Culture

three white Jewish people sit together at a pool in their swimsuits on My Unorthodox Life

The Conditional Feminism of “My Unorthodox Life”

by Viviana Freyer
August 13, 2021 at 11:53am
Growing as a feminist doesn’t mean shrinking as a Jew. Read more »

Gold Double Standard: The Tokyo Olympics Highlighted Casual Bias in Sports

by Addissyn House
August 11, 2021 at 11:30am
Sha’Carri Richardson’s suspension was just the tip of the injustice iceberg for American athletes. Read more »
Billie Eilish, a thin, white, teen with blond hair and blue eyes, looks up at the camera while posing against a brown background

Pains of Fame: Billie Eilish Comes Into Her Own

by Danielle Chelosky
August 10, 2021 at 12:07pm
In spite of everything, Billie Eilish has managed to retain her sense of self. Read more »
a black and white photo showcases a row of thin, white ballerinas in tutus on a stage, with their backs facing the camera

Dangerous Spin: Media Exposes Ballet’s Ugly Side

by Scarlett Harris
August 10, 2021 at 11:51am
There’s nothing endearing or gentle about the violence dancers endure. Read more »
Anthony Ramos plays Usnavi, a light-skinned Latinx man, dancing with Melissa Barrera as Vanessa, a light-skinned Latinx woman in In the Heights

Color Struck: Hollywood Can’t Scrub Its Colorism Problem

by Lorraine Avila
August 9, 2021 at 5:44pm
In the Heights is anxiously concerned about the white gaze. Read more »
Luz, a female cartoon character with short brown hair and brown skin, looks at Willow, a female cartoon character with short blue hair and white skin. In between them stands Entrapta, a female cartoon character with long purple hair and tan skin.

Brain Power: Cartoons Diversify the Face of Neurodivergence

by Michele Kirichanskaya
August 9, 2021 at 11:38am
Recent animated shows, including The Owl House and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power are beautifully doing this work. Read more »
Deborah Copaken, author of Ladyparts, is a white woman with long, brown hair

Written On the Body: For Deborah Copaken, Biology Is a Battlefield

by Andi Zeisler
August 6, 2021 at 10:43am
She is using her body as a megaphone. Read more »
Naomi Osaka, a Black and Japanese tennis player with curly black hair pulled into a ponytail, looks at her opponent during a tennis match

You Can’t Break Naomi Osaka Down

by Taylor Lhamon
August 5, 2021 at 12:22pm
Athletes are no longer letting their audiences off the hook. Read more »
Emilly Prado, a light-skinned Latinx woman with long, brown hair, poses in a black dress and doorknocker earrings against an orange background

Emilly Prado Closes the Coffin on Her Old Life

by Michelle Ruiz Keil
August 5, 2021 at 12:17pm
Everybody’s sense of memory changes over time. Read more »
Black and white photo of Lupita, a Tsostil Maya massacre survivor with long dark braids and illustrations of brightly colored flowers around her head like a crown.

This Woman’s Work: “Lupita” Gets Inside the Life of an Indigenous Resistance Leader

by Amanda Gokee
August 4, 2021 at 11:45am
“This is a woman [who] can tell the story of 500 years of repression of Indigenous peoples.” Read more »

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Best of Bitch

The Dramatic History of American Sex-Ed Films

by Sarah Mirk
June 17, 2014 at 10:29am
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 »

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

a blue and white illustration of a woman in Amish attire standing next to a fan and a chicken
by Audrey deCoursey
Spring 2014 • Maps & Legends
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 »

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 »

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

by Zetta Elliott
December 17, 2013 at 3:19pm
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 »