This post is part of a Nat. Brut series in which feminist writers, artists, and activists discuss people, publications, or organizations who are working toward inclusivity. Today, Reina Gattuso shares her choices.
ProPublica
“ProPublica… has the sadly rare and deeply beautiful distinction of paying its just-starting-out reporters…”
I care a lot about equity in journalism, both as an ethical good in and of itself, and because diversity and good labor conditions within the field allows for a more accurate, more complex news. (Also as a young, queer female writer who wants a job with health insurance — bitch better have my money.) Besides consistently producing important, ethically-driven investigative content, ProPublica — unlike many progressive news organizations — has the sadly rare and deeply beautiful distinction of paying its just-starting-out reporters an actual decent wage, to which I say: Thank fucking God. ProPublica has also recently been super accountable about its own racial and gender issues and the way these demographics reflect broader trends, and begun some lovely diversity initiatives. Most impressive is the fellowship program for student journalists of color, who get sweet semesterly stipends to write for their college papers. Get it, Propublica.
Feministing
“…I’m excited with our work in creating intersectional models of gender-based violence…”
Self-promotion time! I write for Feministing, and we’re awesome. We really are. As a result of really painstaking, conscientious efforts to bring a bunch of voices onboard, we ourselves are a hella diverse brilliant group of sparklingly talented people you want to hang out with. And this shines through in our content. In particular, I’m excited with our work in creating intersectional models of gender-based violence: Models that understand sexual and intimate partner violence in the context of other violences; that strive to produce kinds of justice that do not bolster mass incarceration; and that emphasize compassion for all victims, no matter who they are or what they do. Feministing has a lot of writers who come from the college anti-rape movement, and I’ve been super excited to see everyone’s work develop and complexify as we learn more and better ways to conceptualize, and thus combat, violence.
Yasmin Nair’s Series on Paying Writers
Love her or love her with reservations, Yasmin Nair has some important things to say. In this series, she asks the question on the tip of everyone’s bank account: Why oh why oh why do progressive publications with incomes who pay editors not pay writers and interns? A lot of the reason is systemic: It’s no great secret that cash is tricky to come by in today’s publishing landscape, and the system isn’t structured so that writers can be paid a living wage. And there are a number of nonprofit, ideologically motivated places struggling to even put out their shit.
“…Yasmin Nair has some important things to say…”
But also, folks, capitalism is a clever, clever system, and there are a bunch of outlets that have the cash but don’t choose to pay writers with it. And we all know what this ends up meaning: Writers from lower-income backgrounds can’t get a start, and writers who freelance full time can’t catch a break. To this again I say: Bitch better have my health insurance.
Sensing a theme here? Yeah, yeah, we are: Much of the time, including traditionally marginalized voices is a question of cold, hard cash. Have some cash? Donate to Nat Brut! If you do I’ll give you a big, fat, totally nonphysical virtual kiss, and you will feel good about yourself for days, and something beautiful will happen.
Reina Gattuso writes about sex, queerness, pop culture, and institutional equity. She’s a weekly columnist for Feministing, and her work has appeared at attn:, Bitch, and The Washington Post. Reina is currently researching queerness in contemporary Bollywood as a Fulbright fellow at Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi, India. You should follow her on twitter and check out more of her work at her swanky website.
Nat. Brut is a biannual journal of art and literature that aims to advance equality and inclusivity in all creative fields. To learn more about us, or to order a copy of our latest issue, visit us online!
