Culture

Aaliyah, a thin, Black, woman with long, wavy Black hair poses against a red background as she stares directly at the camera

20 Years Later, Aaliyah’s Musical Legacy Is Still Untouchable

by Natelegé Whaley
August 25, 2021 at 2:14pm
She is still the patron saint of R&B-pop, a genre that emerged during the late ’90s and early aughts. Read more »
Ilana Glazer plays Rose, a white woman with short brown hair, who is lying on her back in a hospital gown on an exam table

Demon Seed: “False Positive” Treats Wombs as Receptacles for Terror

by Sadaf Ahsan
August 25, 2021 at 10:36am
In each of these films, it’s the male ego that guides the doctors and fathers. Read more »
a pixelated illustration of a woman stretching almost into a split against a background

Terms of Service: Inside Social Media’s War on Sex Workers

by Reina Sultan
August 23, 2021 at 3:23pm
Instagram has long used strict terms of service to antagonize sex workers. Read more »
Nichole Perkins, a brown-skinned Black woman with long brown braids, poses in a blue shirt against an outdoors background

Soft Power: Nichole Perkins Redesigns the Politics of Desire

by Vanessa Willoughby
August 23, 2021 at 9:00am
People still have a hard time recognizing that Black women need to be protected. Read more »
a photo of rows of silicone breast implants against a brown background

Stacked Deck: The True Costs of Breast Implants

by Michelle Polizzi
August 20, 2021 at 2:36pm
More and more women believe their implants are causing them harm—and they’re determined to have them removed. Read more »
Julie Rodgers, a thin, white woman with her blond hair pulled into a ponytail and wearing a light-blue collared shirt, looks down in a church pew in Pray Away

False Hope: Can Anyone Stop Religious Conversion Camps?

by Reece Sisto
August 18, 2021 at 1:51pm
Pray Away cracks open the duality of “belonging.” Read more »
Jesse Leigh, a Chinese and American nonbinary actor, stands with a clip board and short brown hair next to Dana L. Wilson, a Black woman with shoulder-length black hair.

Land Mine: Did “Rutherford Falls” Need to Center a White Guy?

by Amanda Gokee
August 18, 2021 at 10:05am
The story draws on a narrative that has gained traction in the reckoning around race and history. Read more »
Mary Hawke, a white woman with light brown hair, is laying on the ground as she is being dragged by her feet and her mouth open in a scream.

Queer Fear: The “Fear Street” Trilogy Refuses to Bury Its Gays

by Alani Vargas
August 17, 2021 at 11:41am
Fear Street refuses to prioritize straight, white leads like the slasher films of the past. Read more »
White woman with long brown hair wearing a black t-shirt holds a cardboard sign that reads "We Are The Change" as she stands amid a protest.

5 Feminist Organizations Fighting Planet Earth’s Climate Crisis

by Addissyn House
August 13, 2021 at 3:20pm
5 feminist responses to climate change. Read more »
Actor Asa Butterfield, a young white man with brown hair and an embarrassed look, sits next to Gillian Anderson, a white woman with short, blond hair, sit on a couch.

Better Than Sex Ed: Pop Culture Is Teaching Teens About Sex

by Addissyn House
August 13, 2021 at 12:15pm
When sex education isn’t what kids need, they look to pop culture for the answers. Read more »

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Best of Bitch

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 »

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 »

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

by Nijla Mu'min
December 5, 2016 at 8:15am
Moonlight displays the kind of empathy and humanity that we desperately need right now. Read more »

It’s Time to End the Long History of Feminism Failing Transgender Women

A transgender woman in business attire in an office looking to the side
by Tina Vasquez
May 20, 2016 at 11:28am
To imply that trans women pose a threat to cisgender women in restrooms is misinformation that preys on unfounded fears. Read more »