Culture

The “Scandal” Effect: The Rise of Flawed Black Female Protagonists

As Scandal takes its final bow to make room for the peak TV content that has sprung up in its wake, it’s clear that the desire for more diverse stories has not abated. Read more »

Not My America: Patriotism, Thanksgiving, and White Erasure

You can’t celebrate a genocidal holiday. Read more »

The Final Girl Is Still as White as Ever

A Final Girl’s whiteness is unchangeable. Read more »

Popaganda: Designing for Democracy

Political observers often blame people for not voting. But we don’t often stop to examine what barriers keep people from voting—or make them feel like it’s not worthwhile. On this episode, we examine our democracy as a design problem—and explore what structural issues are built... Read more »

It's About Your Game: Flirting to Find Your Authentic Self

A lot of us don’t know how to articulate what we really want. Read more »

I Knew You Were Trouble When You Logged In: “The Swift Life” Monetizes and Exploits Fandom

Taylor Swift manipulates a feeling of closeness to deepen fans’ investment. Read more »

We’re Still Here: Debbie Reese On Native People Telling Their Own Stories

Knowing one’s community also means intimate knowledge of issues that impact us. Read more »

Pistols or Pearls: Gender Reveal Parties Are a Sham

Gender-reveal parties reinforce a faux binary. Read more »

Backtalk: Indictment Day & Kevin Spacey

This week, Dahlia and Amy dig into the beginning of the indictments against Trump-adjacent folks and the latest crop of sexual abuse allegations against powerful men. There’s have a moment of mini-celebrations because FBI director’s Robert Mueller’s investigation into Trump... Read more »

Pages

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 »

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 »

One-Sentence Reviews of the Lesbian Netflix Canon

Lez face it: when you’re a ladygay like myself, cruising the internet for something to watch, you realize very quickly that there are a whole... Read more »

A Look at How Media Writes Women of Color

Nearly every Saturday morning, feminists of color hold Twitter discussions taking a deeper look at issues, such as gender violence. It’s the... Read more »