Women Writers Face Major Hurdles, Especially In Bestselling Genres

You’ve probably read the stats: books by women are being reviewed more and more by prestigious outlets, but gender equity in the literary world has yet to be achieved. And, books by women are far less likely to win major awards.

Organizations such as VIDA work to hold reviews and awards committees accountable for not only their coverage of women, but of all kinds of women. However, they tend to focus on the so-called literary genre. So, how do women in other genres — science fiction, mystery, street lit, women’s lit — fare?

Ahead of a panel at the Bay Area Book Festival centered on “Feminist Activism Through Popular Fiction,” authors Meg Elison, Aya de Leon and Kate Raphael weighed in on the challenges they face as women writing in their respective genres. Raphael, an activist who writes mystery books, says there’s an active feminist community among her fellow mystery writers. But, she says she struggles to publish stories about women characters who indulge in the same antics as their noir-ish male counterparts.

Meanwhile, Elison and de Leon ― a dystopian writer and a street lit writer, respectively ― both say there is a dearth of the types of stories they want to tell, stories about the reality of women’s struggles, amid an action-centered plot. Below, they discuss the specific road blocks that women who write popular fiction face:

What is the genre you write in, and what specific problems does it pose as far as gender parity goes?

Meg Elison, author of The Book of the Unnamed Midwife: I write speculative fiction, which comes under the big umbrella of science fiction. My first books are post-apocalyptic stories. Science fiction was invented by a woman, and most of my favorite writers in the genre are women. Post-apocalyptic fiction, however, is crazily unbalanced. Most of the stories that take place after the end of the world are by men, about men and written for men.

I read hundreds of books in the genre where women were irrelevant, used as plot devices and barely verbal. They almost never needed birth control and they definitely never needed tampons. I realized that the story that I wanted to read really hadn’t been written yet: What if the apocalypse was very asymmetrical? What if it (like everything else) was harder on women and children than it was on men?

Aya de Leon, author of the Justice Hustlers series: My Justice Hustlers series mixes elements of women’s fiction, street lit and erotic romance. They are politically charged tales of labor organizing, women’s health care and wealth redistribution that center on the planning and execution of multimillion dollar heists. 

Street lit is traditionally male-dominated, and — as in most parts of the literary industry — male gatekeepers and audiences tend to ignore women’s writing. Every genre has its trademark cover art imagery. They function like signals to genre audiences: This is your type of book. The symbols of urban fiction are guns, money, jewelry and urban landscapes. While male cover models are sometimes shirtless, they are generally heavily muscled and often armed. Typically, women’s book covers in the genre skew toward romance tropes, rather than action.

In order to be consistent with other books in the imprint, my novel covers have a single young woman of color looking sexy in a sort of “come hither” way. A more accurate representation of my series would be a sexy, multi-racial group of armed women in the midst of a heist operation. A male writer wouldn’t have the same problem, because the mainstream images of male strength and sexiness are the same: power is sexy and power is power.

Kate Raphael, author of Murder Under the Bridge: I write mysteries, and women actually make up over 50 percent of published mystery and crime fiction writers, but as Sisters in Crime has documented, get fewer than 50 percent of reviews and far fewer in the most prestigious outlets. There is also a narrower range of characters that are acceptable for women in crime fiction. An agent rejected my book because my main character, a Palestinian policewoman, disobeyed her boss. So many mysteries involve a male detective pursuing an investigation after he’s been ordered not to, having his badge and gun confiscated, that it’s a cliché. 

There’s much ado lately about the “strong female lead.” Why do you think that’s an insufficient literary exploration of feminism?

Elison: The “strong female lead” is just another trope. Too often, it means a stereotypical cool girl who eschews femininity to be one of the guys and wield weapons. Too often she carries her own internalized misogyny, or she’s just a regulation hot chick who happens to know kung fu.

It’s insufficient because the movement for the correct representation of the wild spectrum of human gender and sexuality is just getting started. We’re just staring to see tender boys in films like “Moonlight,” or fully realized tough women in books like Chuck Wendig’s Atlanta Burns. We’re just now seeing realistic trans and nonbinary characters, asexual characters and so many more. Ripley in a mecha suit is great, but not enough. A disabled Furiosa is a wonderful start, but it’s got to keep rolling.

De Leon: Pop culture stories with a strong female lead are an important component of feminism, especially in a media world that skews so strongly toward men: Male writers of books, and male protagonists on-screen with male creators behind the scenes. But Andi Zeisler’s recent book, We Were Feminists Once, reminds us that the ultimate goal of feminism isn’t to applaud an individual woman being “empowered,” but about creating gender equality for all women. I am most excited about the feminist potential of stories that have a broader scope of what they envision as far as interrupting and ultimately ending sexism in the world.

Raphael: So many of the strong female leads are still very stereotyped. There’s still an expectation that a woman can be beautiful, fashionable, f**kable, vulnerable, not shrill and at the same time be kickass. Of course some women are all those things, but many aren’t. The real-life struggles of women are often oversimplified. Like, who’s doing the childcare? And how does the driven woman cop or spy or agent or lawyer feel about leaving her kids to go running off after the murderer at all hours? If she’s heterosexual, is her husband resentful, and if so, what does she do about it? I try to introduce those dilemmas in my books. In a feminist novel, women should see characters like themselves ― women of different races and cultures, different body types, dykes, mothers, single women, poor women and hopefully not in a United Colors of Benetton way, but in the messy, complex way that exists in the real world. 

In a feminist novel, women should see characters like themselves ― women of different races and cultures, different body types, dykes, mothers, single women, poor women.
Kate Raphael

Would you say you set out to write a feminist book?

Elison: Absolutely, unequivocally, yes. There is no part of my outlook or my work that is not shaped by my experience as a woman, and my belief that we are entitled to equality and almost always denied it. Writers and artists will often try to dodge or soften this label, claiming their work is for everybody, that it’s just a story about people. My work is for everybody who agrees that women are people. That isn’t too much to ask.

De Leon: Definitely. I’m not interested in turning readers on or off with the feminist label. I’m interested in embodying feminist values.

Raphael: Feminism is really core to who I am so I can’t conceive of not writing a feminist book. 

In what way do you think your politics work alongside your storytelling abilities? Do they complement one another? Enhance one another? Work against one another, at times?

Elison: The story must come first and definitely did for me. Wrapping a story around your politics invariably turns out a monstrosity like Atlas Shrugged, where somebody just rants for 40 pages about your philosophy. Nobody is fooled. Letting your life and your truth come through in a story without fear cannot help but be built partly of your own politics. My stories contain myself, my sexuality, my identity. Those things are political; they do not come apart. If a writer finds that their politics work against their story, it is likely because there is some part of themselves about which they cannot or will not tell the truth.

De Leon: I was really interested in reaching beyond the traditional feminist audience. That’s why I wrote a book that has elements of chick lit and romance. I wanted to mainstream subversive political ideas by serving them in the forms that women have been taught to consume. And I was interested in remixing tropes of romance and chick lit that seemed to conflict with feminism: hunky men, swooning moments, stiletto heels, shopping, competition between women. I wanted to engage all those mainstream appetites, but challenge them, as well.

Raphael: It’s a tough question. Again, the crime genre lends itself to political storytelling because it’s concerned fundamentally with questions of justice and injustice. A good crime story lays bare the power relations in a society ― in my case, in Palestine and Israel. So it was well suited to what I wanted to do. I could never set aside my politics to tell a story, because a radical analysis of social relations is how I view the world. If I didn’t bring in radical politics, and activism, I wouldn’t be telling a true story and certainly not one about Palestine. I just am not interested in apolitical stories, they seem flat and devoid of meaning to me. I can barely stand to read one, so I could definitely not write one.

Have you always felt comfortable imbuing your work with your identity as an activist or feminist? What obstacles have you faced in trying to do this?

Elison: I don’t know if “comfortable” is the right word to describe it, but it has always felt right. The obstacles are mostly that people whose opinions don’t matter will shout them at me on the internet. I’m perfectly capable of handling that. I’ve had a lot of thoughtful conversations about my depictions of gender and sexuality, and it’s fascinating to hear different interpretations of my work. But the difference between that conversation and an anonymous all-caps accusation of feminazism is pretty easy to discern. Though I respect the work of authors like Roxane Gay and Lindy West who give of their time and patience to try and educate trolls, I find it a poor investment of both in my case.

De Leon: In the past, I think I was more preachy. I had a harder time writing flawed protagonists. I wanted everyone to be much more honorable, but they weren’t very interesting. […] I hope to bridge some of that with a book that is politically charged but delivers all the feels in the romantic arc, and a good heist plot, as well as upending stereotypes of race, gender, sexuality, gender identity, nationality, and class. Ultimately, that’s what I want to do, whatever the cover or the genre or the shelf in the bookstore.

Raphael: I have no choice because if anyone Googles me, the first hundred things that come up are going to be my activism. I do a feminist radio show, I used to write for feminist and queer newspapers, I was interviewed by the FBI after 9/11 because of my feminist and antiwar organizing, there are stories about me being deported from Israel ― that’s just who I am. For sure, it narrows the market. 

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News Roundup for May 31, 2017

Some news to go with your morning covfefe.

1. The United States has successfully tested their anti-missile interception system. Not looking at at anyone in particular *cough* North Korea *cough*. More here.

2. Kathy Griffin is under fire after her misstep “protest” picture of her holding a severed head of a Donald Trump dummy. Hollywood is out of touch… More here.

3. 80 are dead and hundreds were injured in a Kabul bomb attack. More here.

4. Michael Flynn is going to start cooperating with the Russia investigation. More here.

5. As if we needed more evidence, the president is moron. #Covfefe. More here.

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You've Been Warned! Don't Fall For These Summer Scams

It happened to Shirley Kroot on a recent visit to Paris: the classic summer vacation scam.

“I was walking along the Seine one afternoon and a woman stopped in front of me,” remembers Kroot, a retired real estate appraiser from Tucson, Ariz. “I could have sworn that she picked up a ring right in front of me and handed it to me, asking for money for food.”

Kroot examined the ring, which was stamped with an “18K” sign. A fair trade, she thought.

“I gave her all the change I had, but she said it was not enough. All I had was a 10-euro note so I gave it to her,” she says.

But on the way back to her apartment, she stopped at a jewelry store to ask how much the ring was worth.

Rien,” said the jeweler. “Nothing.”

How did she know? The shopkeeper opened a drawer filled with other “18K” rings.

Summertime is scam time, so this is the time to brush up on your scam-ology. From moving scams to travel schemes, there’s no shortage of awful things waiting to befall you. And, as a bonus, I’ll tell you about the time I was almost scammed with a summer trick.

But first things first. What’s out there this summer?

Home improvement scams “There are all sorts of variations to this but one common one is to say that they are doing work for a neighbor and they figured they’d knock on the door and see if you needed anything,” says Jef Henninger, a Tinton Falls, N.J., consumer attorney. “Since your neighbor trusts them, you should too, right?” Not so fast, he advises. First, you should actually speak to your neighbors to make sure that they used this person and that they did good work. Anyone can show up to your house with some tools and request money. And get everything in writing. Don’t fall for the old “I left the paper in my other truck, I’ll be back later.” Later may never happen.

Moving day scams Last Memorial Day, the BBB sounded the alarm about moving day scams. You know, where a moving company quotes a too-good-to-be true rate and then holds your items hostage at the end. Noting that half of all moves occur between Memorial Day and Labor Day, the BBB advised customers to “do their homework,” noting that it had recorded 460 moving day complaints in the previous 12 months. Here’s your first assignment: Make sure the movers are licensed. You can do that on this site.

Vacation scams Where to even begin? Since one of my specialties is travel, I have no idea. It’s true, travel scams mushroom during the summer, since that’s when everyone tries to take a vacation. Maybe a good place is the proliferation of travel clubs, which offer discounts in exchange for a pricey membership fee. I have a long list of complaints here on my consumer advocacy website. Travel clubs are easy to avoid. Simply put, never purchase a club membership. After writing hundreds of stories on the topic, I’m convinced that there’s no such thing as a legitimate travel club. Another piece of advice: If it looks too good to be true, it probably is. Avoid.

Summer job scams Job scams are a year-round problem, but they rear their ugly head more often during the summer, when out-of-school kids look for employment. The Federal Trade Commission has done some good work on unearthing and identifying job scams. Scammers advertise jobs where legitimate employers do — online, in newspapers, and even on TV and radio. Here’s how to tell whether a job lead may be a scam: If you you need to pay to get the job, have to fork over a credit card, or it’s a “previously undisclosed” federal job, it’s a scam. Better yet, remember this ― a legitimate job pays you, not the other way around.

Grandparent scams There’s no shortage of travel scams that target the elderly, including the well-known Grandparent Scam. That’s where someone posing as your grandson calls, claims to be in jail, and begs for money. Hey grandparents, just say “no.” If you suspect it’s really your grandson or granddaughter, call another family member to verify that the request is genuine. And beware of a caller who insists on secrecy ― that can be a bad sign.

Street scams that prey on you Practice your “no thank yous” as you explore your town or go on vacation. People there will be looking to scam you. If you think experts don’t get scammed like this, think again. In Kenya recently, I was accosted by a man who wanted to know if I could give him a dollar bill, since coins couldn’t be exchanged. But he only had three quarters. I said no and then watched a veteran travel expert fall for the scam. It can happen to anyone.

So this summer, be on the lookout for new and old scams. And remember, the only reason they keep coming back is that people keep falling for them. Don’t become a statistic.

Christopher Elliott specializes in solving unsolvable consumer problems. Contact him with your questions on his advocacy website. You can also follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Google or sign up for his newsletter.

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This Is How Millennials Feel About Teaching

American education is a capsizing social issue but a thriving industry.

Our high school graduation rate is 72 percent, the highest completion in decades according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation. With 68 percent of those graduates enrolling in college, “Millennials are sizing up to be the most educated generation in history,” the Chamber’s millennial review reports.

Higher education tuition is consequently rising at a faster rate than other goods and services, which is good for institutions, debatably good for teachers and, of course, catastrophic for students. For the first time in America’s history, we have more student loan debt than credit card debt.

Both sides of the political spectrum battle for different breeds of education reform. With one-in-five millennials becoming teachers, they’re caught in the crossfire. This is the current state of their work:

1) Their hands are tied.

Teachers often love their actual work but suffer from accompanying administrative politics. One teacher at Knox County Schools explained in a review for kununu, where I blog about millennials in the workplace, “Administrators are so worried about keeping their jobs and moving on up the ladder that their judgment becomes clouded and they end up making intra-political decisions instead of making decisions based on doing the right thing!” Another loved teaching at first, “but then it got political in a way, like high-school.” The administrative expectation for teachers, said one at Hyde Park Schools, is to adapt to last-minute changes “with a smile and no questions.” 

Many teachers describe their administrations as rude, uncaring, unsupportive and disrespectful.

Many teachers describe their administrations as rude, uncaring, unsupportive and disrespectful. Dozens of teachers who left reviews on kununu echoed the general sentiment of this Horn Lake Middle School teacher: “the administration is disruptive to teamwork, overly critical, condescending and doesn’t recognize and acknowledge the talent and efforts of employees.” Another from Viewpoint School quipped, “You are replaceable as far as they are concerned.”

School administrations may become even more difficult to navigate as they side with the hovering parents of increasingly difficult kids. As education becomes more expensive, young Americans and their parents become pickier, more demanding consumers. For instance, the Chamber Foundation found that college professors sense their students demanding to be entertained. One teacher at Scott County Schools, complained of students with “poor attitudes [and] apathy” A Livingston Public School teacher thinks it’s a cultural issue: “We are afraid to make [young people] accountable for their actions.” Indeed, one Alliance City School District teacher explained that the “Administration was always on the parent/student side NOT teachers’ sides.”

2) They’re undervalued.

Teachers aren’t only undervalued by their administrations. They’re undervalued by our culture. In 2014, the centrist think tank Third Way uncovered that only 35 percent of surveyed millennials described teachers as smart. Instead, these millennials tended to see teaching as a profession for “average people.” In 2014, 50 percent of millennials thought that teaching had recently gotten less prestigious.

They’re undervalued financially, too. One educator at University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire reported that his university was “overworked and underpaid.” The impending threats of layoffs “deeply hurt morale,” and Those who are left are asked to do more with less every day.” Another from St. Catherine’s Center for Children said that the school’s staff hadn’t gotten a raise above three percent in eight years. In consequence, “Most employees are considered working poor.”

The teacher pay problem doesn’t just stem from low entry-level salaries; it stems from plateauing salaries over the course of one’s career. One teacher at Wake County Public School System noted that senior teachers get fewer raises than younger ones. Another teacher at Hillsborough County Schools explained that the “pay schedule stalls at age 47” for the typical teacher: “Do you want to have your pay capped that young?”

Unfortunately, low pay dissuades talented millennials from teaching. According to Third Way’s survey, a full 39 percent of millennial students said teacher salaries would need to increase for them to consider the profession. Many others pursue teaching for a few years but leave due to poor compensation. Because many teachers “soon grow tired of the low pay for the long hours,” says one teacher, “turnover is a huge problem.”

3) They’re rewarded.

Fortunately, teachers are rewarded in a different, more meaningful way. More than nearly any other profession, teachers report feeling fulfilled by their work. “As a teacher I always felt a sense of accomplishment at the end of my lessons,” said one at Fordham High School. This has nothing to do with the work environment but my personal satisfaction.” Another from Kid Orange Tech exclaimed, “The feelings of knowing you are contributing to a child’s education and wellbeing is incredibly rewarding!” A teacher at Premier Education Group wrote, “I firmly believe we changed many lives in our time there together.” 

Fortunately, teachers are rewarded in a different, more meaningful way. More than nearly any other profession, teachers report feeling fulfilled by their work.

Moreover, today’s teachers are rewarded in an unprecedented amount of ways — sometimes without even leaving their house. Technology has broadened education and, consequently, the variety of teaching positions available across the U.S. The GOP campaigned on the demand that “We need new systems of learning to compete with traditional four-year schools,” such as technical institutions, online universities and life-long learning programs. Today, 31 percent of all higher education students have taken at least one course online. The popularity of such options will only grow.

The takeaway

Today is a hard time to be a teacher. But with proliferating teaching options and education a political priority on both sides of the spectrum, it’s also a monumental time to be a teacher. “The work is rewarding, knowing that we are helping to further the education for the next generation,” one Freedom Prep Academy teacher wrote. There’s nothing more important.

Sign up for Caroline’s newsletter to get her latest articles on millennials, psychology and culture to your inbox.

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Exxon Shareholders Vote To Disclose Climate Risks

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WASHINGTON — As news spread that President Donald Trump reportedly plans to remove the U.S. from the historic Paris Agreement on climate change, ExxonMobil shareholders voted in favor of a proposal calling on the company to disclose the risks that climate change policies pose to its business. 

The measure, which Exxon urged investors to vote against, passed with 62.3 percent of the vote. 

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, trustee of the New York Common Retirement Fund, said in a statement that the vote was “an unprecedented victory for investors in the fight to ensure a smooth transition to a low carbon economy.” The fund holds nearly $1 billion in Exxon shares. 

“Climate change is one of the greatest long-term risks we face in our portfolio and has direct impact on the core business of ExxonMobil,” DiNapoli said. “The burden is now on ExxonMobil to respond swiftly and demonstrate that it takes shareholder concerns about climate risk seriously.”

This is a developing story. Check back for updates. 

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Serena Williams' Babymoon In Monaco Looked Pretty Perfect

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Serena Williams is celebrating the upcoming arrival of her first child in style. 

The tennis great and her fiancé, Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian, babymooned in Monaco this past weekend. The two did a little sightseeing with friends and even watched the Monaco Formula One Grand Prix. 

For the Grand Prix outing, Williams wore a beautiful, brightly colored zebra print dress: 

She even hung out with Thor himself, actor Chris Hemsworth: 

While boating with friends, Williams opted for an all-black look, from her dress to her hat: 

Chill Time

A post shared by Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) on May 27, 2017 at 11:08am PDT

Loved arriving in Monaco by @astonmartinlagonda AM37 powerboat! #AMArtOfLiving #AstonMartin #AM37 #MonacoGP

A post shared by Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) on May 27, 2017 at 10:05am PDT

During the trip, Williams and Ohanian stayed at the Chateau Eza hotel, according to Architectural Digest. The luxurious hotel was once the former residence to a Swedish prince, which makes it the perfect fit for tennis royalty like Williams. 

It looks like the two enjoyed their stay: 

Perfect weekend. @valvogt

A post shared by Alexis Ohanian (@alexisohanian) on May 29, 2017 at 12:46pm PDT

As did their friends! 

Babymooning

A post shared by Valerie Vogt (@valvogt) on May 29, 2017 at 4:12am PDT

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Trevor Noah Calls Out Donald Trump For His Recent 'Load Of Bulls**t'

Donald Trump may be back in the United States ― currently working tirelessly to make his new word, covfefe, a thing. But even after the long Memorial Day break, Tuesday night’s “The Daily Show” still wanted to focus on the president’s recent international trip.

Trevor Noah ridiculed the various details that happened over the last week, although “orb” jokes already felt years too late at this point.

Still, Noah found more fresh ground upon which to take a stance by taking the president to task for contradictions Trump has made recently.

“The President also signed a deal to sell the Saudis $110 billion in weapons,” said Noah. “Which, can I just say for a second, what a load of bullshit. Right?” 

Which, can I just say for a second, what a load of bullshit. Right?
Trevor Noah on Trump’s recent contradictions

The host continued after a pause.

“No, no, Trump goes to Saudi Arabia and never once mentions ‘radical Islamic terrorism,’ which is what he condemned Obama for. And on top of that, he signs the biggest arms deal in American history with the Saudis. The same people he even said were behind 9/11.”

At this, “The Daily Show” flashed articles citing Trump’s previous statements. Noah then launched into his Trump impression.

“Really? Was Trump sitting there with them like, [as Trump] ‘All right, you gotta promise you’re not going to use these to do another 9/11.’ They’re like, ‘No, Donald. We’ll never do another 9/11. We’ll do a completely different date.’”

With the pace of news today, a long segment about Trump’s mishaps and shenanigans from last week could have entirely fallen flat. But Noah’s willingness to attack so bluntly made up for the delayed response.

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Alex Jones' Former Wife: 'He's A Really Unhappy, Disturbed Person'

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Based on the way the ultraconservative Alex Jones screams and rants on his talk show, it’s probably not shocking to learn he’s not the easiest person to live with.

But Kelly Jones revealed just how bad it was to be married to the conspiracy peddler.

“I just think he’s a really unhappy disturbed person,” she told “Inside Edition” Tuesday. “He really was very cruel to me every day of our marriage. He would just make fun of me, I couldn’t do anything right. He would tell me I was fat.”

Even before their marriage, Kelly said there were signs even that Jones was a difficult man. A case in point was his reaction on Sept. 11, 2001 to the terrorist attacks.

“I was going outside with a candle to stand with my neighbors on the sidewalk to mourn with them and he just yelled at me,” she said. “I think on that very day he said there was conspiracy behind it and I just said, ‘Whoa!’”

The couple was married for 12 years before divorcing in 2015. In April, they battled each other for custody of their three children in a high-profile court case.

Dr. Alissa Sherry, the case manager who handled the custody issues during the divorce, told the court that a therapist diagnosed Alex Jones with narcissistic personality disorder, a condition that can impact a person’s sense of empathy.

Sherry also said that Kelly Jones suffered instances of “emotional dysregulation,” which means she has an inability to control the intensity of her emotions.

However, Kelly Jones was awarded joint custody with her home being the primary residence.

But the kids haven’t come home yet. 

Alex Jones has asked a judge to set aside the jury verdict while he fights to give her less time with the kids.

“I just want my kids to come home and have a normal life,” she told “Inside Edition.”

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Coral Reefs Are Changing So Fast, Scientists Say We Need To Rewrite The Playbook

Time is running out to save the world’s imperiled coral reefs ― and humanity must enact sweeping changes if they’re to live for much longer, an international team of scientists warns.

In a paper published Wednesday in the journal Nature, coral researchers say the reefs of the past will probably never be seen again because human activity has devastated them. But despite dramatic obituaries for structures like Australia’s Great Barrier Reef and mounting concern that there’s limited time to save them, scientists say there is still hope for the structures.

“We’re trying to get past the gloom and doom,” said study lead author Terry Hughes, director of Australia’s ARC Centre for Excellence for Coral Reef Studies. “There’s no shortage of people saying that 90 percent of the reefs will be dead soon. We’re trying to find a way forward.”

“We can still have reefs in the future that will look OK in terms of supporting reef tourism and fisheries and the other benefits that they provide to people,” he added. “They’re just going to be very different ecosystems.”

Hughes and his co-authors from organizations including the Scripps Institute of Oceanography, the Smithsonian Institution and the National Center for Atmospheric Research called for radical changes in the management and governance of the world’s reefs. This would include attempts to meet emissions targets that the Paris climate agreement set in 2016 to thwart the worst effects of climate change, diminish overfishing and reduce poverty around reef ecosystems.

Global warming often garners the majority of attention, as it is by far the biggest threat to coral formations sensitive to even slight changes in temperature. But  the paper’s authors say many reefs are also suffering “death by a thousand cuts.”

“Reefs suffer simultaneously from dredging, over-harvesting, pollution, sewage, sediments and steadily increasing temperatures,” said Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute marine ecologist Jeremy Jackson, a co-author of the paper, in a statement.

Human activity has already dramatically altered many of the planet’s coral reefs in recent years. Most recently, the Great Barrier Reef was hit with the worst mass bleaching event in history and researchers said up to 95 percent of parts of the reef had been affected. It was just the third mass bleaching event recorded and killed more than two-thirds of parts of the Great Barrier after the reef was baked in warm water for months.

Scientists predict such events could happen with far greater frequency as climate change continues. The paper’s authors write the world now faces “a fundamentally different reality [where] it is no longer possible to restore coral reefs to their past configurations.”

“A lot of people are still looking to preserve reefs to what they looked like in the past,” Hughes said. “We don’t think that’s feasible anymore … We’re arguing that people’s behavior and how they interact with coral reefs needs to be addressed. The coral reef crisis is a crisis of governance.”

The group points to recent efforts like those made by the Coral Triangle Initiative, a partnership between six governments in Southeast Asia and several environmental groups to craft a sustainable plan to save local reefs. Such efforts allow multiple stakeholders to address a problem bigger than any could tackle on its own.

Hughes said that despite the terrifying news surrounding reefs in recent months, “they’re not doomed.” But time is of the essence and “there is a rapidly closing window of opportunity.”

The group ended the paper with a call to persist in the conservation fight.

“We should not give up up hope for the persistence of Earth’s coral reefs,” the authors write. “To steer coral reefs through the next century, we will need to be bold, to embrace change and to recognize that securing essential services from coral reefs will require a new approach to science, management and governance.”

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Someone Hung A Black Teddy Bear By A Noose As A 'Prank' On A Black Principal

Someone at a Raleigh, North Carolina, high school thought it was a good idea to play a racist “prank” on the school’s black principal.

On Tuesday morning, Wakefield High School students found a black teddy bear hanging by a noose on the side of the building. A sign reading “Make Wakefield TRIPP again #smartlunch” was posted next to the bear, referencing the school’s former white principal who was replaced in 2015 and an hour-long lunch break that no longer is in place, students told ABC11.

The sign was quickly removed, but a Snapchat screenshot of the bear and sign was shared more than 5,000 times on Twitter. In a screenshot of a conversation with Twitter user Alexis Isabel, a student notes that the black bear is holding an empty liquor bottle in its hand. 

The principal, Malik Bazzell, said in a letter to the Wakefield High School community that the school’s stadium and baseball field were also vandalized. He said that the school is working with the Wake County Public School System to investigate and they will seek criminal charges.  

“Let me be clear: This was an offensive act that has no place in our school. The imagery is deeply offensive and everyone in our school community should be appalled,” he said.

“This act might have been done as part of an annual tradition of senior pranks,” he continued. “It is in no way funny. It is not a prank.”

WCPSS sent a tweet in response to the online backlash.  

Students at the school aren’t taking this “prank” lightly either. The school’s black student union said that this was a flat-out hate crime in a series of tweets. It also noted that vandals graffitied a swastika on school property in 2016. 

The group will hold a meeting on Wednesday for students to openly discuss the issue. Its vice president, India Card, told ABC11 that students shouldn’t have to deal with hate at school.

“We just want to make sure that people of color in Wake County can feel safe and be able to come to school and not have to worry about seeing a noose hanging from the ceiling,” Card said.

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