Culture

The H-Word: WTF, America.

Every now and again I’m struck immobile by the state of our nation. I had wanted to prepare an article on the risks of sex work, real versus imagined, but I’m thinking what the fuck. Why bother. This country sucks. No one’s listening. I turned on the news this morning and... Read more »

Bringing Up Baby: AskMen.com on Pregnancy and Sex

AskMen.com, an online lifestyle magazine, enjoys a larger readership than Maxim, GQ, and Men’s Health, with 15 millions visitors each month. According the their website, AskMen’s readers are “confident, successful... Read more »

Douchebag Decree: Jerry Sandusky, Joe Paterno, and the PSU Administration That Covered It Up

Trigger warning: This post contains descriptions of rape, molestation, and abuse. As you probably know, some epic douchiness transpired recently in State College Pa., where Jerry Sandusky exerted his power as an assistant coach at a semi-religious institution (Penn State Football) to... Read more »

Bringing Up Baby: Stay Away From That Tuna! (Or I'll Take Your Baby)

During last week’s episode of Parenthood, Julia panicked because Zoe—the young woman carrying the baby Julia plans to adopt—is caught eating sushi. With tuna. Read more »

Young, Awkward, and Black: The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl's Issa Rae Gets Comfortable With Success

“Should I say hi again? She knows I’m here.” J slinks along the hallway of Gutbusters, the diet-pill company she works for, to avoid seeing the new hire she keeps running into. Growing impatient with the situation’s awkwardness, J wonders, “Does this girl live in the hallway?” Whether... Read more »

Mom & Pop Culture: McGender: Unpacking the Happy Meal

I’m not a fan of McDonald’s for a variety of reasons, but beyond their tasty unhealthy food they are a perfect example of how marketing has changed over the years to further push gender stereotypes upon consumers. Read more »

Adventures in Feministory: Gladys Bentley

“If you’re looking for quiet, soothing music that will lull you to sleep, put a record on your phonograph and spend the evening at home. But if you want to hear singing that will make the blood pound in your pulse, listen to the brown bomber of sophisticated song at Mona’s Club 440.... Read more »

The H-Word: "This is how hookers die."

“Sometimes it was very sexy and sometimes I was attracted to the person and sometimes I had great sex. And sometimes I was just going through the motions and it was neither good nor bad. And sometimes it was really unpleasant and I just got through it.” TRIGGER WARNING: The following story... Read more »

Mom & Pop Culture: Occupy Sesame Street! How Not To Lose Your Activist Spirit

Fighting for social justice doesn’t need to stop when you give birth. In fact, in my opinion, we should fight even harder if we have to raise a kid or two in this world. Also, by continuing our activism postpartum, we’ll set kick-ass examples for our children. It’s win-win all... Read more »

Bringing Up Baby: 1987's Baby Boom VS. 2010's Life as We Know It

Welcome to the twenty-first century. Are either of these films accurate or comprehensive portrayals of their time? Not even remotely. But they reflect cultural attitudes surrounding women, motherhood, and work, and the putrefied trope of Heigl’s character didn’t exist in 1987. Heigl and... Read more »

Pages

Will Filming the Police Keep Us Safe?

There’s a cultural idea that having someone looking over our shoulder makes us behave better. From fake security cameras to Elf... Read more »

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 »

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

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 »

Eat, Pray, Spend: Priv-Lit and the New, Enlightened American Dream

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 »