Culture

A Black woman sits on a windowsill in a kitchen wearing sunglasses.

Mind Interrupted: The Horrifying Manipulation of Black Women’s Psyches

by Jordan Taliha McDonald
October 19, 2020 at 8:37am
The traumatic spectacles of these transformations often reveal so little about the interiority of the fictional Black women who experience them. Read more »
A thin white woman wears an elaborate wedding gown.

BitchWatch: 15 Shows Feminists Should Watch This Fall

by Rachel Charlene Lewis
October 16, 2020 at 10:04am
This list has it all, from scary shows to calming ones. Read more »
A black and white portrait of Nikki Giovanni, a Black woman with short, blond hair, holds her hand up to her chin

BitchReads: 11 Books Feminists Should Read in October

by Evette Dionne
October 16, 2020 at 9:14am
For those updating their fall reading lists, we have books for everyone. Read more »
Billie Eilish, a white young woman, has black-dyed hair and is very pale. She leans out of a trailer and wears an oversized, pastel-colored outfit.

Billie Eilish’s Body Is Not Ours to Claim

by Rachel Charlene Lewis
October 15, 2020 at 2:33pm
“I feel you watching, always. And nothing I do goes unseen.” Read more »
Janelle Monáe plays Veronica, a Black woman with short, black hair, holding a torch in a dark field, in Antebellum

Trauma Loop: “Antebellum” Mishandles Its Message

by Vanessa Willoughby
October 15, 2020 at 9:39am
The film is fixated on racism as an act of overt violence, but racism is so monstrous because it can appear so deceptively normal. Read more »
a Black man with short, black hair, and a blue shirt sits on a concrete bence reading a book

Personal Connection: #OwnVoices, Outing, and the Ongoing Quest for Authenticity

by s.e. smith
October 14, 2020 at 9:00am
Not all authors feel safe, comfortable, or interested in being out to readers about their identities. Read more »
Yola, a dark-skinned Black woman with a short, curly afro, poses against a pale purple and blue background, playing her guitar

Yola Is the Unconventional Queen of Country Soul

by Evette Dionne
October 13, 2020 at 10:30am
Black artists from all around the world are continuing the tradition of upending the expectation that country music is a genre reserved for white artists. Read more »
Two white gay men flirt at what looks like Pride. One has a rainbow arm band.

Denouncing White Supremacy Must Be a Movement, Not a Trend

by Rachel Charlene Lewis
October 9, 2020 at 2:04pm
Reclamation isn’t for everything, and it’s not for everyone. Read more »
Lily Collins as Emily in Emily in Paris. Emily is a white girl with long brown hair. She wears a red beret and looks surprised while sitting at a brunch table outside.

In “Emily in Paris,” Being Thin and White Is a Path to Success

by Rachel Charlene Lewis
October 9, 2020 at 1:01pm
Emily is yet another thin white woman who fails upward. Read more »
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Latinx woman with long, black hair, and wearing glasses, has a gray mask over her face

Go Low: The Time for Civility Is Over

by s.e. smith
October 9, 2020 at 12:41pm
We don’t pay our representatives to be scared, hiding behind the apron strings of civility. Read more »

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Best of Bitch

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 »

In a Bizarre 1976 Comic Book, Spider-Man Fought the Villain of Misleading Sex Education

by Sarah Mirk
April 23, 2014 at 3:52pm
Last week, I came across a very strange comic book: in 1976, Planned Parenthood teamed up with Marvel to publish a one-off comic in which... Read more »

No Disrespect: Black Women and the Burden of Respectability

an illustration of Black women standing around together in a circle
by Tamara Winfrey-Harris
Summer 2012 • Fame + Fortune
Hollywood still filters (and distorts) the lives and histories of minorities through the eyes of the majority. Read more »

Ms. Opinionated: I'm a Man. How Can I Help the Feminist Movement?

by Andi Zeisler
February 19, 2014 at 2:29pm
Welcome to Ms. Opinionated, our weekly advice column dealing with questions of life, love, feminism, and pop culture. This week, a reader... Read more »