First Person - Vox

First Person

First-person essays and interviews with unique perspectives on complicated issues.

First Person

It sucks to go to the doctor if you’re trans

The heath care system is rife with transphobia.

By Katelyn Burns

I’m a Jewish historian. Yes, we should call border detention centers “concentration camps.”

By Anna Lind-Guzik June 20

Fake autism treatments show the lengths parents will go to “cure” their kids

By Sarah Kurchak June 19

He lost his ROTC scholarship when he came out. Decades later, he’s still paying back student debt.

By Luke Winkie June 18

Black trans women want the media to show them living, not just dying

By Serena Sonoma June 18

I’ve talked to dozens of parents about why they don’t vaccinate. Here’s what they told me.

By Jennifer Reich June 13

Why Always Be My Maybe’s Asian American underachiever is groundbreaking

By Jason Shen June 13

5 trans Catholics on the Vatican’s rejection of their gender identity

By Eloise Blondiau June 12

Secularism is on the rise, but Americans are still finding community and purpose in spirituality

By Karen Turner June 11

The best $300 I ever spent: a ticket home to see my dad

By Holly Patton June 11

I work in the environmental movement. I don’t care if you recycle.

By Mary Annaise Heglar June 4

The best $129 I ever spent: a fancy vibrator

By Summer Anne Burton June 4

On coming out as trans at 37

By Emily Todd VanDerWerff June 3

I’m one of 25 people who filed a sexual harassment complaint against McDonald’s. Here’s my story.

By Delisha Rivers May 30

Disabled people are tired of being a talking point in the abortion debate

By s.e. smith May 29

I’m obese. I want a healthy lifestyle. But it’s often inaccessible to disabled people like me.

By Pasquale Toscano May 27

When I couldn’t tell the world I wanted to transition, I went to Dressbarn

By Katelyn Burns May 23

Why Democratic candidates like Buttigieg keep failing to usher in the “Christian left”

By John Thornton Jr. May 21

The best $199 I ever spent: an NBA League pass

By Maitreyi Anantharaman May 21

Recent abortion bans will impact poor people and people of color most

By Renee Bracey Sherman May 18

Alabama’s near-total abortion ban is the ultimate elevation of the “unborn” over women

By Rickie Solinger May 17

I’m an anti-abortion Christian. But Alabama’s ban will do more harm than good.

By Katherine Kelaidis May 17

America’s long, rich history of pretending systemic racism doesn’t exist

By Elaine Frantz May 16

Women are filing more harassment claims in the #MeToo era. They’re also facing more retaliation.

By Alex Press May 9

My mom died 8 years ago. Why won’t the internet stop showing me Mother’s Day ads?

By Elizabeth Entenman May 9

The mess that is elite college admissions, explained by a former dean

By Jason England May 8

I study biracial identity in America. Here’s why the royal baby is a big deal.

By Sarah E. Gaither May 7

The best $115 I ever spent: a sequined circus costume

By Susie Armitage May 7

Greta Thunberg became a climate activist not in spite of her autism, but because of it

By Steve Silberman May 6

James Holzhauer is a Jeopardy genius. What’s it like to compete against him?

By Terri Pous May 4

I paid off all my student loans. I still support student loan forgiveness.

By David Goldstein May 2

Disabled people don’t need so many fancy new gadgets. We just need more ramps.

By s.e. smith April 30

The best $16 I ever spent: Old Navy pajamas after my husband left

By Rachel Miller April 25

What people don’t get about why planes crash

By Christine Negroni April 22

They survived Columbine. Then came Sandy Hook. And Parkland.

By Vox First Person April 19

The Israeli election is over. It never mattered to Palestinians.

By Hanna Alshaikh April 19

Why shame is good

By Joseph Burgo April 18

I don’t eat meat. Should my dog?

By Rachel Sugar April 18

The Notre Dame fire is a roofer’s worst fear come to life

By Damian Fleming April 18

Flight attendants know the real job killer isn’t the Green New Deal. It’s climate change.

By Sara Nelson April 17

Notre Dame has always been the people’s cathedral

By Yvonne Seale April 16

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