The Power Issue

girl in red Wants to Follow Her Impulses

Marie Ulven Ringheim wearing a hoodie holding a piece of paper that is on fire.

by Rachel Charlene Lewis

April 30, 2021 at 10:31am

She is ever-changing and ever-evolving.

cutouts of Karen O from the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s “Maps” video and Beyoncé from the “Hold Up” video collaged together with three paintings: Nausicaa (1878) and Flaming June (1895) by Frederic Leighton and “Autumn Sea” (1867) by Gustave Courbet

Hold Up: When Music Treats Softness as a Superpower

by Erica Campbell

April 23, 2021 at 9:13am

“Hold Up” is a nuanced love song in which the female protagonist isn’t begging or asking for love; she’s making a clear and precise declaration. Read more »

Illustration of two floating apartments in a purple and yellow gradient background, female figures in red swimsuits coming down the stairs from one apartment into the background.

Love and Surveillance: Dating Shows Channel More Than Reality

by Imran Siddiquee

April 14, 2021 at 9:22am

Netflix released multiple reality TV shows in 2020 that feature beautiful people blissfully succumbing to the power of being watched. Read more »

Blue graphic illustration of Regina King as Sister Night, a Black woman with short, braided hair, in Watchmen on a bright yellow background

Quid Pro No: Women Approach Power from a New Direction

by Joshunda Sanders

April 13, 2021 at 9:25am

Recent representations of women on television have reset gender hierarchies centered around cishet male desire. Read more »

portrait of author and chef, Stacy Jane Grover, a white trans woman with braided hair, wearing a black blouse and a long beaded necklace standing in front of a stone archway

Let It Burn: Transgender Cooks Are Changing Kitchen Culture

by Stacy Jane Grover

March 31, 2021 at 11:47am

Transgender women are making a home in the professional kitchen by refusing in place. Read more »

a screen print of Henrietta Lacks, a Black woman with her hands on her hips, collaged in a Lady of Guadalupe style surrounded by cutouts of flowers and a glowing outline, on top of an image of cells in a rainbow gradient.

The Cautious Gene: Genetic Testing Inherits a Legacy of Distrust

by Marissa Evans

December 17, 2020 at 10:28am

The complexity of working with and understanding DNA is steeped in institutional racism and the historical mistreatment of people of color by the medical community. Read more »

Community members, some of whom are white and some of whom are Black and Latinx, stand together on the lawn of a house in Los Angeles

Flipping the Focus: The Reclaimers Are Fighting the Vacant Housing Crisis

by Zoie Matthew

December 3, 2020 at 12:03pm

Who is being displaced from cities in order to make room for the wealthy? Read more »

kaleidoscope image of author Christal Yuen, an Asian woman.

Reflecting Strength: Therapists of Color Unravel Power from Whiteness

by Christal Yuen

November 10, 2020 at 9:00am

People of color may not have access to certain types of power, but we can learn how to redefine power to serve us in a way that allows us to be true to ourselves. Read more »