Why We're Not Working This Afternoon

Hi Jezebel Readers,

Today, between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. ET, no stories will appear on Jezebel. The staff and I will not be working in observation of International Women’s Day and in solidarity with striking women, especially trans women, women of color, poor women, sick women, and all those women who facilitate our societal structure with both paid and unpaid labor.

Our absence in the day’s narrative should underscore not only the work we do— but what would happen if we stopped doing it. As longtime readers know, Jezebel isn’t just a women’s website—of which there are many. Jezebel is also sustained and run by women. Our eye is critical to production of our stories, from conception to execution. If we, women and other marginalized genders, left our metaphoric (and sometimes physical) desks, many voices would be lost and important stories would simply not be covered. And given the large swath with which women, particularly women of color, queer women, disabled women, and Native women, have been omitted from history, there is ample precedent of how this plays out and what it ultimately costs us.

Last year, I read a biography of Italian journalist Oriana Fallaci, who had a lengthy career covering everything from actors to World War II. When she was asked what she liked so much about journalism, she reportedly said, “What other profession allows you to write history as it is being made?”

Without our hands, you don’t get real history. You get press releases. Women journalists’ contribution to the archive is performed in real time, at a relentless pace, and with acute judgement and awareness. And on a day that is about honoring both our history and our future, it’s best to be reminded of our service.

Editor’s note: When I wrote this, I was unaware of Fallaci’s anti-Muslim bigotry. Now that I am, I regret selecting the quote. Her views are antithetical to the spirit and history of International Women’s Day.