Latest Articles

Lavender Menaced: Is “lesbian” going out of fashion?

May 14, 2010 at 12:47pm

After the National Equality March wended its way through the nation's capital this past October, the New York Times ran coverage of the event under the headline “Gay Rights Marchers Press Cause in Washington.” A year earlier, in the midst of California's Prop 8 battle, American Apparel debuted its “Legalize Gay” t-shirts, which were scooped up by supporters of gay rights, gay marriage...

The Young and The Feckless: Reinventing the Identity Wheel

by J. Maureen Henderson
May 14, 2010 at 10:38am

I blame Douglas Coupland. Before he coined the term Gen X and set it loose into the cultural lexicon, we didn't care about analyzing and compiling character profiles of generations.

I was reminded of how damn I annoying I find these caricatures while reading A. O. Scott's NYT piece on Gen X's mid-life crisis, or more actually A. O. Scott's piece about 40 year-old men feeling...

Tuning In: Redistricting, Christian rock, and teen girl bassists on Friday Night Lights

by Alyx Vesey
May 14, 2010 at 10:32am

Friday Night Lights continues its fourth season tonight on NBC, to the excitement of one Texan feminist music geek.

Stop the Deportation of Kiana Firouz

by Sara Reihani
May 13, 2010 at 7:50pm

Iranian lesbian activist Kiana Firouz is currently seeking asylum in the United Kingdom after a controversy over the upcoming release of Cul de Sac. The film, which stars Firouz and includes explicit lesbian sex scenes, is based heavily on Firouz's life and struggles as a lesbian in Iran. Directors Ramin Goudarzi-Nejad and Mahshad Torkan posted the trailer on YouTube in December 2009 (...

Douchebag Decree: Katherine Heigl's Film Career

by Kelsey Wallace
May 13, 2010 at 2:46pm

I have always kind of liked Katherine Heigl. Maybe it’s because I think she has pretty good comedic chops, maybe it’s because she is (a little bit) curvier than many of her counterparts, maybe it’s because I spent an inordinate amount of time watching Grey’s Anatomy on DVD whilst trying to distract myself from a breakup. Whatever the reason, my fondness for her...

TelevIsm: How can jokes both show and fight oppression?

by Rachel McCarthy-James
May 13, 2010 at 12:37pm

Comedy is a prime weapon for devaluing and belittling marginalized bodies. Laughter aimed at an oppressed person because of their oppression intensifies and isolates the victim, and emphasizes their status as an outsider. I don't have to tell you this – if you're interested in feminism, you've probably had these jokes aimed at you and your body. Oppression is a serious topic, and...

The Lady is a Tramp: The Magnum Campaign and Ye Olde Black Male Penis Myth

by Andrea Plaid
May 13, 2010 at 12:21pm

As much as we complain about hip-hop and rap staying mostly “unconscious” about reproductive-justice issues (the only cut to this day discussing pro-choice options is Digable Planets’ “Femme Fetale”—and that came out 15 years ago), artists have spat about prophylactic use, specifically Trojan Magnums.

Now, Ludacris is doing his part to spread more of the large latex love by teaming up...

sm{art}: Shadi Ghadirian and Sara Rahbar

by Sara Reihani
May 12, 2010 at 1:53pm

A photograph from Shadi Ghadirian's "Qajar" series.

I planned to write only about Sara Rahbar today, but in researching her and her work I found a few more amazing Iranian artists highlighted in the Saatchi Gallery's 2009 exhibition "Unveiled: New Art From the Middle East". This post will only feature Rahbar and Shadi Ghadirian, but I urge you to check out the work of Shirin Fakhim,...

Raising Trouble: Thanks for Reading

by Liza Featherstone
May 12, 2010 at 9:58am

"Raising Trouble" wants to thank you for being great hosts! Also, some thoughts about TV, video games and sex.

Tuning In: Treme's musical gender gap

by Alyx Vesey
May 12, 2010 at 9:51am

As Treme completes the first half of its inaugural season, I’m still waiting for women and girls to make a real impact on the show’s musical environment.

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