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Julia Métraux

Julia Métraux

Julia Métraux is a health and culture writer whose work has appeared in Narratively, The Tempest, BUST, and Briarpatch Magazine. You can follow her on Twitter at @metraux_julia and read more of her work at https://juliasmetraux.journoportfolio.com/

From the cover of NARP Newsletter, published by Native Alliance for Red Power, 1969

The Importance of Newspapers for the Red Power Movement

In the 1960s and 1970s, activists and organizers used Indian Country newspapers to cultivate a pan-Indigenous identity through a poetics of resistance.
(Clockwise from bottom left) Flavor Flav, Professor Griff, Terminator X, S1W and Chuck D of the rap group Public Enemy pose for a portrait in a studio, 1988

How Rap Taught (Some of) the Hip Hop Generation Black History

For members of the Hip Hop generation who came of age during the Black Power era, “reality rap” was an entry into the political power of Black history.
Elma Lewis c. 1981 by Carol Spector

Elma Lewis: Boston’s Doyenne of Black Culture

An activist and and educator, Lewis created myriad cultural, educational, and social programs to build community and connections for Boston’s Black residents.
Crowd gathered in front of butcher shop during meat riot, New York

Inside the New York City Kosher Meat Boycott of 1902

The rising costs of kosher meat led Jewish women to organize a butcher boycott. The successful action alerted the immigrant community to women's political power.
Amy Robsart by T.F. Dicksee

How Did Amy Robsart Die?

Five centuries later, we’re still not sure whether Robsart, wife of Robert Dudley, fell accidentally, was pushed, or threw herself down the stairs to her death.
A man in a wheelchair pushing a shopping cart

Media Portrayals of the Americans with Disabilities Act

After the passage of the ADA, much of the media coverage focused on litigation and whether or not certain disabled people “deserved” accommodations.
Illustration from 19th century of a newsroom at a newspaper

The Feud Between Immigrant Newspapers in Arkansas

A feud between two nineteenth-century German-language newspapers showed that immigrant communities embraced a diversity of interests and beliefs.
Illustration of a woman walking in front of an overwhelming whirlpool in the sky

Overcoming the Gendered Pain Gap

More women than men experience chronic pain, and that pain is often dismissed in clinical settings. Can a new approach to language and close listening help?
A 1914 postcard featuring Santa Claus in Japan

Christmastime in 1960s Japan

In the years following World War II, the Japanese people looked to Santa Claus as a symbol of not just kindness and beneficence, but of modernity.
A YouTube video view with a Covid-19 information popup

YouTube During the Age of COVID-19

The video platform faced myriad challenges in combating disinformation, made more acute by a reliance on automated tools for content review and moderation.
An elections poster of the General Jewish Labour Bund hung in Kiev, 1917. Heading: "Where we live, there is our country!"

How the Jewish Labor Bund Changed After World War II

For those thousands involved with the Bund, the group played an important role in a era marked by trauma, displacement, and resettlement.
The seven dwarves find Snow White asleep in their bedroom, from the fairy tale by the brothers Grimm, c. 1812

Children’s Fairy Tales and Feminine Beauty

Fairy tales, many of which associate women’s beauty with goodness, act as scripts that pass along specific messages about women’s bodies and attractiveness.
A painting of Osceola by George Catlin

Ghost Stories at Flagler College

Telling a spooky story around a campfire—or in a dorm room—may be the best way to keep a local legend alive.
Parishioners worship during Sunday Mass at St. Augustine Catholic Church on August 15, 2021 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

The Black Church and Mental Health Support

Mental healthcare has not always been accessible for Black Americans. Could churches be part of the solution?
The new moon

How Does the Jewish Calendar Work?

The complicated system that determines the High Holy Days is a relatively new creation, dating to around 350 CE.
A poster advertising polio research

Before Long COVID Came Post-Polio Syndrome

While the rise of long COVID and its many symptoms may be surprising and difficult to diagnose, post-viral diseases are nothing new.
Alpha Pi Omega in UNC's Yackety Yack, 2003

Inside the First Indigenous Sorority

Alpha Pi Omega, the first historically Native American sorority, supports Native students and creates cultural space for them on university campuses.
The Gang Busters sound effects team, 1937

The Rise and Fall of “True Crime” Radio Dramas

Depictions of poor, non-white victims and informants led working-class and rural listeners to turn against the genre.
Vials of Smallpox vaccinations alongside the medical tools to administer the vaccine

How the US Handled Its First Monkeypox Outbreak

Can the CDC and other health organizations apply the lessons learned in 2003?
Surgical tools laid out

How Television Can (De)Stigmatize Abortion

Fictional representations of procedures and providers mirror—but may also undermine—popular attitudes on abortion.
Peoples Park in Berkeley on April 1 2021

Intentional Unhoused Communities in Berkeley

Intentional communities provide opportunities for unhoused residents, but they also draw institutional criticism.
A woman's sari and feet

Fighting for Sex Workers’ Rights in India

Labor unions for sex workers reveal how sexuality, gender, and caste intersect in a precarious and often dangerous work environment.
A #buryyourgays hashtag over a black and white drawing of a cemetery

Can Fan Hashtag Campaigns Stop the “Bury Your Gays” Trope?

Organized fan hashtag campaigns put pressure on the entertainment industry to improve their writing for and treatment of LGBTQ+ characters.
Circus Amok's Jenny Romaine by David Shankbone, New York City

How Queer Jews Reclaimed Yiddish

Queer Yiddishkeit challenges the notion that Yiddish is inherently heteronormative or conservative.
Boy Scouts Pick Fruit For Jam at a Fruit-picking Camp Near Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, 1944

Skipping School for Harvest Camp

As more young adults joined the military or worked in wartime industries, England turned to children to fill the growing gap in agricultural labor.