Culture

Oh Joy Sex Toy: Paying for Porn

You want to support ethical porn creators, right? That means paying for their work.  Read more »

Dystopian Sci-Fi Author Octavia Butler Predicted Donald Trump's Campaign Slogan

In a work of fiction 20 years ago, Octavia Butler imagined an egomaniacal patriot running for president.  Read more »

Four Questions for Sherman Alexie About His New Picture Book

The celebrated author's first picture book is all about a loving search for identity.  Read more »

Ooo! Comedian Jessica Williams Is Working on a New TV Pilot

Today is The Daily Show correspondent’s last day—but hopefully we’ll see more of Jessica Williams very soon.  Read more »

The Laws Are Struck Down, but the Tragic Impact of Texas's Abortion Laws Remain

Think of the people who've suffered over the past three years as clinics have shuttered. Read more »

How Will the Brexit Affect Immigrants and Refugees?

Refugees should be welcomed. Instead, they've been turned into xenophobic political fodder. Read more »

Backtalk: Summer Music We Love!

This week’s episode of Backtalk is a special summer music edition! Sarah and Amy each highlight five new-ish songs they love that we’ll be listening to all summer long. Looking for new music? You’re in the right place. Chill out and turn up the volume as we share some good tunes,... Read more »

Spend & Save: The Narrative of Fair Trade and White Saviorism

You know the saying: One woman’s day-to-day struggle is another woman’s passion project. Read more »

An Earl in the Streets and a Wild Man in the Sheets: Tarzan and Women’s Sexuality

Tarzan has always been marketed to women on the basis of his sex appeal—but a sex appeal within careful societal boundaries shaped by race and class. Read more »

A Gorgeous Comic Tells Norse History With a Lesbian Bent

The “Heathen” series follows queer warriors and brave demigods. Read more »

Pages

No Disrespect: Black Women and the Burden of Respectability

Hollywood still filters (and distorts) the lives and histories of minorities through the eyes of the majority. 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 »

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 »