Culture

Preacher's Daughter: What Evangelical Christians Mean When They Say...

Last week, a friend sent me a link to the blog... Read more »

Adventures in Feministory: Anna May Wong

Born in LA’s Chinatown in 1905 to a family that ran a laundry service, Anna May Wong was Hollywood’s first Chinese-American movie star. Read more »

Isn't He Lovely: The Sexist, Racist, Male Invention of Dieting

In the U.S., food marketing and consumption is highly gendered. In the funny pages, Cathy gobbles down chocolate and Dagwood constructs towering, meaty sandwiches. On the Internet, the Women Laughing Alone With Salad is an... Read more »

Bringing Up Baby: Is Pregnancy A Disease?

In the political and media realm, this “pregnancy as disease” model is one thing that pro- and anti-choicers agree upon, although they use it for different ends. Read more »

The H-Word: "I Loved My Double Life"

“Working as a dominatrix was empowering. I dressed exotically, did creative roleplay, and was worshipped—physically and psychologically—on a regular basis. It helped me cope with my other part-time job: receptionist.”   Read more »

On Our Radar

At the end of a long week, kick back with a couple of links, fresh off the Internet. Jos Truitt over at Feministing, looking at the recent events in Topeka, Kansas, reminds us how the police really... Read more »

Isn't He Lovely: Male Bisexuality Doesn't Exist...Oh, Wait, It Does!

Designer Tom Ford once told Details magazine: “There’s one indulgence every man should try in his lifetime. If you’re straight, sleep with a man at least once, and if... Read more »

The H-Word: Jenny talks about her "Private Parts"

“I started dancing seven years ago. On the topic of prostitution, I generally say, you know, I have sex for many different reasons in many different contexts. I guess that’s a buffer, a way of easing discomfort. I suppose I like that people are interested in my work, so long as it comes from... Read more »

Preacher's Daughter: Why Do We Have to Be "Born This Way"?

Yesterday, Republican Presidential hopeful Herman Cain clashed with Piers Morgan about whether or not people are born gay. Here’s the video: The... Read more »

Preacher's Daughter: The Mountain Goats' John Darnielle and that Goddamn Rush of Adrenaline and Blood

So, Mountain Goats frontman John Darnielle, songwriter and poet laureate of the... Read more »

Pages

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

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 »

Politically Correct Language Isn't Just About Being Polite—It's About Survival

Photo by Phillipe Leroyer (Creative Commons). Two weeks ago, Jonathan Chait published the lengthy essay “Not a Very P.C.... Read more »

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

The marginalization of transgender women in feminism is not new, but the decades-long debate has taken on new dimension thanks to social media and the ease of finding strangers’ personal information online. 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 »