Culture

four teenagers, three white and one Black, pose side by side against a graffitied wall in The Craft

Popaganda: The Feminist Beauty Secrets of Witches

by Carmen Rios
January 3, 2020 at 9:53am
Carmen learns about the closely connected histories of witchy feminist movements and patriarchy-smashing glamour magic, how to cast spells for self-love and social change, and what makes a bar of soap into a magically political self-care device. Read more »
Cynthia Erivo, a Black British woman, portrays Harriet Tubman, a darkskinned Black woman dressed in a brown outfit and holding a gun in her land with a Black child in her right arm

End All, Be All: A Roundtable About “Harriet” and the State of Black Film Criticism

by Gloria Oladipo
December 20, 2019 at 5:32pm
We need to give critics space to ply their craft without pitting them against the films, the audiences, and/or each other. Read more »
Botham Jean, a Black man with short, Black hair, smiling in a photo

Posthumous Humanity: Remembering Botham Jean, the Lone Police Victim Media Properly Covered

by Gloria Oladipo
December 20, 2019 at 5:12pm
The coverage of Botham Jean’s death represents a course correction for media coverage of police brutality against Black victims, but there were still glaring errors. Read more »
Three young women of color stand in a row doing a dance from "Heathers." Above their heads from left to right reads, "Pence, Trump Rudy."

Very Online: What TikTok Reveals about Gen Z’s Impeachment Concerns

by Rachel Charlene Lewis
December 20, 2019 at 4:03pm
TikTok offers a unique space for young people to engage with each other and feel validated in their political opinions. Read more »
Rudy Guiliani, an elderly white man who's balding, glares at the camera

Ugh, You Again?: The Most Unwelcome Comebacks of 2019

by Andi Zeisler
December 20, 2019 at 12:52pm
It seems like the ugliest, most nonsensical, and most harmful things are the ones repeating on us like a rancid Christmas ham. Read more »
Robert Pattinson, a pale white man wearing a blue shirt, crouches beside Kristen Stewart, a pale white, thin woman with shoulder-length brown hair, on a rock in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2

Staking Capitalism: The Undead Will Rise as Our Economy Spirals Into Chaos

by s.e. smith
December 19, 2019 at 11:26am
Vampires aren’t the only thing returning in the near future: an economic recession is coming as well. Read more »
A collage of Letitia Wright, a Black woman, the characters from Steven Universe, including Steven Universe, a young, chubby white boy, and June/Offred in The Handmaid's Tale, who wears red and has her hair covered.

The Most Impactful Pop Culture Phenomenons of the 2010s

by Rachel Charlene Lewis
December 18, 2019 at 5:39pm
As we speedily approach 2020, we reflect on some of the most memorable moments in pop culture of the last decade. Read more »
Kaitlyn Dever as Amy Antsler, a white teen girl with reddish brown hair. She wears a denim jacket with a patch that says "sisters" and drives a car.

The Role of Disgust in Contemporary Queer Female Films

by Rachel Charlene Lewis
December 18, 2019 at 5:21pm
Lesbian films focusing on “grossness” is a misguided attempt to combat hypersexualization. Read more »
Hannah Gadsby in Nanette

Woke Jokes: 7 Comedy Specials That Transformed Stand-Up in the 2010s

by Marina Watanabe
December 18, 2019 at 2:12pm
The 2010s were a transformative time for comedy, both for better, and for worse. Read more »
Holiday Date header image

In Bad Faith: Hallmark’s Jewish Stereotypes Meet America’s Rising Antisemitism

by Noa Azulai
December 17, 2019 at 9:00pm
Hanukkah, as it exists to Hallmark, is just Christmas’s quirky ethnic sidekick.  Read more »

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Best of Bitch

The Forgotten History of the Women Who Shaped Modern Advertising

a white woman smoking a cigarette walks through an office with a box
by Ciara Lavelle
March 21, 2019 at 9:00am
It's easy to dismiss advertising as an anti-feminist industry. Read more »

It's Time to End the Long History of Feminism Failing Transgender Women

by Tina Vasquez
May 20, 2016 at 11:28am
To imply that trans women pose a threat to cisgender women in restrooms is misinformation that preys on unfounded fears. Read more »

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

a blue and white illustration of a woman in Amish attire standing next to a fan and a chicken
by Audrey deCoursey
Spring 2014 • Maps & Legends
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 »

One-Sentence Reviews of the Lesbian Netflix Canon

by Sara Century
November 13, 2014 at 10:52am
Lez face it: when you’re a ladygay like myself, cruising the internet for something to watch, you realize very quickly that there are a whole... Read more »