Growing up in Texas, you learn that there are some words you just don’t say because they aren’t polite, and any Texan child knows the value of manners and the severity of threats like having your mouth washed out with soap.
So at all costs, we avoid words with propaganda-like nicknames: “the four letter word,” “See you next Tuesday,” and my personal favorite, “the F-word.” Shall we say it in unison? “Fem-i-nism.” Not in front of the ladies, now!
We all know that were it not for feminism, any woman reading this article would be forced to check a box on her web browser that said, “My husband knowingly has given his permission for me to access the Internet." But why, then, can’t we sit side-by-side as a unified group without any preconceived notions from our peers about the connotations that feminism might bring?
HBO recently premiered the documentary, Gloria: In Her Own Words, a film about Gloria Steinem and her inimitable, feminist voice. The documentary is a raw look into the life of the social activist: the highs — vibrant, lively and full of color (though I may just be remembering Steinem’s unending supply of colored sunglasses) — and the lows, as she herself admits, are black and white, lacking the veracity with which so many associate her.
The piece is a narrative progression from the start of Steinem’s career. Her move to New York is inundated with sexism, from finding an apartment on her own to gaining creditability as a young journalist. But the beginnings of a writer who wants to be taken seriously soon morph into images of an activist whose voice, often angrily opposed, fights for the equality that her younger self couldn’t have imagined.
“The hostility is a step forward from ridicule,” Steinem says with a nod.
The first article of Steinem’s I ever read was published in the October 1978 edition of Ms. Magazine (which she co-founded in 1972) entitled, “If Men Could Menstruate.” Though I wasn’t among the first to read it, 30 years later, her well-worn prose remained shockingly relevant. On my first acquaintance with Steinem, I was struck by her wit, measure and honest ideas. I laughed at the absurdity of themed tampons for men and, thanks to my Texas upbringing, even came up with a slogan or two for the John Wayne brand. “Life’s hard. Even harder without John Wayne tampons.”
What I really gained from that short article—aside from strategies for marketing men’s toiletries—was that finding a voice empowers a person to speak about all different kinds of things, in ways never before thought of. Before Gloria Steinem, who knew that women’s rights could be attested by mockery of men’s menstrual cycles? Who would have thought an article about men menstruating could be ever published, and in a magazine dedicated to feminism, nonetheless?
While Steinem’s story is uniquely her own, the images that comprise the piece are those that we all know quite well: Grainy, black and white video of women protesting the right to vote; a mob of women pouring the streets in the 1970 Strike for Equality March; a news clip of a Walter Cronkite broadcast with the text “Roe V. Wade Decision January 22, 1973” at the bottom of the screen.
They are those events that have so rightly gotten us to the place we are at today: A place where feminists old and young join together to laud the efforts of those before us and begrudge the term that unites us all together.
We all know that were it not for feminism, any woman reading this article would be forced to check a box on her web browser that said, “My husband knowingly has given his permission for me to access the Internet." But why, then, can’t we don our “This is what a Feminist looks like” T-shirt and sit side-by-side as a unified group without any preconceived notions from our peers about the connotations that feminism might bring?
For me, this HBO documentary makes some headway in answering this question. It is incredibly refreshing to see a singular woman’s story. We constantly hear the women’s movement, the women’s federation, and even though, as individuals we are part of these things, we don’t want to have to dye our hair magenta to be noticed on our own.
Gloria Steinem is an outstanding, talented writer, an activist whose ideas are formative in the alteration of so many people’s understandings of women’s rights and more importantly of equality—mine included. But she is one person to whom we can turn for inspiration within the movement that so inspired her.
Rather than take her experience as universal, it’s time to recognize that feminism is a familiarity of ourselves that we find within the larger group. And while the movement is growing globally to new people in far away places, it’s because of how these worldly, unifying ideas impact singular stories—like Gloria Steinem’s—that feminism, however dirty of a word, is still able to connect us. She says so herself, “Do not listen to my advice—listen to the voice inside you and follow that.”
Texas R&B and pop artist Khalid is hitting the road for his 2026 It's Always Summer Somewhere Tour, including a stop at the 713 Music Hall in downtown Houston on June 18, 2026.
The 25-date tour starts in Las Vegas, Nevada, in May and ends in Berkeley, California, in June. In addition to the Houston date, he'll stop in Irving on June 17 and Austin on June 19. He appears to be skipping his adopted hometown of El Paso, where his family moved when he was in high school and where he started his music career.
The 27-year-old artist originally became known as a teenager on SoundCloud, resulting in several notable features and the critically acclaimed album American Teen. Since those days, he's had features on tracks by Marshmello, Billie Eilish, Halsey, and Normani, among others. He's released four albums in total, including 2025's After the Sun Goes Down.
Khalid has been nominated to many notable awards and won at least 20, including five at the Billboard Music Awards in 2020 and Best New Artist at the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards. He's had six Grammy nominations so far.
Pop singer Lauv, known for the breakout hit "I Like Me Better," will join Khalid for all stops on the tour.
Tickets are available now in an artist pre-sale. The general on sale will start Friday, December 12, at 10 am via khalidofficial.com.
It's Always Summer Somewhere Tour dates
Sat May 16 – Las Vegas, NV – PH Live at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino Mon May 18 – Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre Wed May 20 – Chicago, IL – Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island Thu May 21 – Sterling Heights, MI – Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre Sat May 23 – Hershey, PA – GIANT Center Sun May 24 – Toronto, ON – RBC Amphitheatre Tue May 26 – Laval, QC – Place Bell Thu May 28 – Bridgeport, CT – Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater Fri May 29 – Boston, MA – MGM Music Hall at Fenway Sun May 31 – Washington, DC – The Anthem Wed Jun 03 – Nashville, TN – Nashville Municipal Auditorium Thu Jun 04 – Atlanta, GA – Synovus Bank Amphitheatre at Chastain Park Sat Jun 06 – Raleigh, NC – Red Hat Amphitheater Sun Jun 07 – Philadelphia, PA – Skyline Stage at Highmark Mann Tue Jun 09 – Portsmouth, VA – Portsmouth Pavilion Wed Jun 10 – Richmond, VA – Allianz Amphitheater at Riverfront Fri Jun 12 – New York, NY – Radio City Music Hall Mon Jun 15 – Charlotte, NC – Skyla Credit Union Amphitheatre Wed Jun 17 – Irving, TX – The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory Thu Jun 18 – Houston, TX – 713 Music Hall Fri Jun 19 – Austin, TX – Moody Amphitheater at Waterloo Park Sun Jun 21 – Phoenix, AZ – Arizona Financial Theatre Mon Jun 22 – San Diego, CA – Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre Wed Jun 24 – Los Angeles, CA – Greek Theatre Fri Jun 26 – Berkeley, CA – Greek Theatre*
