Heat is often associated with calamity and chaos—raging wildfires, sinners going to hell, police officers wreaking havoc on the very people they’re tasked with protecting. While we must acknowledge the myriad definitions of heat, we must also challenge the ways in which women are asked to contort themselves in traditional religions and Satanism, in sex work, in baseball, and even within their own families to avoid the fire and fit into the repressive confines of “womanhood.” This issue aims to change our collective relationship with heat from all fire and brimstone to a gateway to freedom.
FIRST OF ALL
Letter from the Editor | Evette Dionne
Love It/Shove It
Wisdom from Mistress Velvet
7 on Heat | Cathy Saidi
Feminist Fill-In: Alex Koones
Bitch List
DISPATCHES
Injustice Ignited: Incarcerated Firefighters on the Frontlines | Emilly Prado
Raising Hell: Satanic Feminism’s Eternal Legacy | Jex Blackmore
A Pleasure to Burn: One Family’s Hot Sauce Heirloom | Brooklyn White
FEATURES
Bound Together: One Year Later, FOSTA-SESTA Throws Sex Workers Back Into the Fire | Isabelle T. Lee
Bad Mouths: The Long History of Sanitizing Women’s Language | Rachel Klein
Cabin Fever: The New Luxury of Adult Summer Camp | Nneka M. Okona
Twist of Faith: A Q&A with God Land Author Lyz Lenz | Jessica Jernigan
Land Marks: Subversive Cartography Maps the Margins | Adwoa Afful
FROM THE HQ
Letter from the HQ
Fellowship Frequency: Adwoa Afful
Rage Report
Community Focus
Staff Sound Off
CULTURE
Catching Heat: Veronica Alvarez Goes to Bat for Girls in Baseball | Britni de la Cretaz
Summer Essentials to Help You Forget about the Imminent Destruction of the Earth | Marina Watanabe
BOOKS
Killer Kinks: Couples Who Slay Together Stay Together | Robyn Pennacchia
BitchReads
What We’re Reading: Kristen R. Ghodsee
SCREEN
Reese Witherspoon Brings the Sunshine to Hollywood | Cate Young
The Lie That Feeds Our Ugly Fascination with Makeover Shows | Dara Mathis
Movies That Made Black Love Iconic
What We’re Watching: Moni Oyedepo
Cord Jefferson Finds a (Good) Place for Pop Culture Optimism | Cate Young
MUSIC
Women in Dancehall Turn Up for Pleasure Parity | Sharine Taylor
What We’re Listening To: Tanaya Winder
Podcasts That Offer Naked Honesty About the Relationships That Matter Most
Lyrics We Love
BitchTapes: A Playlist by Maryze
Adventures in Feministory: Wangari Maathai
