Culture

End of Gender: His n' Hers n' Hens

Swedes are tossing out their “His n’ Hers” bath towels in favor of language that’s a little more inclusive. Earlier this month Sweden’s online National Encyclopedia adopted the gender-neutral pronoun “hen” in addition to “he” [han... Read more »

Visi(bi)lity: Good-bi, Friends!

It has been a privilege and pleasure to write for Bitch for the last eight weeks. Thanks to Kelsey and Kjerstin for all of their support, and thank you to everyone who read, commented on, and shared my posts. As a long-time Bitch fan, I’ve felt honored to share this space with you and... Read more »

Douchebag Decree: Richard Grenell, Romney Spokesperson and Sexist Tweeter

GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s sexism is old news at this point, but hey, it’s election season and he has to stay in the news, right? Romney doubled down on the misogyny last Thursday by hiring... Read more »

End of Gender: "Transsexual Killer" Strikes Again

Chloë Sevigny of Boys Don’t Cry stars in the upcoming miniseries Hit and Miss as a transgender contract assassin. For years the “transsexual killer” trope has haunted the trans community with a bad reputation. And while transgender people are being portrayed as killers, we... Read more »

Visi(bi)lity: How Did I Get Here? (or: What Chasing Amy Taught Me About Media and Identity)

When I was 11, I saw the trailer for Chasing Amy. I don’t remember why it caught my attention—I didn’t recognize the actors, and I don’t think I consciously knew what it was about. It certainly... Read more »

Fertile Ground: Five Films For the Ecofeminist in You

Within the last several years, some great eco-themed movies have swirled about in theaters and Netflix queues. Both scripted and documentary, these films have been effective at conscious-raising and spreading the word to take action to heal our wilting planet. They cover some of the bases of our... Read more »

Visi(bi)lity: Toward a Visible Movement

Over the weekend, The Bilerico Project published a fascinating interview with Ellyn Ruthstrom, a seasoned bi activist who became the first and only paid staff member at the... Read more »

Fertile Ground: Beauty Products and the Beast

In an effort to avoid as many chemicals as I can in our toxic world, I do my best to not put anything on my face that I couldn’t put in my mouth. For many people, though, mainstream beauty products are standard items. According to a Bloomberg report, the average American woman uses about... Read more »

Douchebag Decree: That Racist Swedish Cake and Everyone Who Had a Piece in It.

Like many, I find these images racist, repulsive, and anti-woman. But, because this cake was consumed at museum and not, (believe it or not) at a pathetic frat party, and this cake was conceived as performance art, we will discuss further. Read more »

Is Social Media the Final Visi(bi)lity Frontier?

I’ve spent the majority of this series discussing bisexual visibility (and lack thereof) in film and television. This isn’t an accident—I’m a filmmaker and cinephile, so my passions and cultural points of reference tend to fall within the realm of audio-visual media. But these... Read more »

Pages

The Feminist Power of Female Ghosts

The female ghost is an enduringly fascinating figure. Read more »

Hot Under the Bonnet: The Cooptation of Amish Culture in Mass-Market Fiction

Dubbed “Amish romance novels,” “Amish fiction,” or the more waggish “bonnet rippers,” these novels just one entry point into the varying images of Amish communities in U.S. popular culture. Read more »

No Disrespect: Black Women and the Burden of Respectability

Hollywood still filters (and distorts) the lives and histories of minorities through the eyes of the majority. Read more »

Know & Tell: The Literary Renaissance of Trans Women Writers

For so long, the people who wrote about us were not us. Finally, that is beginning to change. Read more »