Culture

Blue Humor: “That’s Mental” Is a Hilarious Meditation on Life with—and Stigma against—Bipolar Disorder

Comedian Amanda Rosenberg is doing something extremely important: disrupting the stigma that keeps so many people silent about their pain. Read more »

Fighting to Thrive: Reflecting on “Boys Don’t Cry” 20 Years Later

Representation matters, but so do the stories that the media—film and television—chooses to tell about trans lives. Read more »

Siren Songs: Nina MacLaughlin on Revisiting the Women of Ovid’s “Metamorphoses”

In Wake, Siren, Ovid’s women emerge as unique individuals, fully formed and very often full of anger. Read more »

The Final (Male) Frontier: “Lucy in the Sky” and “Proxima” Bring Women Astronauts down to Earth

The final frontier continues to be a male-dominated arena, fertile ground for storytelling that taps into masculine psychologies in symbolically grandiose fashion. Read more »

Binding Harm: Generations of Witches Intertwine Rituals and Activism

To be a witch is to have and to exercise agency on behalf of all. Read more »

Bending Reality: “Undone” Is a Testament to Hollywood’s Cripping up Problem

Disabled stories need disabled writers, consultants, directors and producers, too. Read more »

Very Online: Black-Run Plant Instagram Accounts Are Connecting Black People to Their Roots

Digital plant communities aren’t as accessible—or welcoming—for those who aren’t white. Read more »

5 Underrated Messy Bisexual Characters Blessing Our Televisions

Most importantly, none of these characters are “perfect.” Read more »

Backtalk: OK Meme-er

This week, Dahlia and Amy talk about the meme that’s the perfect digital eye roll. Read more »

In the Muck: With “In the Dream House,” Carmen Machado Archives Queer Women’s Pain

“Our culture does not have an investment in helping queer folks understand what their experiences mean.” Read more »

Pages

Dear Bear: My Partner Makes No Money. Is That a Problem?

Our advice columnist offers a lesson in anticapitalist self-care. 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 »

Sojourner Truth, Unveiled

The leaders of the [women's suffrage] movement trembled on seeing a tall, gaunt black woman in a gray dress and white turban,...

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Where My Girls At: Meet Two of Ferguson's Black Queer Activists

Amid national discussions of police brutality and systemic racism, Black women have been the loudest and most consistent voices demanding change. Read more »