Attending the Sexual Freedom Summit in August and looking to connect with your fellow attendees? Maybe you need a roommate or just want a conference buddy? Join the conversation on Bloom! 

1. Download Bloom Community with referral code woodhulls22
2. Sign up for the Sexual Freedom Summit
3.   the people on the list who you want to chat with. When the   is mutual, you'll be notified and can chat via the app.
4. Check back to see who joins after you!

Buffalo shooting victims: ‘Hero’ guard and a teacher who was a ‘pillar of the community’ are among 10 killed (CNN) 

Alisha Ebrahimji, Dakin Andone, and Amir Vera share information on the ten Black people killed in Buffalo by a white supremacist: Celestine Chaney, a grandmother to six and breast cancer survivor; Roberta Drury, “a very happy person who had a good heart”; Andre Mackniel, who was killed while picking up a surprise birthday cake for his three-year-old son; Katherine Massey, an activist; Margus Morrison, a sneaker collector who loved music and worked as a school bus aide; Heyward Patterson, who enjoyed telling jokes and always "dressed to impress”; Aaron Salter, Jr., who “"had a caring spirit and a desire to take care of other people”; Geraldine Talley, an avid baker who was the “life of the party” and organized family reunions; Ruth Whitfield, who stopped to buy groceries on her way back from visiting her husband in the nursing home; and Pearl Young, a substitute teacher and “pillar in the community.” Read more.

Can We Imagine a World without Institutionalized Kids? (The Appeal) 

Ras Sanford asks us to imagine a world without institutionalized kids: “I spent much of my early childhood touring the various residential congregate care facilities where my older brother spent ages 10 to 14. I became used to fawning at the residential treatment counselors for treats and scavenging old toys that the clients forgot. Above all, I refrained from seeking emotional help from parents, teachers, or doctors, lest I get spirited away to a facility, the way my brother and others in my community did. The threat of being removed from my home was ever-present for me and my friends. Speaking up would leave us vulnerable to entering the child welfare or juvenile detention systems. This phenomenon of whisking kids away from their communities, often for random offenses or emotional difficulties like truancy or self-harm, can prime youth for the prison system.” Read more.

Abortion Is a Disability Issue (Rewire News Group) 

Robyn Powell discusses abortion as a disability issue: “ Overturning Roe will be devastating for all people, but most deeply for historically marginalized groups, including people with disabilities. Nevertheless, when disability is invoked in discourse concerning abortion, it is typically regarding abortions based on fetal disability diagnoses. Yet by framing disability and abortion only in the context of disability-selective abortions, activists, scholars, and policymakers fail to recognize that it is actual people with disabilities—not fetuses with disability diagnoses—who are harmed by abortion restrictions.” Read more.

Mississippians on Medicaid Lose Coverage 60 Days After Birth (Truthout) 

Sarah Smith writes about reproductive care in Mississippi: “When it comes to reproductive care, Mississippi has a dual distinction. The state spawned the law that likely will lead to the Supreme Court striking down Roe v. Wade. It is also unique among Deep South states for doing the least to provide health care coverage to low-income people who have given birth. Mississippians on Medicaid, the government health insurance program for the poor, lose coverage a mere 60 days after childbirth. That’s often well before the onset of postpartum depression or life-threatening, birth-related infections.” Read more.

The Ultimate Guide on How to Sext (them.) 

Stephanie Nieves shares the ultimate guide on how to sext: “Sexting is an easy way to experience pleasure when physical sex is not an option. [...] But sexting can be more complicated than it seems. There are always issues of consent and comfort to consider, and the nuances of physical communication are often lost over text messaging; you don’t want to send the wrong words at the right time or the right words at the wrong time. You also don’t want to kill the mood by missing the vibes that your partner is giving out.” Read more.

Tess’ Take: Parental Rights at Kids’ Expense (Woodhull’s Sex & Politics Blog) 

Tess Joseph critiques the so-called “parental rights” movement: “Parental advocates are asking for government interventions to “protect” kids, particularly in the realm of education. That said, the rallying cry here isn’t tied to, say, the right to get information from teachers or the right to opt kids out of certain school activities. It instead centers on the supposed right to control the curriculum for public school.” Read more.