Gender, Race and Identity

When our first-born declared that she was gender queer within days of turning 16, I had no idea that for months Elizabeth had been in the throes of an intense and painful internal struggle. Raised by two women, Elizabeth had come out as pansexual the year before, an announcement that had barely made a ripple […]

The Harvard Kennedy Center for Public Leadership invited The Harvard Journal of Hispanic Policy to conduct video interviews for the first American Adelante Conference at the Harvard Kennedy School. Cassandra Fradera, Senior Editor for Digital Content sat with Lisa García Quiroz, President of the Time Warner Foundation and Senior Vice President, Chief Diversity Office of […]

In 2009, Linsey Davis, a Black female correspondent for the ABC News, wrote a feature article for Nightline. She had one question: “Why are successful Black women the least likely than any other race or gender to marry?” Her story went viral, sparking a national debate. Within the year, social media, newsrooms, self-help books, Black […]

In a place that prices social currency through inclusion, I was surprised to hear cynicism sprinkled atop confusion from my staked-out study spot on the HKS campus. But here, sandwiched between office hours and problem sets, I again heard discussion of HKS’ new gender neutral bathrooms float through the halls. “I just don’t get ‘gender […]

Problem Thirty-five percent of women worldwide have experienced sexual violence in their lifetimes[1]. In Nigeria, domestic violence is pervasive across socioeconomic and cultural contexts. Forty-five percent of affected women suffer abuse from their current husband or partner[2]. According to a US Department of State Human Rights Report, the practice of domestic violence has “remained widespread […]

BY NATALIE UNTERSTELL The world is currently watching Brazil fight the “longest recession in a century, the biggest bribery scandal in history, [and] the most unpopular leader in living memory,” and that’s not even counting the Zika virus epidemic. An equally severe but less visible crisis is also facing the country right now:  discrimination against […]

During the Iran-Iraq War, which was set off with the Iraqi invasion of Iran in 1980 and which ended in 1988, sectarian ideology was used profusely, both as a tool for propaganda and to help both nations in strengthening their positions. The Sunni versus Shia framework was used as the pretext by Saddam Hussein for Iraq’s […]

BY ANDREA SORCE If you’re from North Carolina like me, your social media feeds blew up last Wednesday afternoon. #wearenotthis. “We” being North Carolinians. “This” being HB2, the sweeping anti-LGBT legislation passed last Wednesday in a specially-convened session. HB2 prohibits transgender residents from using restrooms that match their gender identity and also nullifies municipal anti-discrimination […]

In the restaurant industry, the darker your skin, the more likely you are to be found in the “back of the house.” It’s a world in which your accent prevents you from getting server and bartender jobs, regardless of your qualifications. Unless, of course, you have a European accent. This is true even in California […]

Abstract: The decision to advocate for the inclusion of the term “gender identity” in the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act has been criticized by some scholars and activists as a mistake in strategy for the transgender movement. Hate crimes laws, and the federal hate crimes law in particular, have been […]

At the time of this writing, The Danish Girl was in theaters and was engendering a great deal of conversation. This is but one example of the recent uptick in popular culture references to transgender issues. Other examples include Laverne Cox’s character on Orange is the New Black, Jeffrey Tambor’s role in Transparent, and the […]

Over the last few years, health departments, community based organizations, AIDS service organizations, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have been promoting PrEP, or Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis, to prevent new HIV infections. Numerous scientific studies support the optimism over PrEP’s ability to dramatically curb new HIV infections, with higher than 90% success rates […]