Culture

Pre-Olympics Reading: Top 89 Books About Girls & Women in Sports

Handy reading resource website A Mighty Girl, “the world’s largest collection of books and movies for smart, confident, and courageous girls,” has a list up just in time for the Olympics! Read more »

WTF Files: Ida B. Wells Statue to Replace Ida B. Wells Housing Projects

Last week was Ida B. Wells' 150th birthday. To recognize the occasion, the Ida B. Wells Commemorative Art Committee hosted a reception in Bronzeville, IL to honor her and pitch for donations for a monument to be designed by Chicago... Read more »

Thinking Kink: Moving Beyond Abuse with BDSM

Last post, I looked at how BDSM can be used to work through abuse. But what of those who want to use BDSM to move on from, not replay, traumatic pasts? Today, I’m thinking about the difficulty of shedding the “victim” label when an abuse survivor chooses to be kinky… Read more »

Love and Afrofeminism: The Curious Case of Gender Roles

So many people dream about having the kind of partner I have; the kind of person that will support you through thick and thin because they actually believe in you; the kind of woman who will deny herself the right to look and feel “pretty”—skip out on getting her hair cut, even when the ends are... Read more »

Thinking Kink: Is BDSM Therapy "A Dangerous Method"?

One of the most resented stereotypes about BDSM is that the only person who would willingly consent to it must be “a damaged victim choosing submission as a way of healing from or processing past trauma.” But what exactly is the objection to people who practice BDSM as therapy? I had a look at the... Read more »

Adventures in Feministory: Justine Merritt, Peace Maker and Piece Maker

Today, the Raging Grannies wear purple to protests and harmonize songs like the “Free Trade Trot” or “Police Brutality.” In 1985, a 60-year-old Denver grandmother named Justine Merritt was an original raging granny—... Read more »

Douchebag Decree: Sexist Olympic Advertising

The Olympics started as an über-macho, male-only competition in ancient Greece. While a lot has changed since then, women are still facing sexism when it comes to the Games. Read more »

On Our Radar: Intersections of Race and Feminism, Body Image, and the next Beyonc

This has been another week! Here’s what we’ve been reading. s.e. smith weighs in on the tragic shooting in Colorado this morning, asking why we blame “crazy”... Read more »

Thinking Kink: Lesbian BDSM and the Male Gaze

Where are the kinky ladies who love to spank other ladies at? Unfortunately, in pop culture they’re often squarely under the male gaze. In today’s post, I turn to literature in search of more diverse representations of lesbian BDSM…. Read more »

Overdressed: Elizabeth Cline on Fast Fashion, Overconsumption, and What We Can Do About It

If you’ve ever felt disturbed by how cheap the tank tops were at H&M—but bought one anyway—you’re not alone. In her illuminating new book, Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion, Elizabeth Cline writes that the... Read more »

Pages

Why You Should Pay for Porn

If you’re a progressive middle-class individual, chances are you think about where your food comes from. Maybe you try to buy shoes that are... Read more »

Tina Belcher's Sexual Revolution

Tina Belcher breaks all the rules of network sitcoms. That's why she's wonderful.  Read more »

Dear Bear: My Partner Makes No Money. Is That a Problem?

Our advice columnist offers a lesson in anticapitalist self-care. Read more »

All Hail the Queen?: What Do Our Perceptions of Beyoncé's Feminism Say about us?

The policing of feminist cred is the real moral contradiction. Read more »