Latest Articles

Sexual Inadequacy: But What About the Footman?

May 26, 2011 at 12:29pm

Downton Abbey, a period piece about a family and their servants, living on an estate after the sinking of the Titanic but before the first World War. The patriarch of the family has no male heir and must surrender the estate to an obscure relation, the three daughters are being wooed by suitors, and their daily lives are mirrored in the power struggles that go on in the...

BiblioBitch: Chaz Bono's Book of Mixed Messages

by Deb Jannerson

May 26, 2011 at 11:17am

Chaz Bono’s new memoir, Transition: The Story of How I Became a Man, co-written with Billie Fitzpatrick, brims with candid emotion. It covers his entire life so far, and as the title implies, it frequently comes back to Chaz’s lifelong discomfort with being thought to be female and his gradual acceptance of himself as a trans guy. Unfortunately, it’s...

Pop Pedestal: Elaine Miller

by Andi Zeisler

May 26, 2011 at 11:07am

It’s time for another Pop Pedestal, and today I’ve got one for all the parents out there. I don’t know about you, but when I’m in a parenting jam—and granted, my kid’s only two, but even two-year-olds can be total assholes—I like to channel my favorite pop-culture parents for psychic assistance. Clair and Cliff Huxtable, Florida Evans, Red and Kitty...

Sexual Inadequacy: The Exposure Myth

by GarlandGrey

May 25, 2011 at 11:44am

Sexual Inadequacy refers to the poor representation of queer sexuality in the larger culture and in the media. Sexual Inadequacy is about the story straight writers and producers tell queer people about their own lives. Sexual Inadequacy is a comment on the amount of information queer students are given about their bodies and their sexuality, especially when these students are told absolutely...

Revenge of the Feminerd: Fanfic is Underrated

by Jarrah E Hodge

May 25, 2011 at 11:29am

I’ll admit there’s a lot of fanfiction that can read like sloppily edited romance novels (including my first couple of stories), and the fact that anyone can publish fanfic without having writing experience can mean readers have to wade through a lot to find the real gems. That’s why, even though I enjoyed writing and reading fanfic, I was embarrassed to talk about it. Now...

Run the World Girl: In Defense of Beyonce

by Kelsey Wallace

May 25, 2011 at 9:56am

OK, first things first: I am a Beyoncé fan. However, fandom aside (well, sort of, because you can’t ever really throw fandom aside) I must say that I’m surprised by all of the negative pushback Bey’s latest video, “Run the World (Girls),” is getting. Not because it’s a perfect video with a flawless, amazing message (it isn’t), but because so many people...

B-Sides: Jeepneys

by Mel Mundell

May 24, 2011 at 11:29am

Oakland-based Anna Petrisko sound-collages imagined jeepney soundtracks in her experimental music project called Jeepneys. Jeepneys are also vehicles that originated from United States WWII army jeeps abandoned at the end of the American 48-year occupation of the Philippines. Filipinos/Filipinas, including Petrisko’s family, flamboyantly decorated the discarded jeeps-turned...

Electro Feminisms: Pink Noises

by Emily McAvan

May 23, 2011 at 3:05pm

To hear some critics tell it, women have been largely bystanders and groupies in electronic music. Tara Rodgers’ Pink Noises steps into this void to talk to 24 female DJs, producers, composers, installation artists and more about gender, race, sexuality, sexism and music.

Read on for more.

The Long Goodbye: Oprah's Mark on Pop Culture

by Jennifer Tress

May 23, 2011 at 12:08pm

This week, after 25 years on the air, we say goodbye to the Oprah Winfrey Show, a juggernaut that has shaped the popular culture landscape perhaps more than anything else on TV.

Adventures in Feministory: Comandante Ramona

by Nicole Morales

May 23, 2011 at 10:47am

Comandante Ramona was an influential member of the Zapatista Army or Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional (EZLN) in Chiapas, Mexico. Dubbed “The Petite Warrior,” she led the Zapatistas’ initial uprising against the Mexican government, leading to to the Zapatista rebellion and the revolution of indigenous women...