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Year of the lesbian mayor?

On Tuesday Lori Lightfoot made history when she was elected the first openly LGBTQ and black female mayor of Chicago.

Lightfoot’s landslide victory was roundly celebrated as a win for diversity and progress. “A black lesbian taking power in the nation’s third-largest city is a historic moment for so many communities that are too often ignored in American politics,” said Annise Parker, the director of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund and the former mayor of Houston. Parker also noted that a number of other lesbians had had political wins across America and speculated that 2019 might be “the year of the lesbian mayor”.

Lori Lightfoot wins landslide to become Chicago's first black female mayor Read more

Lightfoot herself positioned her win as the beginning of a new and improved Chicago. “Little girls and boys are watching,” the 56-year-old told a crowd at her election party. “And they’re seeing the beginning of something, well, a little bit different.”

Representation matters: it’s hard to be what you can’t see. A gay black woman leading America’s third-largest city is a big deal, there’s no doubt about that. However, while representation matters, it’s important to ask what Lightfoot actually represents. For many Chicago activists, Lightfoot, and her far-from-progressive record as a corporate lawyer and federal prosecutor, doesn’t represent the “beginning of something a little bit different” but the continuation of an oppressive status quo.

“Black queer Chicagoans, especially those who are low-income, don’t merely predict oppressed people will suffer under the Lightfoot administration but know it,” wrote Benji Hart, a Chicago-based writer and educator in the Advocate. Hart argued that Lightfoot’s “record already demonstrates a commitment to gentrification, disinvestment from poor communities of color, and impunity for an ever more militarized police force”.

A campaign called #StopLightfoot further explains that while Lightfoot has run “extensively on her lesbian identity, her stances on policing and rent control fall into a legacy of decades-old anti-gay and anti-trans political suppression. Lightfoot’s plan to expand police presence in the city … and transform 38 closed public schools into mini-cop academies should concern every LGBTQ person in Chicago.”

Lightfoot is an important reminder that having more women and minorities in positions of power means very little if they’re simply leaning into an unfair status quo. Chicago’s new mayor seems to be an example of Diversity™. Like corporate feminism, Diversity™ focuses on the achievements of individuals versus meaningful systemic change. It celebrates difference as long as it’s not actually trying to do anything too different.

An inspiring handbook for the rebellious everywoman

Greenday, an all-male band, have co-authored a book called Last of the American Girls. It is described as “an inspiring homage and handbook for the rebellious everywoman who refuses to capitulate”. No women appear to have been involved in the writing of this inspirational handbook.

#Pokemetoo

Several influencers in the Pokémon YouTube community (yes that is apparently a thing) are facing sexual assault allegations involving underage girls. The accusations are part of a broader #MeToo movement in the Pokémon community, which has ill-advisedly been given the hashtag #PokeMeToo.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Pokémon Go played on a phone. Photograph: Mark Kauzlarich/Reuters

Microsoft protest treatment of women

Microsoft workers have confronted its CEO Satya Nadella over the company’s treatment of women. A number of employees confronted Nadella during a Q&A session on Thursday, asking the CEO to address sexual harassment and discrimination in the company.

'The Leggings problem': can we just never hear about them again? | Arwa Mahdawi Read more

Joe Biden jokes about inappropriate touching

The former vice-president has recently faced a number of criticisms surrounding his treatment of women. On Friday morning, during his first public appearance since the controversy, he thought it would be a good idea to joke about it. Biden was speaking at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Construction Conference in Washington and was introduced by the IBEW president, Lonnie Stephenson. “I just want you to know I had permission to hug Lonnie,” Biden quipped. Despite his half-hearted apologies about the inappropriate touching, Biden obviously doesn’t understand why he is being criticized.

Paul Ryan sad AOC won’t listen to his useless advice

The former House speaker Paul Ryan’s major achievement during his 20-year career in congress was cutting taxes for rich people. Nevertheless he thought it behooved him to give unsolicited advice to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. In an interview on Tuesday he joked that he gave AOC “a few little tips on just being a good member of Congress … I don’t think she really listened to a thing I said.” Good for AOC.