A 1944's "Wonder Woman for President" frames democracy as too fragile to survive without a superheroic rescue, and 1970s Batgirl comic has Barbara Gordon win a congressional seat through coalition-building, and everyday citizens, not superpowers, protect the vote from intimidation. The lesson here--stories that lean on a singular savior carry authoritarian undertones, while stories about collective civic participation model something healthier for democracy.
That tension shows up in real numbers too. As of April 2026, women hold 129 of 435 House seats (about 29%) and 26 Senate seats, roughly 28% of Congress overall. That's a modest improvement from prior years, driven partly by a 2024 election cycle that brought in 23 new women to the House and 3 new women senators. Still, six states currently have no women in their congressional delegations at all, down from nine in the previous Congress.
Despite record diversity in the current Congress, the U.S. still trails 42 other countries on global gender-parity rankings, and no woman has ever held the presidency.
This November could move the needle. Election Day is Tuesday, November 3, 2026, with all 435 House seats and 35 Senate seats on the ballot. It's shaping up to be a strong year for women candidates: as of June 2026, 523 women had filed to run for the House, alongside a record 72 women filing to run for governor.
Numbers like these only become representation if people show up. Whether or not there's a woman on your ballot this year, your vote is part of the same story the Batgirl comic told decades ago: democracy works when people participate in it, not when they wait for someone else to save it.
Get registered, get informed, get to the polls:
Register to vote, check your status, find your polling place at Vote.org.
Check out nonpartisan sample ballots and candidate info (League of Women Voters).
Look into registration drives and reminders.
And, USA.gov Voting offers official state-by-state registration and deadlines.
Check your registration now, and make a plan to vote.
The FDA approved bemotrizinol this June, the first new sunscreen active ingredient the U.S. has approved in 20 years. Long used in Europe and Asia, it's a broad-spectrum filter that's more stable in sunlight than older options like avobenzone and won't break down the way avobenzone does when it heats up on your skin.
This matters because, skin cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the U.S., killing more than one person every hour, with over 200,000 new melanoma cases expected in 2026 alone. Most of that risk traces back to UVA rays, the deep-penetrating rays that drive premature aging, suppress the immune system, and are the leading driver of skin cancer, which many current U.S. sunscreens don't block well.
Cancer stats not causing pause? What about the fact that up to 90% of visible skin aging--wrinkles, sunspots, sagging--is caused by UV exposure, not genetics or the number of candles on your cake. That "aging" people spend a fortune ($83 billion global annual spend) trying to reverse with creams and procedures is, in large part, sun damage. A better sunscreen is the cheapest anti-aging product you'll ever buy.
Bemotrizinol products aren't on shelves yet (September or October estimate), but it's a good nudge to check what's already in your medicine cabinet. Look for broad-spectrum SPF 30+, and don't let a fancy new ingredient be the excuse you needed to start wearing it daily.
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