Culture

White and Whimsical: The Reformation of Fashion’s History

Many of us have accepted that whiteness and cultural appropriation have long dominated fashion, but these issues have tangible roots that deserve interrogation. Read more »

Cultivating Freedom: This Year, Cottagecore Exploded—But Excluded Black Women

Cottagecore is about freedom rather than loneliness. Read more »

In Heaven’s Name: A New Documentary Revisits a Notorious, Misunderstood Cult

Heaven’s Gate: The Cult of Cults challenges viewers to rethink their assumptions. Read more »

No One Can Escape Diet Culture—Even Lizzo

Bodies detox themselves, and no amount of supplements, smoothies, or apple cider vinegar do more than our own bodies naturally do to regulate us. Read more »

Joke to Trope: On the Pop Culture Villainization of Aunties

Is it possible that we’re being just a little too harsh on our aunties? Read more »

Lizzie McGuire is 30. Apparently That’s a Problem for Disney+.

How Disney+ killed our Lizzie McGuire dreams. Read more »

Rescue Rom-Com: Sex Workers Reflect on the Fantasy of “Pretty Woman”

Pretty Woman is to real-life sex work what the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are to actual ninjas. Read more »

Bad (White) Moms Dominate Christmas Movies

Perhaps we’re not far enough removed from the bigoted assumptions that moms who don’t fit the mold aren’t parenting correctly. Read more »

That “Gay Cowboy Movie”: Queer People Reflect on 15 Years of “Brokeback Mountain”

Six queer creatives reflect on “Brokeback Mountain’s” enduring, complex legacy and its indisputable impact on queer media and American audiences. Read more »

Whiteness Reigns: Our Cultural Obsession with Cleopatra

Gal Gadot isn’t the first white woman to be cast as Cleopatra. Read more »

Pages

What I Learned About Gender and Power from Sailor Moon

My life began in 1995 — the year I turned eight and became a divorced kid.    Read more »

No Disrespect: Black Women and the Burden of Respectability

Hollywood still filters (and distorts) the lives and histories of minorities through the eyes of the majority. Read more »

The Dramatic History of American Sex-Ed Films

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 »

"Moonlight" is an Essential Work of Art for the Current Political Moment

Moonlight displays the kind of empathy and humanity that we desperately need right now. Read more »