We will all become sick at some point in our lives, but thanks to booming wellness-focused industries and a cultural aversion to aging, death, and grief, we still prioritize youth and willfully misunderstand health. Our Sick issue aims to disrupt our insistence on remaining in a perpetual loop of remaining healthy at all costs by opening us all up to realities, like the emotional and mental toll of being repeatedly laid off, queer spaces perpetuating ableism, the cost of our Western fascination with Indian wellness, and police brutality being an inescapable force in the United States. Through it all, we examine a single question: How does our fear of sickness prevent us from confronting it every aspect of our lives?
FIRST OF ALL
Letter from the Editor | Evette Dionne
Snaps or Scraps
Sex Ed from Connie the Hormone Monstress
7 on Sick | Rachel Charlene Lewis
Feminist Fill-In: Nalo Hopkinson
Bitch List
DISPATCHES
Unsalved Mysteries: The Case of the Heteronormative Healthcare | Rachel Charlene Lewis
Trial by Firing: Are Unions the Cure for Post-Traumatic Press Disorder? | Caitlin Wolper
A $2 Lifeline: Astrology Apps Give a New Meaning to Universal Healthcare | Gina Escandon
FEATURES
Good Grief: Why Does Mourning Have an Expiration Date? | s.e. smith
Come As You Are: Orgasms Prioritize Pleasure in the Midst of Pain | Caroline Reilly
(Un)safe Refuge: The Built-In Ableism In Queer Spaces | Ace Tilton Ratcliff
Intimate Access: Danez Smith on Poetry as Purpose, Thriving with HIV, and Blackness as Home | George M Johnson
Continental Grift: Wellness and the Western Consumption of India | Mallika Khanna
FROM THE HQ
Letter from the HQ
Fellowship Frequency
Rage Report
Community Focus
Staff Sound Off
CULTURE
Memes to an End: Making the Case for the Living Wage on TikTok | Nicole Froio
Get Unstable With Me: A Day in the Life of a Depressive Episode | Marina Watanabe
BOOKS
Domestic Disturbance: Carmen Maria Machado Gives Voice to Queer Abuse Survivors | Melissa A. Fabello
BitchReads
What We’re Reading: Stephanie Wrobel | Raquel Diaz
SCREEN
Makeup Is Ve Neill’s Superpower | Cate Young
A Wrinkle In White Supremacy: Even Time Travel Can’t Stop Police Brutality | Cate Young
Cheating Death Requires Immortal Combat
What We’re Watching: Caroline Hirsch | Ellie Sharp
Traci Medeiros-Bagan Wants to Uncouple Sickness from Otherness | Marina Watanabe
MUSIC
Truth Hurts: Fat, Black, and Too Good to Cancel | Keah Brown
What We’re Listening To: Charu Suri | Maurgea Albert-Adams
Ear Ache: Are Medical Podcasts Too Voyeuristic? | Ellie Sharp
Lyrics We Love
BitchTapes: A Playlist by Gloria Lucas
Adventures in Feministory: Jazzie Collins
