REASONS TO RIOT: Volume 1
Welcome to “Reasons to Riot,” a weekly roundup of the most pressing and infuriating stories impacting women today. Each week, we’ll share a curated list of articles highlighting the injustices, setbacks, and systemic failures that we must confront head-on.
From the rollback of reproductive rights to the ongoing battles for equal representation, “Reasons to Riot” is not just a recap of the news—it’s a call to awareness and action. These are the stories that the mainstream narrative might overlook or downplay, but they are the stories we cannot afford to ignore.
In this space, we bring the spotlight to the issues that demand our attention and outrage, providing context, analysis, and a reminder of why our voices matter now more than ever.
Here are this week’s Reasons to Riot.
1. Kamala Harris Loses 2024 Presidential Election
The most obvious step back for women in the past week is Vice President Kamala Harris losing her bid for the White House. Not only are we failing to see a qualified woman ascend to the highest office in our country, but that seat will be occupied by a sexual predator who seeks to take away rights from women at all walks of life, and every marginalized community that makes up our country.
With that said, I must take this opportunity to highlight that this series- Reasons to Riot is absolutely not an invitation to take inspiration by the violence incited January 6th, 2021 by former President Trump. Riot and Reason is about the things that spark feminist rage and tempering it with reason
2. Three States Voted to take away Women’s Reproductive Rights
My Home State of Florida was the first to fail to give rights back to women and extend our Governer’s 8 week ban. Nebraska and South Dakota also passed legislature that makes abortion more restrictive. These three states are the first to have their residents vote and take steps back on women’s rights since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022.
3. Women Taunted by Conservative Men Following these Bans
These steps back have led right-wing men to take to social media and turn the feminist catchphrase against us. It is disgusting in it’s transparency and highlights that these restrictive bans have never been about family values, but about controlling women and their bodies. Listen to their words, ladies, and remember this the next time the issue of abortion is on the ballot.
4. Racism Rampant in the Inboxes of Students
The messages include personalizations with the recipients’ names and threats to take them against their will to “pick cotton”. What should be seen as a hate crime is happening days after the election, and is a scary sign of things to come from his bigoted followers
5. The Man Convicted of Illegally Accessing RBG’s Health Records Sentenced to 2 Years
In 2019 he illegally accessed and published false information about Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, including that she had died when she was still alive and sitting on the court. The perpetrator was sentenced to two years this week, out of a maximum sentence of twenty years. In a week with so many steps back for women, I’m not sure that a comparatively lenient sentence for someone breaking the law to cause political turmoil is something that RBG would see as justice.
Thank you for tuning in to our first edition of Reasons to Riot.
Disclaimer:
I want to clarify that this series highlights only some of the most noteworthy and troubling headlines affecting women that I’ve come across. It’s by no means an exhaustive list of every problematic issue in the news cycle, and I encourage you to share additional stories and concerns in the comments. Your voices and perspectives are vital in broadening the conversation.
That said, I also need to make something abundantly clear: this series, “Reasons to Riot,” is not an invitation to take inspiration from the violent insurrection incited by former President Trump on January 6th, 2021. The “riot” in our title refers to the feminist rage that injustice sparks in us, that all too familiar feeling. “Riot & Reason” is about channeling that rage into thoughtful, articulate action, demanding accountability, and fighting for systemic change—not through violence, but through reasoned discourse, advocacy, and the unyielding push for equity.
