Media

Editors' Letter: Premiere: Introduction

This magazine is about speaking up. I’ve always been a media junkie. Magazines, movies, television—I love them all and tend to consume them voraciously. But indiscriminate media consumption, maybe more than any other binge, can make you sick. When I was twelve years old I was looking for... Read more »

Magazines We Hate

Esquire’s annual “Women We Love” feature gives with one hand and takes away with the other. Hidden behind the premise of honoring them, the article puts women firmly in their place by using the traditional patriarchal tool of male approval—rewarding certain traits in the female while disparaging... Read more »

Amazon Women on the Moon: Images of Femininity in the Video Age

Like some grizzled old-timer sitting on the porch of the homestead talking about the good old days, I think back to the first time I saw MTV and pity the prepubescents of today who didn’t have the luck to see, as I did, the wonder of MTV when it first aired. I was eight years old, alone in my... Read more »

Bait and Switch Sassy

Back in March a horrible thing happened. After a few months of checking the newsstands for my beloved Sassy, wondering what the hell was up and why I couldn’t find it anywhere, suddenly there it was—mutilated almost beyond recognition. Peterson Publishing (they also own Guns & Ammo)... Read more »

Mad As A Wet Hen #1: A Roundup of Media Affronts

How about that new Taco Bell ad featuring 11-year-old boys on the beach ogling a shapely lifeguard… Guess what? According to Cosmopolitan you’ll never get a date without duct tape and a “No Trespassing” sign… When Camille Paglia addresses the defunct pedophilic Calvin... Read more »

Pages

Films and TV Portray Abortion as More Dangerous Than It Is

Films and television shows tend to present a skewed portrayal of abortion—when fictional movies and TV shows include a plotline about abortion... Read more »

A Look at How Media Writes Women of Color

Nearly every Saturday morning, feminists of color hold Twitter discussions taking a deeper look at issues, such as gender violence. It’s the... Read more »

Politically Correct Language Isn't Just About Being Polite—It's About Survival

Photo by Phillipe Leroyer (Creative Commons). Two weeks ago, Jonathan Chait published the lengthy essay “Not a Very P.C.... Read more »

Mad Science: Deconstructing Bunk Reporting in 5 Easy Steps

British scientists have uncovered the truth behind one of modern culture's greatest mysteries: why little girls play with pink toys. Is it...

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