The Plastic Issue

Headhunters: Are Psychedelics Capitalism's New Productivity Hack?

by Nora Salem
January 21, 2022 at 10:05am
What underlies the use and abuse of performance-enhancing drugs is an American obsession with self-improvement that will always find new targets and tools. And most recently, “plasticity”—another term for cognitive flexibility or the brain’s ability to adapt and change—has become a signifier of success in a time when constant productivity is an expectation. 

The Audacity of Confidence: Is It Imposter Syndrome or Is It Patriarchy?

by Adrienne Lawrence
January 12, 2022 at 10:57am
At least 70 percent of people are estimated to experience this profound sense of phrenic inadequacy at some point in their lives, resulting in anxiety, lack of self-confidence, depression, frustration, and more. Read more »

Owe Really: Financial Advice Ignores the Shared Reality of Debt

by Katherine Morgan
January 5, 2022 at 9:37am
When financial advice doesn’t openly acknowledge that people live with debt, it only reinforces shame and guilt. Read more »

Refresh and Rebuild: Plotting the Future of New York’s Most Conservative Borough

by Andrea Ruggirello
December 17, 2021 at 1:32pm
“We get a bad narrative that it’s Trumpville, that it’s racist,” Jasmine Robinson, who moved to Staten Island from the Bronx when she was 17, tells Bitch. “That’s not all of Staten Island.”  Read more »

Queen Shit: Lil’ Kim Celebrates 25 Years as Rap’s OG Doll

by Fullamusu Bangura
November 15, 2021 at 1:39pm
Lil’ Kim’s personas have long been a point of contention among many hip hop listeners concerned with women’s representation in the genre. Read more »
a photo of rows of silicone breast implants against a brown background

Stacked Deck: The True Costs of Breast Implants

by Michelle Polizzi
August 20, 2021 at 2:36pm
More and more women believe their implants are causing them harm—and they’re determined to have them removed. Read more »
an illustration of a Black woman in pink sitting on the floor with jellies in her hand

Ready For Those Jellies: The Shoe That Became Both Cheap Luxury and Status Symbol

by Brooklyn White
July 26, 2021 at 12:10pm
It’s disheartening to watch the young folks who popularize apparel being excluded from the very trends they helped start. Read more »
Kamie Crawford, a lightskinned Black woman with long, brown hair, smiles brightly at the camera

“Catfish” Still Has Lessons To Teach Us

by Evette Dionne
July 7, 2021 at 11:57am
There’s no better time than quarantine to really understand why people end up talking to people for long periods of time without meeting in person. Read more »
Amina Mucciolo, a Black person with colorful hair pulled into a bun, poses on a street corner with their hand over their mouth

Super Saturated: Amina Mucciolo Sits Atop the Rainbow Curve

by Mary Retta
July 1, 2021 at 9:00am
Amina Mucciolo is many things—a YouTuber, an Instagrammer, a designer, an artist—but through it all, she has remained true to herself.  Read more »
collage of Anne Hathaway as Andy, a white woman with brown hair, in The Devil Wears Prada

Cerulean Blues: “The Devil Wears Prada” Fashions a Cautionary Tale

by Sarah Rosenthal
June 30, 2021 at 1:47pm
Most media outlets still favor the image of equality over doing the real work that true equality would require. Read more »
Zakiya Dalila Harris, a dark-skinned Black woman with a black afro, crosses her arms that are covered in a pink and teal patterned blazer

“The Other Black Girl” Verbalizes the Horror of Workplace Racism

by Evette Dionne
May 28, 2021 at 11:58am
Zakiya Dalila Harris puts a contemporary social lens on the horror her book details. Read more »

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