Though there have been sexual abuse allegations against Bill Cosby for over a decade, women have started coming forward in increasing numbers with accusations against him ever since comedian Hannibal Buress called Cosby out as a rapist in his stand-up act last fall. No matter how many women came forward, however, there was always a […]
Female Viagra and the Pharmacologization of Desire
What is a normal level of sexual desire? How are our conceptions about appropriate sexual desire shaped by culture? By gender norms? Is pharmaceutical intervention the best method for dealing with low libido? These are among the questions raised early last month, when an advisory committee voted in favor of conditional FDA approvel for the […]
The Ongoing Fight for Reproductive Justice
Anti-choice constituents have long held that abortion is murder, but until recently, no one had actually tried to press charges against a woman for the loss of a pregnancy. Back in April, the state of Indiana charged Purvi Patel with feticide after she suffered a miscarriage in her home. Then, last week in Georgia, Kenlissia […]
The Legality of Upskirt Photos; OR Ridiculous Things We Debate in the US
The most recent example of “holy crap how misogynistic is our legal system?!” comes to us from Oregon. Earlier this week, lawmakers in the Oregon Senate unanimously passed a bill which would help close a loophole currently allowing “upskirt” photographs of women to remain in the “terrifyingly legal” category. That’s right, ladies and gentlemen. It’s […]
Mad Max: Fury Road and the Future of Feminist Film
With the exception of watching Indiana Jones with my father growing up, I’ve never been a huge fan of action films. I would watch them if that’s what everyone else wants to watch, but it wouldn’t necessarily be my first choice. With all the media buzz about how Mad Max: Fury Road is a feminist action […]
Purvi Patel and the Fight for Reproductive Rights
On average, 15-20% of verified pregnancies (a woman who wasn’t trying to get pregnant, missed a period, and took a positive pregnancy test) will end in a miscarriage. That means roughly one in six pregnant women will miscarry. That’s a significant number, but it’s still not something we talk about. And in a culture where […]
Nostalgia and Television: I Love Lucy
Sometimes I like to have the television on in the background when I’m working at home just for the background noise. Since I’m not paying close attention, I usually put on a cooking show where there isn’t a plot or something I’ve already seen before. Lately, I’ve been watching episodes of I Love Lucy on […]
Lactate Intolerance
2015 is a bad time to be a worker. Not only is the minimum wage well below a living wage, but corporations seem determined to erode the rights of laborers wherever and however they can, and the government keeps siding with them. In December, the Supreme Court ruled 9-0 in favor of Amazon, saying that […]
Period Talk
Sometimes, despite the best of intentions, we can’t completely rid ourselves of the negative messages we internalize from our native cultures. Even when we know better, even when we’ve done the self-work, even when on a good day we love and accept ourselves, there are still moments which elicit knee-jerk, immediate reactions to stimuli. Moments where […]
Review: Thr3e Zisters at the Salvage Vanguard
Zombie feminist theatre. That’s what Thr3e Zisters, the Salvage Vanguard’s new interpretation of Anton Chekhov’s The Three Sisters, claimed to be. I was intrigued, excited. This, I thought, is a show I must see. As those familiar with the theatre world know, Chekhov adaptations are a dime a dozen. I’ve never been hugely enamored of […]