Latest Articles

The Biotic Woman: A Conversation About Carnism with Melanie Joy (Pt. 2)

February 10, 2010 at 9:53am

A professor and psychologist who works to promote empowering relationships between humans, animals, and the earth, Dr. Melanie Joy recently spoke with me at length about her new book, Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows: An Introduction to Carnism. Our talk is split into two parts here this week. Please check out the first half of this interview from earlier this week!

Reproductive Writes: The Baby-Makers

by Holly Grigg-Spall

February 10, 2010 at 8:00am

Barely a week goes by without a new cautionary tale for would-be mothers making newspaper headlines. This last week, there were two.

Smart: Norman Rockwell

by Shaamini Yogaretnam

February 9, 2010 at 12:38pm

February 3rd, 2010 marked the 116th birthday of Norman Rockwell. Google’s clever inclusion of his art among the letters of the search engine’s logo alerted me to the historic date. Oh Google! You went and did it again with your clever intertextuality.

Rockwell rose to artistic fame with his Americana paintings depicting everyday life and its sentiments. On...

Race Card: Maybelline

by Nadra Kareem Nittle

February 9, 2010 at 8:00am

Makeup giant Maybelline has a newsletter of sorts in which consumers answer a few questions and get tips on choosing products most suitable for their look. An Asian-Canadian blogger who uses the moniker Rasilla was happy enough to answer Maybelline's questions about her appearance. But after choosing "brown" for eye-color, Rasilla was asked to select the shape of her eyes. Her options? Close...

White Washed: Black Women in Rock

by Annalee Schafranek

February 9, 2010 at 1:30am

While my love for female-based rock music is well-documented and longstanding, even a fangirl like me can easily admit that riot grrrl and the punk scene more generally have long been a largely homogeneous affair, with a lack of racial diversity and inclusion among its iconic musicians and those who loved them. Partially inspired by Black History Month and partially by Beyonce’s...

The Biotic Woman: A Conversation About Carnism with Melanie Joy (Pt. 1)

by Brittany Shoot

February 8, 2010 at 12:15pm

People often think about vegetarianism or veganism as an ethical framework or intentional life choice, but in her new book, Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows: An Introduction to Carnism, Dr. Melanie Joy posits that eating meat comes from the same type of belief system. Dr. Joy, a professor and psychologist who works to promote empowering relationships between humans, animals, and the...

Reproductive Writes: An Introduction

by Holly Grigg-Spall

February 8, 2010 at 11:38am

Before I started writing about women's reproductive health, I'd pretty much resigned myself to being a film journalist for life. All the free movies, premieres and parties were a lot of fun, but I was beginning to think that my choice to give a film five stars or one star was being unfairly swayed by whether the complimentary pastry was stale or if the air conditioning was turned up too high...

So... How 'bout that Tebow ad?

by Kelsey Wallace

February 8, 2010 at 10:13am

If you are among the record numbers of people who tuned in to yesterday’s Super Bowl, then you had the chance to see the controversial Focus on the Family ad starring Tim Tebow and his mother, Pam. And if the ad shocked you at all, it was probably due to how tame it turned out to be.

Race Card: Ishmael Reed on

by Nadra Kareem Nittle

February 6, 2010 at 1:21pm

If you've yet to read Ishamel Reed's editorial "Fade to White" in the New York Times about Precious, get to it post-haste! In the piece, Reed makes some excellent points about portrayals of black men in popular culture and why the film has received such a favorable reception from whites but been met with resistance in the black community.

The Biotic Woman: Is Temple Grandin an activist?