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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 »
Two high school characters, one Black with a beanie on and purple hair, and one white with red hair and bright red lipstick, kiss in a high school hallwayl.

The Best Queer TV Episodes of 2019

by Rachel Charlene Lewis
December 13, 2019 at 5:58pm
We’re hoping for more queer television in 2020. Read more »
Kathryn Hahn plays Eve Fletcher, a middle-age white woman with shoulder-length brown hair who's standing awkwardly in a teal sweater with her hand on her purse

MILF of Human Kindness: “Mrs. Fletcher’s” Muddled Messages about Older Women and Sexual Freedom

by Andi Zeisler
December 13, 2019 at 12:54pm
On paper, Mrs. Fletcher is a slam dunk. In execution, not so much. Read more »
Mark-Paul Gosselaar plays Paul, a white man wearing a burgundy flowy shirt, and Tika Sumpter plays Alicia, a Black woman in a jean shirt and a curly afro, in mixed-ish

Yay, Us?: In the World of “mixed-ish,” Colorblindness Is the Same as Anti-Racism

by Dr. Shantel Gabrieal Buggs
December 12, 2019 at 5:26pm
There’s still a dearth of pop culture with multiracial characters who contend with what that multiraciality means socially and politically. Read more »
Phoebe Waller-Bridge as Fleabag, a white woman standing against a brick wall smoking a cigarette in a black jumpsuit with a low cutout in the chest

The Lasting Impact of the “Fleabag” Jumpsuit

by Kylie Sparks
December 11, 2019 at 10:57am
The iconography of clothing in film and television has transcended time and gender over the years. Read more »
a Black man and a Black woman pose in front an old-school Chevy in Queen & Slim

Unpoetic Injustice: “Queen & Slim” Treats Its Outlaws as Misguided Political Symbols

by Jourdain Searles
December 9, 2019 at 3:44pm
It treats its strangers–turned–outlaws as political symbols rather than fleshed-out characters with interests and flaws. Read more »

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Best of Bitch

Films and TV Portray Abortion as More Dangerous Than It Is

by Erica Thomas
February 19, 2014 at 3:47pm
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 »

The Dramatic History of American Sex-Ed Films

by Sarah Mirk
June 17, 2014 at 10:29am
In 1948, in a seventh grade classroom in Eugene, Oregon, a teacher dimmed the lights and flipped on 16mm projector. A film called Human... Read more »

What I Learned About Gender and Power from Sailor Moon

by Soleil Ho
May 31, 2013 at 1:43pm
My life began in 1995 — the year I turned eight and became a divorced kid.    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 »