Pregnancy discrimination: It’s real! As covered here at Daily Kos, Massachusetts Senator and 2020 presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren recently faced attacks from members of the far right, who did not accept the reality that Warren did, indeed, lose her job for being visibly pregnant while she was a teacher in 1971. While these skeptics are convinced that Warren (and in the bigger picture, all pregnant people) resigned willingly, with the logic being that they simply couldn’t have been fired for being pregnant because that’s not what the employer recorded, countless people who have been pregnant—or even know someone who has been pregnant—know that’s not the case. An employer might record one reason, but that doesn’t make it a reality. Laws might be on the books, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to use them to protect yourself.
Surprising no one, trolls have absolutely flooded Twitter with sexist, victim-blaming remarks aimed at Warren. More importantly, though, countless people have come forward to not only point out flaws in those attacks but to share their own experiences. And the experiences of their mothers. And friends. And so on.
As a note: While we typically discuss pregnancy and related discrimination as issues that affect women, people of all gender identities can become pregnant. So using gender-neutral pronouns (like “they”) and phrases like “pregnant people” are efforts to be more inclusive (and accurate) to the lived experiences of a diverse community.
Let’s dig into some smart, inspiring, and brave stories from Twitter below.