Why Loretta Lynn mattered to working class women

+ what affirmative action in colleges has done until now US Edition - Today's top story: Loretta Lynn was more than a great songwriter – she was a spokeswoman for white rural working-class women [View in browser]( US Edition | 6 October 2022 [The Conversation]( As the career of country singer Loretta Lynn started taking off, the U.S. was experiencing unprecedented change and turmoil. The counterculture was in full swing, racial tensions were coming to a head and the Vietnam War was escalating. Yet for many American women, especially those living in culturally conservative towns, the stories and songs beaming into their living rooms could seem like they were from a different planet. Who was telling their stories and addressing their struggles? According to University at Buffalo music professor Stephanie Vander Wel, Lynn, who died on Tuesday, was one of those rare voices who could connect with poor women and mothers. For a generation of rural white women in the 1960s and 1970s who didn’t identify as liberals or college-educated feminists, Lynn’s music [tackled topics like abortion, infidelity and poverty with an attitude and vernacular that spoke to them on their terms.]( “It is perhaps her female fans who will feel the loss more acutely, Vander Wel writes. “Lynn gave them a social and political voice, and helped make country music a genre relevant to the complexities of women’s lives.” Also today: - [How Biden’s new top science adviser can succeed]( - [In Twitter-Elon Musk saga, what good is a board?]( - [How to keep your jack-o’-lantern from rotting]( Nick Lehr Arts + Culture Editor Today's newsletter supported by [the Hidden Brain podcast.]( Loretta Lynn’s music articulated the fears, dreams and anger of women living in a patriarchal society. David Redfern/Redferns via Getty Images [Loretta Lynn was more than a great songwriter – she was a spokeswoman for white rural working-class women]( Stephanie Vander Wel, University at Buffalo Through songs such as ‘The Pill,’ Lynn addressed issues confronting all women. The country star died on Oct. 4 at age 90. Education - [Affirmative action bans make selective colleges less diverse – a national ban will do the same]( Natasha Warikoo, Tufts University America’s selective colleges and universities become less diverse if the Supreme Court shoots down affirmative action in higher education, an expert on the subject warns. Politics + Society - [Abuse in women’s professional soccer was an ‘open secret’ – the ‘bystander effect’ and structural barriers prevented more players from speaking out]( Heather Hensman Kettrey, Clemson University ; Robert Marx, San José State University A new report has highlighted ‘systemic’ verbal, emotional and sexual abuse of women’s soccer players. 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