Excerpt from the New Yorker magazine’s Special Edition of their newsletter, September 3, 2026.  This is an outstanding essay and should be widely shared.   If you do not have access to the New Yorker newsletter, find someone who does.

“. . . For me, saying that I am a feminist has always meant that I believe in the social, economic, and political equality of all males and females of all races and groups. I know this sounds too simple to need a word, but equality is still the exception, not the rule.

Maybe we should call it egalitarianism, or even humanism. The problem with humanism is that it is often interpreted as being anti-religion, so I don’t think it’s inclusive enough. Regardless of what we call it, it just means treating each of us as uniquely human. The experiences of race and gender and class are very real and important, but they are also constructed and changeable. Our humanity is consistent and sacred. . . . “