said she expected her children to get the same sex [...]
After my dad quit his job, I received the best Christmas gift ever
Each week the Reckon Women newsletter includes a column from a woman in the South, in collaboration with See Jane Write. Click here to sign up for the newsletter. Click here to sign up for the Reckon Women Facebook page. By Caryn Bell The memory of being 10 years old is foggy [...]
Purity culture can impact long-term sexual health
This story is part of a series about purity culture, sex education and the role of family, faith and communities in addressing the lasting impacts of purity culture’s teachings. Cultural norms surrounding sex in the South can lead to long-lasting physical effects such sexual dysfunction, sexually transmitted infections and gynecological cancers, experts say. Many [...]
Experts say purity culture teaches boys an unrealistic view of sexuality
The gender roles assigned to men via purity culture further perpetuate sexual dissatisfaction and unrealistic relationship expectations, sex educators say. While a large portion of research on purity culture has focused on how the ideology has affected women and girls, these same gender expectations enforce an unrealistic view of [...]
‘Come to church, we have the best sex:’ Christian leaders rethink purity culture messaging
This story is part of a series about purity culture, sex education and the role of family, faith and communities in addressing the lasting impacts of purity culture's teachings. John Paul Basham remembers, when he was a teenager, participating in a sexual abstinence program called True Love Waits at his Southern Baptist [...]
A conversation with Joshua Harris on “I Kissed Dating Goodbye”
This story is part of a series about purity culture, sex education and the role of family, faith and communities in addressing the lasting impacts of purity culture's teachings. Joshua Harris’ book “I Kissed Dating Goodbye” was published in 1997. More than 1 million copies of the book have [...]
Purity culture: How sex was taught to a generation of Southerners
This story is part of a series about purity culture, sex education and the role of family, faith and communities in addressing the lasting impacts of purity culture's teachings Rings promising chastity passed from fathers to daughters. Virginity pledges signed at school assemblies. Flower petals torn from stems to symbolize the [...]
Sustainable fashion continues Alabama sock entrepreneur’s family business
Reckon Women partnered with seven women-owned small businesses and creators whose stories illustrate the grit, innovation and creativity we admire, and together we curated holiday gift boxes for our readers to purchase. Click here to support these women creators with your purchase.. Gina Locklear was not planning on getting into the [...]
How I applied my PR strategies to survive my own life crises
Each week the Reckon Women newsletter includes a column from a woman in the South, in collaboration with See Jane Write. Click here to sign up for the newsletter. Click here to sign up for the Reckon Women Facebook page. By: Chasiti Shepherd Amid a global pandemic, I sit back and reflect on another [...]
OPINION | It’s time to address the trauma of adoption
Contributed By Mila Konomos and Rebecca Seung-Bickley Another November has passed us by. For those not already aware, November is designated as National Adoption Awareness Month, or as adoptees like myself prefer to call it, National Adoptee Awareness Month (NAAM). I do not think it is coincidence that the month [...]
Women-owned printmaking studio creates space for Alabama artists to make a statement
Reckon Women partnered with seven women-owned small businesses and creators whose stories illustrate the grit, innovation and creativity we admire, and together we curated holiday gift boxes for our readers to purchase. Click here to support these women creators with your purchase.. Rachel Lackey fell in love with printmaking in college [...]
8 women activists minding the gap in the South
The South is home to the most diverse people, landscapes and culture in the country. We have so much to be proud of. But our governments are often stagnant, disproportionately stocked with white men and ineffective when it comes to taking care of vulnerable communities. But minding the gap are [...]
Jacqueline McMillan finds healing in wood-carving after losing limbs to sepsis
Reckon Women partnered with seven women-owned small businesses and creators whose stories illustrate the grit, innovation and creativity we admire, and together we curated holiday gift boxes for our readers to purchase. Click here to support these women creators with your purchase.. Jacqueline McMillan likes to watch customers browse in [...]
Learning to live in the present even in a pandemic
Each week the Reckon Women newsletter includes a column from a woman in the South, in collaboration with See Jane Write. Click here to sign up for the newsletter. Click here to sign up for the Reckon Women Facebook page. By Jane Patten I thought I had been managing [...]
Reckon Women curations: Unique gifts featuring Alabama makers
Throughout the year, we meet Alabama women almost everywhere who help us see the world differently, who write their own narratives and who craft beauty and art despite odds. And we want to introduce them to you, too -- through their creations. Welcome to our first curation of creations [...]
Southern states lead U.S. in preterm births
The South leads the nation in babies born too early, according to a new report from the March of Dimes, a national organization that funds research and advocates for healthy mothers and babies. The only states to earn F ratings for their high rates of preterm birth were Alabama, Georgia, [...]
Making a name for myself as a Shunnarah
Each week the Reckon Women newsletter includes a column from a woman in the South, in collaboration with See Jane Write. Click here to sign up for the newsletter. Click here to sign up for the Reckon Women Facebook page. By Mandy Shunnarah They think they know me based [...]
Maternal mortality panel finds 70 percent of Alabama pregnancy deaths preventable; urges Medicaid expansion
Nearly 70 percent of pregnancy-related deaths of Alabama women were preventable in 2016, according to the state’s first report on maternal mortality since officials began collecting data last year. The report also recommended that Alabama expand Medicaid, calling a failure to do so “an underlying, yet significant factor” impacting the maternal deaths covered in the report. [...]
Speak up for women’s health all year long
Each week the Reckon Women newsletter includes a column from a woman in the South, in collaboration with See Jane Write. Click here to sign up for the newsletter. Click here to sign up for the Reckon Women Facebook page. By Millie Jackson In the early 1970s months were [...]
8 Black women fighting for voting rights in the South
Georgia quickly became a meme during election week as mail in ballots slowly flipped the state blue for the first time in 1992. Social media identified voting rights queen and former gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams as one to thank for helping Joe Biden inch pass the 270 seats needed [...]
The threads of privilege are all over me
Each week the Reckon Women newsletter includes a column from an Alabama woman, in collaboration with See Jane Write. Click here to sign up for the newsletter. Click here to sign up for the Reckon Women Facebook page. By Donna Eich Brooks Imagine an almost invisible shining thread. It’s [...]
Where are Alabama’s elected Republican women?
Republican women are a key GOP voting bloc. Why do so few of them successfully run for legislative and statewide offices?
Finding my new normal after cancer
Each week the Reckon Women newsletter includes a column from a woman in the South, in collaboration with See Jane Write. Click here to sign up for the newsletter. Click here to sign up for the Reckon Women Facebook page. In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, October’s essays will all be [...]
‘Rushed and undemocratic’: Hundreds of Ala. women decry Ivey’s support of Amy Coney Barrett
More than 800 Alabama women cosigned a letter this week, denouncing Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey’s support of what they called the “rushed and undemocratic” confirmation process of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court. Ivey, along with two other women Republican governors, had written a public letter [...]
Becoming the one-breasted lady
Each week the Reckon Women newsletter includes a column from a woman in the South, in collaboration with See Jane Write. Click here to sign up for the newsletter. Click here to sign up for the Reckon Women Facebook page. In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, October’s essays will all be [...]
Lilly Ledbetter’s urgent warning about the Supreme Court
Lilly Ledbetter knows what it’s like to lose a Supreme Court case and to keep fighting. She shares her experience with Reckon and her concerns about the 2020 election and confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett.
Breast cancer taught me what it means to ‘woman up’
Each week the Reckon Women newsletter includes a column from a woman in the South, in collaboration with See Jane Write. Click here to sign up for the newsletter. Click here to sign up for the Reckon Women Facebook page. In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, October’s essays [...]
How breast cancer ruined and restored my confidence
By Javacia Harris Bowser Each week the Reckon Women newsletter includes a column from a woman with ties to the South, in collaboration with See Jane Write. Click here to sign up for the newsletter. Click here to sign up for the Reckon Women Facebook page. In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness [...]
The South still lags U.S. on paying women fairly
Alabama still has one of the widest gender wage gaps in the nation, and most of the South follows suit, a Reckon analysis shows. Nationally, women make 82 cents for every dollar paid to men, with an annual gap of $9,774. Southern women earn less, around 78 cents on average. Women in [...]
The doctor is out: A snapshot of women’s health in the 21st century
Each week the Reckon Women newsletter includes a column from an Alabama woman, in collaboration with See Jane Write. Click here to sign up for the newsletter. Click here to sign up for the Reckon Women Facebook page. By Mikkaka Overstreet I never thought I’d get a hysterectomy at [...]
Amanda Shires confronts ‘The Problem’ with abortion in the South through new song
Amanda Shires wants people who have had abortions to feel less alone in their decision. The Grammy-winning singer and songwriter released “The Problem,” about a couple navigating the decision to have an abortion, on International Safe Abortion Day. All proceeds will benefit Alabama’s Yellowhammer Fund, an abortion fund and [...]
As women suffer more under the financial strains of COVID-19, The Wealth Edit is stepping up to help
Cassandra Leibensperger gave birth to her daughter Tzipporah in January. She was supposed to start a new engineering job with a government contractor in Huntsville, Ala. when her maternity leave ended in April. But her employer was not able to safely accommodate her work accommodations, required due to her [...]
Widowed at a young age, she turned tragedy into a catalyst for supporting women’s financial planning
Emily Lassiter is an attorney turned financial advisor and mother of two who lives in Birmingham, Ala. She co-founded The Wealth Edit, an online, membership-based community for women looking to learn more about personal finance with Emily Pearson, another Birmingham-based financial advisor. Emily talks about losing her husband at [...]
Reckon Women share: If I knew then what I know now about money
Women in America hold less than one-third the wealth of men. Motherhood and race further complicate women’s lifetime wealth earning potential.In this season of Money Talks, Reckon explores wealth — who has it and how to grow it.Reckon asked members of the Reckon Women Facebook group to share what they [...]
I didn’t fully commit to my married name until my daughter started kindergarten
Each week the Reckon Women newsletter includes a column from an Alabama woman, in collaboration with See Jane Write. Click here to sign up for the newsletter. Click here to sign up for the Reckon Women Facebook page. By Mary Lanaux Katzman A few weeks ago, the kindergarten moms [...]
‘All right to be a hero’: Meet the woman whose landmark case was the first Ruth Bader Ginsburg argued at the Supreme Court
One day in June 1999, Sharron Cohen stood nervously on steps of the U.S. Supreme Court facing a bank of photographers and lawyers. Beside her, appearing equally uncomfortable, was Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. “Do you enjoy this?” Cohen recalls whispering to Ginsburg. “I mostly work,” Ginsburg muttered back, drily. The occasion – a photo for a calendar celebrating the Women in Military Service for [...]
I fight with my fingertips
Each week the Reckon Women newsletter includes a column from an Alabama woman, in collaboration with See Jane Write. Click here to sign up for the newsletter. Click here to sign up for the Reckon Women Facebook page. By Randi Pink This summer, a rumor began circulating around Birmingham [...]
Reckon Women launches ‘Be Better’ virtual event series
Reckon Women is launching a monthly Zoom panel series we're calling “Be Better.” Each month we will hear from extraordinary women across various backgrounds to discuss how we can be better in different areas of life. Our inaugural "Be Better" panel on Thursday, Oct. 1 at 7 p.m. will [...]
The last supper before the pandemic
Each week the Reckon Women newsletter includes a column from an Alabama woman, in collaboration with See Jane Write. Click here to sign up for the newsletter. Click here to sign up for the Reckon Women Facebook page. Want to submit your own essay? Fill out the form at [...]
How exotic dancing helped me succeed in corporate America
Each week the Reckon Women newsletter includes a column from an Alabama woman, in collaboration with See Jane Write. Click here to sign up for the newsletter. Click here to sign up for the Reckon Women Facebook page. By Dachondra Cason “This is normal,” the manager assured me as [...]
Reckon Women to host virtual writing workshop with Javacia Bowser
No matter how you came into this pandemic, you are likely leaving it differently. To navigate change, one of the most powerful tools at your disposal is effective communication. But you don't have to be a "writer" to be able to develop and hone your voice and write effectively. [...]
How should a Black southern woman commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment?
Javacia Harris Bowser is celebrating the 100th anniversary of women getting the right to vote by acknowledging the work of Black suffragists such as Ida B. Wells.
The consistent, disciplined and thankless work of Black women in American politics
A few years ago, when Alabama Democrat Doug Jones narrowly won a U.S. Senate seat, there were more than a few news headlines suggesting that Black women, almost out of the blue, had become inspired to ramp up their organizing efforts to help deliver Jones the victory. Truth is, though, it's always been Southern Black women doing the in-the-trenches work of grassroots organizing in this country — from abolition to civil rights to women's equality.
How the South nearly killed women’s suffrage
This week on the Reckon Interview, we examine the South's role in larger movements for universal women's rights.
Our lives shatter: poetry, prayer and the plight of Black and Brown people
Each week the Reckon Women newsletter includes a column from an Alabama woman, in collaboration with See Jane Write. Click here to sign up for the newsletter. Click here to sign up for the Reckon Women Facebook page. By Toya Poplar When my heart is heavy, I weep in poetry. [...]
Reckon Women reflects on first year while looking ahead
https://youtu.be/XPsW5MVJG00 Earlier this year, the first anniversary of Reckon Women quietly passed while we all navigated life during a pandemic and racial justice uprisings in our communities across the South. And though May 2020 marked a year since our online community was born, we are still celebrating today—all that [...]
Why I don’t regret going to a predominantly white college
LaKisha Cargill talks about how she thrived at a predominantly white college.
Starting school during COVID
Kaci Lane Hindman grapples with the changes her children will be forced to experience going back to school during a pandemic.
How COVID-19 taught me to stop taking responsibility for others and start caring for myself
Samantha Williams writes about finding independence and personal responsibility while quarantining with her family.
Reproductive justice non-profit buys Alabama abortion clinic
The director of the Yellowhammer Fund, a non-profit that provides financial assistance for abortions in Alabama, said she was considering shutting down the organization amid financial worry before Alabama passed a law banning near all abortions in the state in May 2019 . One year later, after an influx of more than $2 million in donations from across the country in the immediate aftermath of the ban and the support of 1,200 monthly financially sustaining members, the fund now owns and operates the West Alabama Women’s Center, one of three of remaining abortion clinics in the state.
Reckon Women: Pre-term Infant Loss and Heartache
"Hold on to hope, Mothers. We are some of the strongest people God ever created." Warning: This video discusses graphic elements of infant loss. These brave women shared their hearth-wrenching stories of pregnancy complications and infant loss with us for Reckon | Women. Did you know that Alabama has the highest pre-term birth rate in the nation, behind only Mississippi?