Culture

Bibliobitch: The Girl Who Fell From the Sky

“I learn that black people don’t have blue eyes. I learn that I am black. I have blue eyes. I put all these new facts into the new girl.” Even though the tone of The Girl Who Fell from the Sky reads like a young adult novel, told simply from the point of view of the characters–a... Read more »

On the Map: Furious French Feminists Say Debt Campaign is Tr

In a new campaign advertising a €35 billion loan the French government is taking out, the nationalistically symbolic Marianne is depicted as barefoot and pregnant. Who thought that was a good idea? Read more »

The Biotic Woman: You Say Tomato...

Recently, I was writing with a former-chef friend about her own organic crop cultivation. When comparing her own organic heirloom varieties to the pathetically pale tomatoes for sale in her Canadian market, she said the following: "Tomato production is a truly shocking field. Have you ever been to... Read more »

Sapphic Salon: Does Drew Barrymore Deserve the Vanguard Award?

2010 has been pretty good to Drew Barrymore thus far. The birthday girl (yesterday was the big 35) has a major ad campaign as one of the faces of Cover Girl and she won both a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Miniseries or Television Film for... Read more »

"Boss Ladies" to Star Fashion-Forward Trans Women

Just when you though you might not want another reality show about making it big in the fashion world, along comes Boss Ladies. Billed as “an exciting hybrid of ‘The Real Housewives’ and ‘... Read more »

Adventures in Feministory: Dr. Rev. Anna Howard Shaw

Yes, Liz Lemon’s evoking of the name Anna Howard Shaw made for some big laughs on the most recent episode of 30 Rock. But did you know that in addition to being funny (at least by... Read more »

Reproductive Writes: A Pregnant Pause

Celine Dion stares at us from the front page of People this week. 'My Private Hell' the headline shouts, without a hint of irony. There's been nothing private about Celine Dion's IVF treatments in pursuit of a second child. '... Read more »

Your Moment of Ew: Brought to you by the Daily Caller

CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) is wrapping up its 2010 conference in DC today. It’s kind of like the Coachella festival of Conservative politicians. (So Mitt Romney’s on stage 2 right now, but then at three we have to pick between Dick Cheney and John Ashcroft!) But... Read more »

Sapphic Salon: The Rachel Maddow Backlash

For a while, it really seemed like Rachel Maddow was respected. While conservatives surely disagreed with her, most of them would give her an interview on her show, or seem to acknowledge her as someone to watch out for. She had an educated opinion, and she was eerily intelligent... Read more »

Reproductive Writes: The Short Cut To Sexy

"Sexual anorexia - have you heard of it?" Glamour coyly asks us this month. In the world of Glamour we all want sex, all the time -- and if we don't, we should do it anyway as it makes men... Read more »

Pages

Saying Goodbye to Maria and the End of a Sesame Street Era

Growing up, Sesame Street's Maria was one of the best Latina role models I had. Read more »

Eat, Pray, Spend: Priv-Lit and the New, Enlightened American Dream

Even as reports on joblessness, economic recovery, and home foreclosures suggest that no one is immune to risk during this recession, the popularity of women’s wellness media has persisted and, indeed, grown stronger.  Read more »

Will Filming the Police Keep Us Safe?

There’s a cultural idea that having someone looking over our shoulder makes us behave better. From fake security cameras to Elf... Read more »

Why You Should Pay for Porn

If you’re a progressive middle-class individual, chances are you think about where your food comes from. Maybe you try to buy shoes that are... Read more »