Latest Articles

Fraking good news

March 19, 2008 at 9:25am

I've got two weeks to rethink my babyproofing strategy of relegating the TV to the closet, because the new season of Battlestar Galactica starts up on April 4. Even if, like me, you aren't much of a sci-fi fan, BSG is worth watching for its complex storylines, shades-of-gray take on morality, and especially for its unspoken feminist agenda in which gender is largely irrelevant. Yes, there's a...

Feeling Peevish

by Miriam Wolf

March 18, 2008 at 4:20pm

Things that are pissing me off today: Lynndie England is blaming the media for printing the photos taken at Abu Ghraib of Iraqi prisoners being tortured. According to an AP piece, she acknowledges that after the photos of the atrocities were exposed, the Iraqi insurgency picked up. Here's her quote:

"Yeah, I took the photos but I didn't make it worldwide. Yes, I was in five or six...

Feminism and “Torture Porn”

by Anna Breshears

March 18, 2008 at 7:31am

There's a great article on Womensenews about "Torture Porn" makers co-opting the word feminism as an excuse for their extreme graphic violence. Torture Porn, a term coined by David Edelstein in this NYT article, refers to movies like Saw, Hostel, Captivity, Vacancy and The Devil's Rejects, among others, with over the top sadistic violence. Edelstein notes "Unlike the old seventies and...

Celebrity Babies

by Rachel Fudge

March 16, 2008 at 7:55pm

Apart from a brief fascination with Go Fug Yourself and the de rigeuer doctor's office perusal of People, I'm just not that compelled by celeb gossip, whether it's online or in print. Sometime in the last year, though, someone sent me a link to the Celebrity Baby Blog, which is like an entire blogful of Us Weekly's "Just Like Us!" section with content limited solely to celebrity reproduction...

TV Snit: The Return of Jezebel James

by Andi Zeisler

March 16, 2008 at 7:27pm

I was amped for the premiere of the new Fox sitcom The Return of Jezebel James. First off, as someone whose relationship to TV normally mimics that of a wino and a big bottle of Night Train, the writer's strike and its aftermath has been hard for me. Second, series creator Amy Sherman-Palladino was the brains (and something like 80% of the dialogue) behind Gilmore Girls, and I loved Gilmore...

Is Christian Siriano making a hot mess of the term “tranny"?

by Andi Zeisler

March 14, 2008 at 2:44pm

by Margaret Price

Project Runway 4: The Season of Love. And no designer was more lovable than the prancing, snapping, flat-iron–wielding Christian Siriano, who ended up winning it all—the final runway showdown, the spread in Elle, and the $10K Fan Favorite prize. Sassing and sewing with equal velocity, the diminuitive designer and self-described "big deal" introduced us to an array of...

Night of a thousand gay icons

by Debbie Rasmussen

March 14, 2008 at 2:35pm

Last night was Equity Foundation's annual benefit auction, held at the Portland Center Stage Gerding Theater. Equity is a fantastic Portland-based foundation that awards grants to nonprofit organizations statewide that are effecting social change, particularly around queer activism. We're honored to be among the organizations chosen for 2008: Equity will be sponsoring the Bitch In page for our...

What's In A Name? How about the Abercombie and Fitch ER?

by Anna Breshears

March 14, 2008 at 10:48am

Now your children can experience A & F outside the mall! In the emergency room! Gee, I sure hope the doctors and nurses are wearing comfortable khakis and fake-vintage, offensive t shirts. CNN reports that Boston-based Campaign For A Commercial Free Childhood is asking Nationwide Children's Hospital (Columbus, OH) to reconsider using the Abercrombie and Fitch name on its Emergency Room...

Give away rice and expand your vocab

by Amy S. Williams

March 13, 2008 at 2:25pm

Now discovered - a new way to pass time at work, while expanding your vocabulary and giving away rice!

Maybe it's because I've spent the better part of today intently reading last Sunday's New York Times Magazine on giving and philanthropy (focusing on the billionaires and millionaires out there), or my increasing irritation at Oprah, who has now crossed over into the land of reality...

The Business of Being Born