Welp! ‘Happy’ International Women’s Day, I Guess.

There's never been a more urgent time to follow and support feminist media like Jezebel and be in community with those who care just as much as you do.

By Kylie Cheung | March 8, 2025 | 5:10pm

Illustration: Jezebel In Depth Latest

Welp! ‘Happy’ International Women’s Day, I Guess.

Welp! “Happy” International Women’s Day 2025, I guess. I’m trying to imagine how I’d explain the current state of gender in America to someone who went into a coma back in, like, the summer of 2016 and just woke up today. What’s a gentle way to say that our country is so deferential to violent men that we elected a serially accused rapist and legally recognized abuser to be president not once but twice??? There probably is none, and if I were the newly reanimated individual, I’d ask to be put back into a coma. Some things just fucking suck. That, at least, is my read of things this International Women’s Day.

Nearly half of states totally ban or severely restrict abortion; maternal and infant health outcomes are getting worse—not better; the Trump administration wants hospitals to let pregnant people experiencing complications die; and the administration is reportedly playing keep-away with funding for rape crisis centers. Meanwhile, state-level Republicans are taking a bigger and bigger ax to our scant reproductive rights, pitching everything from a 1984-esque, state-run registry of potential abortion seekers and “eHarmony for babies” to bills that would classify having an abortion as a homicide.

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And then, on a cultural level, sexual harassment allegations in Hollywood are getting taken about as seriously as you’d expect in a country that elected Trump. Professional misogynist influencers who built their massive platforms by boasting about acts of violence against women are being welcomed back into the country, allegedly thanks to the president himself. If you’re a woman in a position of power, you’re a “DEI hire”—all the more so if you’re a woman of color, obviously. And if you’re a trans woman, the current administration not only refuses to recognize your existence but is going out of its way to put you in as much danger as possible.

I repeat: There is no gentle way to talk about any of this. But it’s important that we do—which is exactly what we’ve always been doing at Jezebel. No matter who’s in the White House, there’s always something to be raising hell over; there are always wins big and small to be celebrating; there will always be abortion funds to fund. And there are always honest and sometimes difficult conversations to be had. (Speaking of: Have those conversations with us on Discord!)

So consider subscribing to Jezebel for $50 a year or $5 a month and you’ll get to read all our spectacular stories ad free. (Over the summer, we made commenting free and switched to Disqus, a far superior commenting system. But you may still see an ad or two in there because of their setup.) Plus, a Jezebel subscription gets you access to Barf Bag (like Dirt Bag but for politics), the Jezebel Discord, the Jezebel Book Club, our weekly subscriber-only newsletter, early access to upcoming events, and our official advice column, Ask the Group Chat, which will provide chaotic and fun (but…possibly not helpful) advice.

There’s never been a more urgent time to follow and support feminist media like Jezebel and be in community with those who care just as much as you do. (I repeat: Join our Discord!) Sure, it’s hard to say “Happy International Women’s Day!!!” with a straight face today. It may be for a long time. We’ll be here either way.