Latest Articles

B-Sides: Hunter Rapper

November 22, 2011 at 11:12am

Marlaina Buch, aka Hunter Rapper, is high-kicking her claim to both the male-centric musical genre and outdoor sport: hip hop and hunting.

The H-Word: Maria Talks About the “Real World.”

by Melissa Petro

November 22, 2011 at 9:52am

The H-Word presents first-person stories from current and former sex workers across the U.S. Maria is a 48-year-old hairdresser and artist who supplements her income selling sexual services to clients that she meets online. She talks about how petitions to shut down adult classifieds sections on sites like Craigslist and Backpage affect real women working in the industry. ...

Adventures in Feministory: Supersisters

by Andi Zeisler

November 21, 2011 at 12:26pm

Reggie Jackson. Wilt Chamberlain. Frank Gifford. Pete Rose. What do these guys have in common? Besides their dexterity with various kinds of balls, they were, in 1978, among the familiar faces bought and swapped on trading cards.

They also weren't women, a fact duly noted by 8-year-old Melissa Rich, an avid collector of trading cards who had something of a feminist awakening...

In The Frame: Francesca Woodman's Self-Portrait Legacy

by Polly Allen

November 21, 2011 at 11:27am

Her artistic career may have been short—she was taking photos for only nine years of her life—but Francesca Woodman left behind over 800 images when she died in 1981. She commands enough attention, 30 years after her death, to merit a retrospective at San Francisco’s Museum of Modern Art, which will move on to the Guggenheim in 2012. What is the lingering hold that she has over art...

Mom & Pop Culture: Comics & Superheroes: Who Will Save Us?

by Avital Norman Nathman

November 21, 2011 at 10:57am

Now, maybe there’s a bigger subtext that I’m missing. I’m coming at this as a mom and a feminist, not necessarily as a comic book reader, so perhaps I don’t understand all the nuances of this world—I’ll own up to that. But when my son is starting to find himself interested in all things “Super,” then I feel my opinion counts for something. We’re barely...

Dark of the Matin

by Sara Reihani

November 18, 2011 at 12:54pm

Since I saw Melancholia at Fantastic Fest 2011, I haven’t been sure how to respond when people ask me if it’s good. It feels inappropriate to summarize it in those terms: the single best word to describe it isn’t “good” or “bad” but “uncomfortable.” It’s a full two hours but feels longer, full of headache-inducing hand-held shots and constantly shifting...

Bitch Radio: Jaclyn Friedman Wants to Help You Find <em>What You Really Really Want</em>

by Deb Jannerson

November 18, 2011 at 12:32pm

Given all the conflicting messages young women get about their sexuality from all sides—media, church, family, friends, and more—how do we figure out what we want to say “yes” to in the first place?

So begins Jaclyn Friedman’s fabulous new workbook. What You Really Really Want: The Smart Girl’s Shame-Free Guide to Sex and Safety sets out to help readers move...

On Our Radar

by Mac Pogue

November 18, 2011 at 12:05pm

The blogs keep coming!

This week in awesome: Angela Davis writes at the Guardian about the possibilities of the Occupy movement…
…and Anna at Where Is Your Line talks about the depressing reality of rape culture at Occupy movements.
Andrea Plaid watches CNN’s Black in America 4 and Miss Representation, and shares her dissappointment...

Thursday Night 'Lights: Save Community!

by Kirthana Ramisetti

November 18, 2011 at 12:00pm

As you’ve no doubt heard by now, Community is being taken off NBC’s schedule indefinitely as of January. So I’ve decided to use this week’s episode to talk about why this series, as beloved by the Internet as it ignored by Nieslen families, deserves to stay on TV.

BitchTapes: Female Pop Stars of the Early 90s

by Kelsey Wallace

November 18, 2011 at 11:10am

Best of Bitchtapes! Here's a Bitchtapes from the past we're re-posting because it's too jam-worthy to forget!

The other day, while singing “Forever Your Girl” in the shower (don't judge – you know that song rules) I started thinking about the awesome female pop stars of the early 90s. Now, full disclosure: I was born in 1982, so I began to develop my own...