Culture

Alice Diamond, Lillian Rose Kendall, and Florrie Holmes, three white women wearing fur hats and pin curls, were members of the Forty Elephants Gang in 1916

Criminal Accessories: The Ruthless Style of London’s Forty Elephants Gang

by Ann Foster
April 22, 2021 at 9:00am
The Forty Elephants remain one of the most successful and longest-lasting criminal organizations in English history. Read more »
Three women in a pop punk band wearing cat ears posing with instruments.

Cat-Eared Brainwashing: “Josie and the Pussycats” Prophesied the Age of Influencers

by Dejan Jotanovic
April 21, 2021 at 10:41am
It’s a film that tickles the absurdities of the past and, in doing so, has successfully determined the misfortunes of our future. Read more »
The Darkling/General Kirigan, a tall white man in a regal jacket, holds a shining light in-between himself and Alina Starkov, a white teen with brown hair, in Shadow and Bone

“Shadow and Bone” Diversifies Its Fantasy World

by Alaina Leary
April 21, 2021 at 9:00am
The characters feel like a chosen family who are just starting to come together. Read more »
Colton Underwood, a young white man with short brown hair, smiles during an interview

Coming Out Doesn’t Excuse Colton Underwood’s Abusive Past

by Gabriela Ramos Tavárez
April 20, 2021 at 10:04am
Accepting this narrative is a disservice to queer folk who are or were closeted and have never abused their partners in the process of finding themselves. Read more »
Emily Contois, a white woman with brown hair pulled back, smiles slyly outside

“Diners, Dudes, and Diets” Reveals the Absurdity of Gendered Food

by Andréa Becker
April 20, 2021 at 9:00am
By naming and examining dude food, Emily J.H. Contois gives us the language and historical context for an omnipresent phenomenon we’ve all surely noticed. Read more »
Khloé Kardashian, a tall white woman, poses on Instagram in a sweat suit and a thong

Beyond Skin Deep: Khloé Kardashian, Madison Beer, and Social Media’s Unwinnable Beauty Game

by Lexi McMenamin
April 19, 2021 at 11:41am
We’re all body positive so long as that positivity includes warping ourselves beyond recognition. Read more »
Melody Hurd as Grace Jean and Deborah Ayorinde as Lucky in Them

“Them” and Us: Do We Need to Televise Black Pain to Take It Seriously?

by Shireen Rose Shakouri
April 19, 2021 at 11:09am
Stomach-churning violence against Black women is near constant. Read more »
Sutton Foster as Liza Miller and Hilary Duff as Kelsey Peters in Younger

One True Pairing: “Younger” Is Ultimately a Rom-Com about Women

by Scarlett Harris
April 16, 2021 at 1:40pm
The show is more than a rom-com about a cishet love triangle between Liza and two men. Read more »
a meme of Jenni Farley and Nicole Polizzi, two white women, with pink and purple text over their face

Unhappy Medium: The Business of Misery Memes

by Jenna Mahale
April 14, 2021 at 1:54pm
The meme has entered a new era as an emotional shorthand. Read more »
Illustration of two floating apartments in a purple and yellow gradient background, female figures in red swimsuits coming down the stairs from one apartment into the background.

Love and Surveillance: Dating Shows Channel More Than Reality

by Imran Siddiquee
April 14, 2021 at 9:22am
Netflix released multiple reality TV shows in 2020 that feature beautiful people blissfully succumbing to the power of being watched. Read more »

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Best of Bitch

Will Filming the Police Keep Us Safe?

by Victoria Law
February 5, 2015 at 10:31am
There’s a cultural idea that having someone looking over our shoulder makes us behave better. From fake security cameras to Elf... Read more »

Mock & Awe: Janet Mock on Truth-Telling, Community Building, and Writing the Story She Had Been Waiting for Her Whole Life

Janet Mock, a transgender Hawaiian woman with curly, brown hair, smiles
by Tina Vasquez
Spring 2014 • Maps & Legends
“Redefining Realness” is written with astounding honesty and heart. Read more »

Oh Joy Sex Toy: How I Realized I'm Asexual

by Erika Moen
January 5, 2016 at 11:11am
Artist Kiku H shares her personal experiences learning what it means to be asexual. Read more »

Eat, Pray, Spend: Priv-Lit and the New, Enlightened American Dream

Elizabeth Gilbert, a white woman wearing a navy blue jumpsuit, leans forward and holds hand with and Oprah Winfrey, a Black woman wearing a gray cardigan and jeans
by Joshunda Sanders
Summer 2010 • Action
Even as reports on joblessness, economic recovery, and home foreclosures suggest that no one is immune to risk during this recession, the popularity of women’s wellness media has persisted and, indeed, grown stronger.  Read more »