Culture

Elle Lorraine plays Anna, a dark-skinned Black woman with long, Black hair, sits horrified on a bed in in Bad Hair

“Bad Hair” Makes a Tangled Mess of Black Women’s Woes

by Cate Young
October 27, 2020 at 12:48pm
In his quest to create a fable about Black women’s hair, Justin Simien overlooks the actual function it plays in Black women’s lives. Read more »
The TikTok logo and the words, “death becomes inescapable.”

Very Online: You Can’t Escape Death on TikTok

by Rachel Charlene Lewis
October 22, 2020 at 1:00am
We’re still learning what to do with death, both online and off. Read more »
Fathia Youssouf portrays Amy, a Black child with a red shirt, stands with three other children on a train track in Migonnes

Pausing the Panic Button: Can Religious Scholarship Teach Media Literacy?

by Rebecca Epstein-Levi
October 21, 2020 at 12:49pm
Moral panics about sexually disturbing or explicit media are hardly new or uncommon. Read more »
Lily James plays Mrs. de Winter, a woman with shoulder-length blond hair looking over her shoulder, in Rebecca

Female Trouble: Why Daphne Du Maurier’s “Rebecca” Still Possesses our Imaginations

by Kerensa Cadenas
October 21, 2020 at 9:37am
What makes Daphne du Maurier’s prose feel fresh and unique to this day is just how real it is in capturing the way women observe. Read more »
meme image by Instagram user @gay_girl_inc featuring Beyoncé walking onto a yacht and Jay-Z crouching behind her

Meme and My Squad: The Teens Tagging their Way to Queer Utopia

by Peyton Dix
October 20, 2020 at 9:30am
Memes can offer familiarity, freedom, and levity in a world that, more often than not, flattens and invalidates queer experience. Read more »
Black and white collage with photocopier texture, disembodied female eyes, discarded female doll on the ground.

Trolling in the Deep: Deepfakes Are the Latest Innovation in Online Shaming

by Padmini Parthasarathy
October 19, 2020 at 9:40am
The deepfake is a form of public shaming. Read more »
A Black woman sits on a windowsill in a kitchen wearing sunglasses.

Mind Interrupted: The Horrifying Manipulation of Black Women’s Psyches

by Jordan McDonald
October 19, 2020 at 8:37am
The traumatic spectacles of these transformations often reveal so little about the interiority of the fictional Black women who experience them. Read more »
A thin white woman wears an elaborate wedding gown.

BitchWatch: 15 Shows Feminists Should Watch This Fall

by Rachel Charlene Lewis
October 16, 2020 at 10:04am
This list has it all, from scary shows to calming ones. Read more »
A black and white portrait of Nikki Giovanni, a Black woman with short, blond hair, holds her hand up to her chin

BitchReads: 11 Books Feminists Should Read in October

by Evette Dionne
October 16, 2020 at 9:14am
For those updating their fall reading lists, we have books for everyone. Read more »
Billie Eilish, a white young woman, has black-dyed hair and is very pale. She leans out of a trailer and wears an oversized, pastel-colored outfit.

Billie Eilish’s Body Is Not Ours to Claim

by Rachel Charlene Lewis
October 15, 2020 at 2:33pm
“I feel you watching, always. And nothing I do goes unseen.” Read more »

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Mad Science: Deconstructing Bunk Reporting in 5 Easy Steps

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British scientists have uncovered the truth behind one of modern culture's greatest mysteries: why little girls play with pink toys. Is it...

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Black Girls Hunger for Heroes, Too: A Black Feminist Conversation on Fantasy Fiction for Teens

by Zetta Elliott
December 17, 2013 at 3:19pm
What happens when two great black women fiction writers get together to talk about race in young adult literature? That's exactly what happens... Read more »

Politically Correct Language Isn't Just About Being Polite—It's About Survival

by Leela Ginelle
February 10, 2015 at 12:23pm
Photo by Phillipe Leroyer (Creative Commons). Two weeks ago, Jonathan Chait published the lengthy essay “Not a Very P.C.... Read more »

The Dramatic History of American Sex-Ed Films

by Sarah Mirk
June 17, 2014 at 10:29am
In 1948, in a seventh grade classroom in Eugene, Oregon, a teacher dimmed the lights and flipped on 16mm projector. A film called Human... Read more »