Culture

Ava Duvernay on "Selma" and Telling the Stories of Black Women

In all of her films, director Ava Duvernay creates nuanced portraits of reality—portraits where strength blends with loss and composure blends with instability. Read more »

Four Trans* Teens Talk About Fashion

Rainbow socks and beat-up Converse are all the rage at Portland Pride Parade. Photo by Katrina Cole.  I’ve noticed over my teaching career that kids possess a keen insight into the phenomenon of... Read more »

"Selma" is Now

“Selma” is one of the most effective, well-crafted historical biopics that I’ve ever seen because it goes off the traditional narrative about the Civil Rights Movement, giving us a moment in history that feels immediately familiar to the moment we are currently living in. Read more »

In Praise of Difficult Girls

In the remake of Annie that hit theaters this weekend, Quvenzhané Wallis stars in the title role. That itself is thrilling: The film not only tells the... Read more »

What Does the US-Cuba Thaw Mean for Activist Assata Shakur?

This week, ongoing protests and marches have reminded the country about numerous Black women (and girls) murdered by police—Aiyana Jones, Kathryn Johnston and, last... Read more »

"Serial" and Third Culture Kids

Together with many millions of listeners, I followed along intently as Sarah Koenig crafted a story around the investigation of Hae Min Lee’s murder and the conviction of Adnan Syed on the podcast SerialRead more »

More Sex Workers Are Killed in the US Than Any Other Country

According to advocacy group the Sex Worker Outreach Project, yesterday more than 21 cities in the United States and 33 cities internationally held events to recognize the ... Read more »

New VH1 Show "Bye Felicia" Promotes the "Strong Black Woman" Stereotype

Deborah Hawkes and Missy Young “help white girls across the Los Angeles area” in a new VH1 show. This summer, Lifetime premiered Girlfriend Intervention... Read more »

The Vampire Vigilante

It’s clear that the first Iranian romantic-new-wave-vampire-pulp-spaghetti-western ultimately resists categorization. Read more »

Three Charts About the Eric Garner Ruling That Every White American Should See

A December 4 Black Lives Matter protest in Las Vegas. (... Read more »

Pages

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 »

Know & Tell: The Literary Renaissance of Trans Women Writers

For so long, the people who wrote about us were not us. Finally, that is beginning to change. 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 »

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 »