Culture

Woke Jokes: 7 Comedy Specials That Transformed Stand-Up in the 2010s

The 2010s were a transformative time for comedy, both for better, and for worse. Read more »

In Bad Faith: Hallmark’s Jewish Stereotypes Meet America’s Rising Antisemitism

Hanukkah, as it exists to Hallmark, is just Christmas’s quirky ethnic sidekick.  Read more »

Under Armor: Sex Work, Style, and Survival

Cinema still frames sex workers as troublesome sirens whose sole purpose is to disarm men and leave them broken. Read more »

The Best Queer TV Episodes of 2019

We’re hoping for more queer television in 2020. Read more »

Just a Fan: With “Cheap Queen,” King Princess Finds Her Power

A satisfying album that centers on the complexities and changeability of identity, let alone queer identity, is a tough task. Read more »

BitchTapes: Best Songs of 2019

Music remains one of the guiding lights for the Bitch staff. Read more »

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

On paper, Mrs. Fletcher is a slam dunk. In execution, not so much. Read more »

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

There’s still a dearth of pop culture with multiracial characters who contend with what that multiraciality means socially and politically. Read more »

Sticky Fingers: What Have We Learned from a Decade of Sexting?

Regardless of the progression of sexting as a practice, the way women are exploited online has yet to change. Read more »

The Lasting Impact of the “Fleabag” Jumpsuit

The iconography of clothing in film and television has transcended time and gender over the years. Read more »

Pages

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 »

Hot Under the Bonnet: The Cooptation of Amish Culture in Mass-Market Fiction

Dubbed “Amish romance novels,” “Amish fiction,” or the more waggish “bonnet rippers,” these novels just one entry point into the varying images of Amish communities in U.S. popular culture. Read more »

Black Girls Hunger for Heroes, Too: A Black Feminist Conversation on Fantasy Fiction for Teens

What happens when two great black women fiction writers get together to talk about race in young adult literature? That's exactly what happens... Read more »