We often associate fantasy with childhood, a time for some of us of carefree abandon and whimsical imagining of brighter futures. Fantasy, however, is open to us all—no matter what communities we hail from and identities we associate with. For adults, fantasy is less about escaping from reality and more about realizing what’s already before us and working toward making it incrementally better. From creating a fashion industry that improves the Earth rather than harming it to breaking down the taboo that prevents us from tapping into our deepest sexual fantasies to celebrating everything from a new approach to gaming to the queering of the Fairy Godmother, this issue brings the fantastical from the realm of our imaginations to our everyday real lives. A new world is always within our grasp. We just have to reach for it.
FIRST OF ALL
Letter from the Editor | Evette Dionne
Snaps or Scraps
Wisdom from Sophie of Howl’s Moving Castle
7 on Fantasy | Rachel Charlene Lewis
Feminist Fill-In: Nina LaCour
Bitch List
DISPATCHES
A Tale of Two Poles: What Stripping in Guam: Taught Me About Colonization | Natassja Schiel
Smoke Signal: Building the Past, the Present, and the Afrofuture | Mary Retta
Open Arms: The Fantastical Pull of Tentacle Porn | Cameron Glover
FEATURES
On the Mend: The Future of Fashion Is Sustainable | Adwoa Afful, Rosa Boshier, Mallika Khanna, Rachel Charlene Lewis, Carmen Rios, Marina Watanabe, and Andi Zeisler
In It Not to Win It: Indie Game Designers Queer Time, Space, and Play | Nina St. Pierre
Beyond Bars: Prison Abolition Should Be the American Dream | Reina Sultan
Capturing Comfort in the Time of Instagram | Ashanti Fortson
Godmothers of Invention: The Enduring Power of the Cinderella Story | Noa Azulai
FROM THE HQ
Letter from the HQ
Fellowship Frequency
Rage Report
Community Focus
Staff Sound Off
CULTURE
Endless Euphoria: Carnival Celebrates Freedom, Defiance, and Age-Old Tradition | Wanna Thompson
Bad Guise: A Field Guide to Fictional Fuckboys | Marina Watanabe
BOOKS
Gilead Is Now: For Feminist Authors, Dystopia Is Already Here | Abby Neufeld
BitchReads
What We’re Reading: Bethany C. Morrow
SCREEN
Jennifer Lopez Is Still the Unstoppable Fly Girl | Cate Young
Begone with the Wind: How Hollywood Rewrites Slavery | Ayanna Dozier
Magic On Demand: Speaking New Worlds into Existence
What We’re Watching: Roni Geva and Margaret Katch
Gate Crashing: Danielle Radford Wants to Change the Face of Nerd Culture | Marina Watanabe
MUSIC
Sound Out: Coming Home to Lavender Country | Kim Kelly
What We’re Listening To: Yola
3 Fantastical Podcasts Recast History | Ellie Sharp
Lyrics We Love
BitchTapes: A Playlist by Rekha Shankar
Adventures in Feministory: Eartha Kitt
