Latest Articles

Push(back) at the Intersections: But it All Feels So Personal

September 20, 2010 at 9:34am

I think the best way to fight knee-jerk reactions to pop culture discussions, to resist the sense that one is being personally attacked, is to step outside the equation, and to step away from the keyboard to do some thinking. Remember that the writer probably doesn’t know you, isn’t thinking about you while writing the piece, and doesn’t think that you are a bad person. The...

Size Matters: Taking Up Space

by Tasha Fierce

September 17, 2010 at 2:37pm

For ELLE magazine's 25th anniversary issue, they featured four different 25-year-old actresses on four different covers of the magazine. One of those actresses is Gabby Sidibe. This choice naturally brought out the fatphobes decrying her health and questioning her level of attractiveness before the cover even came out. Now that it's dropped, well, there's a lot for folks to talk about...

Tube Tied: America's Next Top Model: I Don't Know Why You Wanna Be On Top

by Michelle Dean

September 17, 2010 at 11:24am

I’ve watched America’s Next Top Model intermittently over the years. I can’t really say why. I was never that interested in fashion magazines, which seemed to me to depict another planet altogether, accessible only to the very rich. I have, furthermore, never much understood the fascination with models. Understand that when I say that I am not trying to make any claims...

BitchTapes: Fall!

by Erica Steckl

September 17, 2010 at 11:14am

Summer is ending but that doesn’t mean we have to be down in the dumps. Fall is an exciting time of crisp air, crunchy leaves and that back-to-campus type of excitement. Things are in motion! This week’s BitchTapes features some feel good songs to help embrace the autumn arrival. Track list after the jump!

Douchebag Decree: The out-of-bounds coverage of Ines Sainz

by Kjerstin Johnson

September 16, 2010 at 4:04pm

You know what time it is, right? It’s time to have a decree for the douchebags.

As you might have heard, Mexican sports reporter Ines Sainz was harassed with cat-calls and “suggestive comments” this past week while at the New York Jets practice field. The Association of Women Sportscasters has called on the NFL for an investigation, and the Jets owner has apparently offered an...

Push(back) at the Intersections: It's Sexytime, So Let's Get It On

by s.e. smith

September 16, 2010 at 10:10am

There’s an patronising narrative that happens with a lot of disabled characters. They don’t act out of free will, but because they are disabled. They aren’t allowed independence, because they are disabled and clearly incapable of acting on their own. Other characters do things ‘for their own good’ and this is depicted in a neutral or even positive way. These ‘small details’...

sm{art}: Time Based Art Festival

by Katie Presley

September 16, 2010 at 10:02am

It’s festival season here in Portland, and MFNW was just the beginning. Running now thru September 19th, the Portland Institute of Contemporary Art is putting on its 8th annual Time-Based Art (TBA) festival. Here’s your Bitch guide to women-centric performances and exhibitions over the next few days.

Mad World: Dove Deodorant is Just for Pretty Babies

by Kelsey Wallace

September 15, 2010 at 2:11pm

Maybe it’s because I’ve been watching too many episodes of Ochocinco: The Ultimate Catch lately and therefore keep seeing the same online ads, but this Dove Clinical Strength commercial is everywhere I look and I want it to go away, and take its only-pretty-girls-are-strong-and-deserve-deodorant message with it. Behold:

B-Sides: MFNW wrap-up

by Kjerstin Johnson

September 15, 2010 at 1:05pm

To wrap-up our coverage of this year's Musicfest Northwest queer and female musicians, we just wanted to share a final wrap-up of some of the live shows we saw, from little kid audiences to confetti-throwing back-up dancers, starting with Seattle rappers THEEsatisfaction...

Size Matters: Celebrity Schadenfreude

by Tasha Fierce

September 15, 2010 at 12:20pm

Celebrities who have the “misfortune” of gaining a few pounds usually find pictures of themselves looking “fat” on the cover of a tabloid rag at some point. Americans, at least, seem to derive pleasure from this, as if gaining weight is some kind of comeuppance for celebrities, knocking them off their pedestal and showing the world they aren't so perfect after all. The attitude is...