#5SmartReads - July 8, 2022

Hitha on British politics, working moms, and being inclusive with our words

July 08, 2022

The petty part of me feels this way about British politics right now:

Petty memes aside, it is important to know what is happening (Prime Minister Boris Johnson is resigning), and why.

Private clubs and affairs. Government funds and properties used for parties during lockdown. Increased taxes and costs of living. No clear direction from the government.

It reads like the plot of a Netflix show, but it’s the reality of millions of Britons. And if you’re wondering “What does this have to do with me? I don’t live in Great Britain!”, remember that the UK used to be the world’s leading power (as the United States used to be), and what’s happening in GB very much may happen here in this country.

“If you actually watch our show [Workin’ Moms], the storyline percentage of us interacting with our kids is probably less than 20%,” says Reitman. “This is really a show about women outside of their nurseries. It’s about women who happen to have the identity of mothers going after their dreams unapologetically.”

I would like to make Catherine Reitman’s Workin’ Moms mandatory viewing for all the men in this country, mostly because so many of them have no clue about the mental and physical gymnastics that comes with raising tiny humans with little to no structural support from the workplace nor the government. And while it feels impossible most of the time, there is joy and love and laughter in those moments with your kids or with your friends who are in the same boat.

I love the show, but I love Catherine even more for being so honest about her reality as a working parent and how the show (whose seventh and final season will air winter 2023) depicts that reality.

Yes, women get pregnant. But so do nonbinary people and trans men.

And it takes very little effort to include them in this fight for our reproductive rights and health.

“The GOP certainly sees the commonalities between cis female abortion seekers and trans and nonbinary people fighting for their rights—that’s why they’ve attacked the rights of both groups consistently for years. Why, exactly, can’t we work together to fight back?”

Emma Specter’s words on this topic are far more eloquent than anything I could write, so please take the time to read this important essay.

If you haven’t picked up my friend Shirlene’s debut novel On Rotation yet…

Well. I’m a little disappointed. But Marie Claire’s got an excerpt of the book, and have made it their July book club pick, so you can see what you’re in for before you buy your own copy.

This book could easily be a Grey’s Anatomy prequel (the hold that show has had on me for two decades), and I’m in awe of Shirlene having written it while finishing up her medical training as a cardiologist.

We stan a multi-hyphenated queen, and more importantly we support them. So get your copy of On Rotation however you can - requesting it from your local library, buying your own copy, buying multiple copies so you can give them to friends.

While I’m disappointed that paid leave and bigger investments in the care economy are not in the reconciliation bill, I will happily support legislation that helps lower drug costs and invests in renewable energy and climate priorities (carbon capture/sequestration, further fortifying recycling programs, etc).

This is far from a done deal (the Senate parliamentarian must confirm that the bill fits the budget rules required for reconciliation bills), but it’s a good sign.

And we could all use some good news right about now.

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