Culture

A still from Nina Menkes's documentary "Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power" showing an up-close shot of a person's eyes, the entire face illuminated in purple light with the white outline of a hand over one eye.

“Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power” Is a Fresh Critique of the Male Gaze

April 1, 2022 at 12:05pm

Nina Menkes’s new documentary, “Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power,” provides a critical but shallow introduction to feminist film theory. Read more »

Ira Madison III Keeps It Relevant, Funny, and Real

by Rosa Cartagena

April 1, 2022 at 11:58am

Ira Madison speaks on his pop-culture political podcast, Keep It, and his future projects. Read more »

Illustration of character healers on a pastel yellow background.

Magical Medicine : 6 Fictional Healers Who Eased Our Pain

by Marina Watanabe

April 1, 2022 at 10:53am

Whether their abilities are innate, learned, or thrust upon them, fictional healers have long been a staple of fantasy. These six healers use physical touch, chaos magic, and even their own saliva to mend wounds and restore health. Read more »

Featured Podcast: “La Brega” Dissects the Colonial Diaspora

by Rosa Cartagena

April 1, 2022 at 10:42am

A Puerto Rican history podcast speaks to the unique experiences of an irrepressible and resilient community. Read more »

A classical Greek stone statue of a man and a woman looking at each other. The man has edited red hearts over his eyes, and they both sit in a red swirl of liquid.

Bloody Lies: The Never-Ending Cycle of Menstrual Mythmaking

by Gabrielle Merite

April 1, 2022 at 9:30am

Gabrielle Merite traces an illustrated history of stigmatizing myths about menstruation. Read more »

Three circles feature three different album covers: A green bubble features Tinashe's 333, a pink bubble shows Fana Hues's flora + fana, and a blue bubble shows Latto's 777.

5 Feminist Albums That Got Us Through March

by DeAsia Paige

March 31, 2022 at 3:37pm

This month, we’re looking at releases by Kilo Kish, Fana Hues, Charli XCX, and more. Read more »

“Orlando” Is 30 Years Old, but It’s Still Groundbreaking in Its Transfemininity

by Natalie Marlin

March 31, 2022 at 12:19pm

While many films depicting the lives of trans folks do not stand the test of time, Sally Potter’s 1992 film does. Read more »

Rachel Brosnahan, a white woman with brown hair, in the titular role of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

From Mrs. Maisel to Rory, Amy Sherman-Palladino Relies on Flimsy Anti-Heroines

by Scarlett Harris

March 30, 2022 at 2:35pm

With “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” Amy Sherman-Palladino finally had the opportunity to lean into the anti-heroine—but she didn’t take it. Read more »

A still from the film "Call Jane" shows a white man with brown hair wearing a white lab coat pointing to a door and talking to a white woman with blond hair in a brown jacket. The two are standing in a hallway.

Abortion Is Under Attack. These 3 Films Illustrate the Resilience of the Reproductive Rights Movement.

by Michelle Krasovitski

March 30, 2022 at 1:13pm

Film has long been used as an intellectual battle ground over the legal state of abortion. These stories from the ’60s and ’70s are alive and sadly relevant today. Read more »

A scene from "West Side Story" (2021) shows the two warring sides at a dance mixer: the white Jets gang, wearing blue and green outfits, and the Puerto Rican Sharks gang, wearing red and orange outfits.

Who Does “West Side Story” Really Serve?

by Rosa Cartagena

March 25, 2022 at 7:53am

Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story” resists a progressive update because its entire premise presents Puerto Ricans as innately, irreconcilably other. Read more »

Best of Bitch

Ms. Opinionated: I'm a Man. How Can I Help the Feminist Movement?

by Andi Zeisler

February 19, 2014 at 2:29pm

Welcome to Ms. Opinionated, our weekly advice column dealing with questions of life, love, feminism, and pop culture. This week, a reader... Read more »