Maya Dusenbery, Author at Pacific Standard

Home Archives for Maya Dusenbery

Social Justice

An Open Letter Accuses Netflix’s ‘Afflicted’ of Abandoning Ethics and Science

The new documentary series promised compassion for sufferers of poorly understood chronic illnesses. Instead, it peddled the tired narrative that their suffering is "all in their heads."

Maya Dusenbery

Social Justice

‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Finally Tackles Medicine’s Gender Bias

With Miranda Bailey's heart attack, sexism in medicine gets much-deserved mainstream treatment.

Maya Dusenbery

Social Justice

The Little Pink Pill That Sparked a Feminist War

The Food and Drug Administration's approval of a pharmaceutical treatment for low sexual desire in women has launched a heated debate over the dangers and benefits of medicalizing sex.

Maya Dusenbery

Social Justice

Compared to Men, Women Bear Six Times More of the Cost of Alzheimer’s Disease

We’ve been slow to mobilize against the growing Alzheimer’s epidemic. Perhaps that’s because women are shouldering most of the burden.

Maya Dusenbery

Economics

How America’s Lack of Paid Maternity Leave Worsens Inequality

Without access to paid maternity leave, many low-income mothers are forced to choose between their economic security and their health.

Maya Dusenbery

Social Justice

Poor Women in the United States Don’t Have Abortion Rights

For decades, the ban on using Medicaid dollars to pay for abortions has kept many poor women from being able to end their pregnancies. Finally, some pro-choice lawmakers are trying to change that—or at least show how unjust the status quo is.

Maya Dusenbery

Social Justice

Television News Covers Women’s Sports Less Today Than It Did 25 Years Ago

More women are playing sports and more people are watching them do so than ever before (just look at audience figures for this year's Women's World Cup), but you wouldn’t know it from the “mediated man cave” that is American sports media.

Maya Dusenbery

Social Justice

In the United States, Single Motherhood Is Bad for Your Health

As privileged women increasingly embrace their “inner spinster,” a new study offers a timely reminder that single motherhood still comes with serious, material disadvantages for most women in this country.

Maya Dusenbery