Barbieland: a seemingly “perfect” world where the Barbies rule, the Kens win best supporting actor, and representation for the queer community is delegated to the casting directors. Aside from a couple jokes alluding to our existence, members of queer communities are markedly absent from the pink utopia. Barbies go with Kens and if you're not Barbie or Ken, you were discontinued and are now the butt of every joke.

Our planet is dying. It has been several months since nearly a billion people across the globe celebrated Earth Day 2023 as a demonstration in support of environmental protection. Perhaps the most paradoxical of all is that its largest celebrants are the corporations and politicians contributing most heavily to the destruction and degradation of the environment. 

Back in the summer of 2020, Project Humanities hosted a Podcast Club on Intersex Rights. You can find a link to the recording here. We are grateful for our guest writer Jay Kyle Peterson, MSW, for reigniting the conversation regarding intersex and dispelling some of the myths about the "I" in 2SLGBTQIA+.

What Intersex Is Not

Project Humanities recently hosted an interactive workshop on bathroom inclusivity and challenged attendees to consider how they themselves are made uncomfortable or left without essential accommodations. Bathrooms can be an uncomfortable topic for some people to talk about, whether from anxiety, embarrassment, past trauma from having a bad encounter, or having to use a space that was not designed for your body.

Not all birthing experiences are created equal. This truth is painfully evident in the United States of America as this nation holds the worst maternal mortality rates for similarly wealthy nations. Furthermore, this trend is only getting worse with a steady rise in pregnancy-related deaths spiking for the past two decades.

A few years ago, when I had the opportunity to tour the Capitol building in Washington D.C., I witnessed a protester outside being slammed against a wall by a police officer. Despite the peaceful nature of the protest, he was detained by police and quickly restrained with a zip tie. The protest continued around him, but that moment remained imprinted in my mind. The frightening fact is that I had no idea if the officer was abusing his power or simply doing his job.

About the Event: Restrooms are spaces where the most intimate actions take place–regular bodily functions, private conversations, emotional breakdowns, lonely lunches and in classic times, the cheeky smoke. Yet their designs are built to evade just that; they intend to make what’s private, public.  

At twelve years old, I was gifted my first sketchbook, four graphite pencils, and a moldable eraser. I spent that entire day drawing random household objects, beginning with the old wood furnace that heated my childhood home. Ten years later, I found myself employed with ASU Project Humanities as a graphic designer. Years of studying, practicing, and perfecting my skills certainly improved the technical aspects of my work.Yet there was an important facet of graphic design I had yet to consider– unconscious bias in the graphic design world. 

I began volunteering for Project Humanities’ homeless outreach when I was in eighth grade. As I prepare to graduate from high school now, four years later, I am a very active intern and will continue during my upcoming college years at Arizona State University, commencing this fall 2023. The following is the letter of interest I submitted as part of my initial application for the Project Humanities internship program in the summer of 2021. 

This year,  ASU Project Humanities joins the ranks of Anthem Award winners alongside myriad impressive individuals and organizations such as Doctors Without Borders, Megan Rapinoe, It Gets Better Project, and Dr. Jane Goodall. Launched by the Webby Awards in 2021 as the “internet's highest honor," the Anthem Awards began with the goal of honoring individuals, movements, and organizations that spark meaningful local and global social change.