New Adventures
When I was a teenager in the south suburbs in the early 1990s, I was a giant nerd. I was black and outspoken in a mostly white, conservative high school, and I was fortunate to make friends with a …
Karen Hawkins
What to Do with All of This Rage
In the early 2000s, I had a series of part-time gigs as a proofreader in the pharma industry, largely tasked with editing things like print ads, brochures and, occasionally, drug labels. …
Ladies Room Chicago is Closing
Almost exactly a year ago, two of us from Rebellious Magazine – Karen Hawkins and Jessie Kibbe – joined forces with a third badass cofounder to launch Ladies Room Chicago, the city's first co-working …
By All Means, Dream Small – Said No Inspiring Person Ever
What is dreaming small? Among other things, it's safe, comfortable and, frankly, easier for other people to accept than Dreaming Big. Small dreamers are those people in your life who seem ala…
Get Ready to LYAO at the 7th Annual Chicago Women’s Funny Festival
Four days, 70 shows and 400 hysterical ladies performing under one roof can mean only one thing: The Chicago Women’s Funny Festival is back, running from Thursday, Aug. 23-Sunday, Aug. 26. “The Chi…
5 Inducted into the New Chicago Women’s Journalism Hall of Fame
The new Chicago Women’s Journalism Hall of Fame, presented by Association for Women Journalists Chicago (AWJ), has honored its first five inductees. These too-brief bios don't do justice to all of …
America Needs a Free Press, and the Free Press Needs Indy Media
As the nation's only feminist media company run by a mouthy black lesbian over 40 named Karen, we take some pleasure in knocking the mainstream media. Legacy newsrooms. Big Box media. Journalism outle…
Luvvie Ajayi on Black Women’s Equal Pay Day & the Rebellion of Speaking Truth
The only thing that makes it possible to get through another #BlackWomensEqualPayDay without snapping? Getting to talk to Luvvie Ajayi about it. I caught up with Luvvie – writer, activist and …
They Don’t Have to Call Us Dumb
My high school guidance counselor didn’t call me dumb. He didn’t have to. Without looking at my grades, the number of AP classes I was taking or the pile of geeky journalism things I was involved in –…
Women’s Sports Teams in Chicago
Confession: I put off making this list of women's sports teams in Chicago because I figured that it must already exist elsewhere and I didn't want to duplicate efforts. Yeah, not so much. &n…
