consumerism

Consumer Retorts: Are Anti-Hauls the Antidote to YouTube’s Cult of Consumerism?

by Andi Zeisler
June 18, 2019 at 9:00am
Swapping “whatever you are will never be enough” for “whatever you have will never be enough” is a lateral move at best. Read more »
a group of protestors stand outside Amazon with Scamazon written on brown cardboard

Day of Woe: Black Friday Has a Darker Message This Year

by Kim Kelly
November 23, 2018 at 10:34am
Anti-capitalism activism is so much bigger than one day, and Black Friday is hell, no matter which way you slice it, so do what feels best for you. Read more »
header image of article title on the right and a photograph of various makeup items stacked together into a pyramid shape with a bright pink, satin background

Behind the Pink Curtain: The Soft Sell of Multilevel Marketing

by Hannah Steinkopf-Frank
November 15, 2018 at 12:23pm
There’s no way to make money from MLMs. Read more »
a group of white people holding a bullhorn yelling a family

Home Run: How Neoliberalism Took Over Home-Makeover Shows

by Bree Kessler
September 19, 2018 at 1:38pm
One thing home-makeover shows have decidedly done is recalibrate what poverty looks like. Read more »
a brownskinned Black man with multicolored nipple covers, a gold grill, and his tongue licking his teeth standing next to a brownskinneed woman with green hair with yellow flowers and a striped black and white jumpsuit

Who Owns Afropunk?

by Vanessa Willoughby
September 6, 2018 at 1:20pm
The annual festival is no longer an enclave for Black punks seeking refuge from whiteness. Read more »
black and white illustration of a woman with tears on her face sitting at a desk and drinking coffee

Brewed Awakening: Has Coffee Culture Become Too Gendered? Talk Amongst Yourselves

by Helen Davies
August 29, 2018 at 11:01am
Coffee—especially strong, black coffee—is coded as unquestionably masculine. Read more »
a brownskinned woman with black hair wearing a red headband, red shirt with orange and blue print, and black and yellow waist wrap standing in front of colorful molas

No Innocent Dance: The Casual Imperialism of the American Tourist

by Aditi Natasha Kini
August 28, 2018 at 1:46pm
Every Western tourist is a capitalist, exploiting the world with every step of their beaded thong sandal. Read more »
black and white photo of Jell-O Girls author Allie Rowbottom staring directly at the camera

Curses and Kitchens: “Jell-O Girls” Looks at the Secret, Sexist History of America’s Classic Dessert

by Sara Rauch
August 9, 2018 at 9:00am
“Jell-O Girls” is at once a memoir, a family history, and an overview of the domestication (and dissolution) of the American kitchen. Read more »
Graffiti that reads "know your future for only $999 with DNA test"

Uninformed and Uncompensated: Between 23andMe and Ancestry, Who Owns Our Genetic Data?

by Naseem Jamnia
July 31, 2018 at 4:39pm
With the increasing popularity of genetic home-test kits, our DNA might soon be at the disposal of scientists without our knowledge, with semi-dubious consent, and without any credit or compensation. Read more »
Sandra Bullock, Helena Bonham Carter, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Sarah Paulson, Mindy Kaling, Rihanna, Awkwafina in Ocean's Eight

Big Money, Little Vision: “Ocean’s 8” Serves Up a Marketplace Feminist Heist

by Aya de Leon
June 14, 2018 at 3:02pm
Ryn, Helen, and Donna are challenging Bristol Cove’s violent legacy. Read more »

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Best of Bitch

Eat, Pray, Spend: Priv-Lit and the New, Enlightened American Dream

Elizabeth Gilbert, a white woman wearing a navy blue jumpsuit, leans forward and holds hand with and Oprah Winfrey, a Black woman wearing a gray cardigan and jeans
by Joshunda Sanders
Summer 2010 • Action
Even as reports on joblessness, economic recovery, and home foreclosures suggest that no one is immune to risk during this recession, the popularity of women’s wellness media has persisted and, indeed, grown stronger.  Read more »