Tag: feminist

Catch Us at The Dub: Kansas City’s Brand New Women’s Sports Bar

By Sophia-Joelle McDowell
Photos by Whitney Young

When the CPKC Stadium opened at Berkley Riverfront Park in Kansas City last year, it was the first professional women’s sports stadium in the United States to open to the public. Welcome to teal town, baby! As Kansas Citians, we couldn’t be prouder to cheer on the KC Current—and women’s sports news in the metro keeps getting better.

Downtown Kansas City is getting something you may not have realized was missing: a sports bar dedicated to women’s sports. Rachel Glenn and Monica Brady, partners in business and in life, are the masterminds behind The Dub. We spoke with them about the exciting new spot heading our way. Get excited Kansas City! 

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Defining What it Means to be Trans: From Fear to Myself

By Shelby Faulkner
Art by Maddy Best

The definition of the word transgender has changed many times throughout my life. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines “transgender” as a person whose gender identity is opposite to the sex identified at birth. But that’s not what it means to be trans—not really. Sometimes it means fear, self-hatred, and so many other unpleasant feelings. Sometimes it means learning that on the other side of anxiety and fear, you often find love and joy.

Although I didn’t have words for it at the time, I first started to realize I was trans around the 6th grade. Growing up in a small town I didn’t have a lot of exposure to queer people. In my town the word “gay” was used as an insult rather than an adjective—and in elementary school, kids used to ask if anyone wanted to play “smear the queer” as a recess game. Occasionally, the word “he-she” would get thrown around too. On Sundays, we would go to church, and sometimes they would preach about how homosexuals would burn in eternal hellfire because they were living in sin. Being trans means learning to hide.

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What was second-wave feminism really like? Explore the era with feminist author Clara Bringham during her live talk on March 20

By Emily Laptad

The 1960s and 70s marked a significant era of progress for women in the United States. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 was the first nationwide legislation for eliminating wage disparities based on sex. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. The Women’s Educational Equity Act of 1972 guaranteed equal access to education for women and girls. Roe v. Wade legalized abortion across the US in 1973. The Equal Opportunity Credit Act of 1974 enabled women to open bank accounts and apply for credit cards with their own names. And other court cases and legislation further expanded women’s rights to employment, education, financial independence, and reproductive health during this time too. 

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Good Grief

Good Grief

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Mourning and moving on after cutting off an abusive parent.

By Ashley Carey
Art by Maddy Best

CW: Mention of domestic abuse by a parent and childhood trauma.

This is for every person whose parent(s) did not love them in a way a parent is supposed to. For those of you who had a “parent” who was a charming narcissist or abuser or just plain toxic, I see you. And you deserve a life filled only with the people who can appreciate all that you are.

It’s a deeply strange experience to grieve the living. Much like any other form of grief, it’s also quite lonely, though in a profoundly different way.

So much has been written and understood about grieving those we’ve loved and lost. It’s certainly not an easy thing to do, which is why I believe so many people avoid grieving once the funeral dies down (woof that pun was terrible. I’m kind of a walking dad joke despite not having a dad. SICK BURN, DAD).

Grieving someone who is alive is super weird, and mercifully is something many people don’t seem to understand.

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Things are getting hotter in Kansas City with VAMP KC

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By Nicole Mitchell
Photos by Travis Young

Kansas City’s newest LGBTQIA+-owned burlesque group VAMP KC welcomes you to its all-inclusive classes and performances.

Penelope Mais Oui isn’t from Kansas City, but since moving here from Colorado Springs, she’s been creating noise in the burlesque and LGBTQIA+ scenes. Before moving to the city, Penelope produced a series of classic and classic-inspired burlesque shoes at a locally-owned Colorado Springs art theatre.

“I spent the pandemic not working on a stage,” Penelope says about moving to KC. “When I decided to dip my toes into the burlesque waters again…,” which was first as part of a local troupe, “I found there was a space, a desire, even a need in Kansas City for classic-style burlesque.” By using her previous experience, Penelope knew just what Kansas City was missing. “I already had a vision of what that could look like,” she says.

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