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Read Something No.20

35 Trans Women I Had Herocrushes On In 2013 by Mey Rude for Autostraddle

Herocrushes!

Who Gets To Be A Superhero? Race And Identity In Comics by Gene Demby for NPR Blog: Code Switch

Why this matters.

Letting Go of Judging People by Leo Babauta for Zen Habits

Simple yet smart stuff to always keep in mind.

Asian American Erotica Writers by Solace Ames and Suleikha Snyder for The Toast

A conversation about erotica, sexuality, and growing up.

Life as a Female Journalist: Hot or Not? by Amy Wallace for NY Times

Silencing women on the internet.

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Read Some Brittney Cooper

Published by Salon:

A Deeply Personal Beyonce Debate (Dec 2013)

Ani Difranco, Faux-pology, and the Year in Race (Jan 2014)

The Politics of Rihanna's Hair (Jan 2014)

Michael Dunn and Open Season on Black Teenagers (Feb 2014)

"Post-Racial America" is a Dangerous Lie (Feb 2014)

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Read Something No.19

What Does 'Sold Down the River' Really Mean? by Lakshmi Gandhi for NPR: Code Switch

The answer isn't pretty. Very short read, but interesting to learn where the phrase came from.

Harry Potter And Books After They End by Molly McArdle for The Toast

Beautiful and perfect, and I wish the ending here was the actual ending in the Harry Potter series.

If You Need A Miracle by Anastasia Rubis for Pank Magazine

A lovely and sad short story.

Empowerment Elite Claims Feminism by Jessica Valenti for The Nation

"The truth is that these groups aren’t trying to make feminism popular; they’re trying to make it theirs. Attempts to “revive” a movement that’s alive and well is about wresting and keeping control away from the activists who made it what it is. This is especially true now, when the move to redefine and rebrand feminism coincides so closely with the increased power and influence of online activists and insurgent younger feminists, specifically women of colour."

The Long History of Transgender Exclusion From Feminism by Tina Vasquez for Bitch Magazine

Incredibly important and well-written.

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Read Something No.18

The Ugly Fascinating History of the word Racism by Gene Demby for NPR Blog: Code Switch

Ugly and fascinating indeed!

The Bechdel Test Needs An Update by Amanda Hess for Slate: The XX Factor

The Bechdel Test, in my opinion, works well as intended: to be the lowest, minimal threshold that all movies should reach. But, damn, Roxane Gay's list (in the article) for a revised test is what I want every damn movie to reach.

Hood Feminism by Kathleen Jercich for In These Times

A conversation with Mikki Kendal, badass feminist.

Why I Hate Strong Female Characters by Sophia McDougal for New Statesman

McDougal makes an interesting point and I agree to some extent. I love strong female characters, but I don't like the token strong female character that seems to be cropping up a lot in films lately. You can't write a woman into a film, have her throw a few punches without showing us anything about her history, her personality. She becomes just as boring as the male character throwing punches.

Nico Muhly reviews Beyonce by Nico Muhly for The Talkhouse

"Of course the answer was that the internet wanted to send me many gigabytes of Beyoncé’s new unannounced album and its attendant videos, and of course I moved heaven, earth, ice, and lava to have my computer in the one square metre of the hotel that could actually make this happen, because I am an homosexual and these Knowlesian dispatches are treated, by cultural necessity, as oracular and as gospel: gnomic, poetic, abstract, and very, very relevant."

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Read Something No.17

Body as a Second Language: Navigating Queer Girl Culture on the Autism Spectrum by Emily Brooks for Autostraddle

"It wasn’t long until I started to wonder how autism impacted the realms of queer dating, relationships, and sex, so I decided to interview lesbian, bisexual, and queer women on the spectrum from around the world. I’m not speaking on behalf of 'the autistic community.' Although we hold our diagnosis in common, the way each of us experiences ASD is unique. Yet when other queer autistic women confided in me, I was struck by what we share."

The introduction to this really interesting read.

On Pretty Hurts and Flawless: The Queen of Instagram by Amanda Hess for Slate: The XX Factor

On Beyonce's song "Pretty Hurts" from her (awesome) new album.

When No One Said Anything: How Racism Goes Unquestioned by Roxane Gay for Salon

Roxane Gay nailing it as always.

Why Did Wolf of Wall Street Get A Pass From The MPAA When Feminist Films Don't? by Michelle Dean for Flavorwire

A conversation with Jill Soloway about the MPAA and what is allowed to be shown in films (basically female nudity, violence, but not female pleasure).

Three Ways to Fight Racism in 2014 by Mychel Denzyl Smith for The Nation

A short, smart list.

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Read Something No.16

Pop Music's Race Problem: How White Artists Profit From Mocking Hip Hop by Daniel D'Addario for Salon

This was written way before the Grammys this year and now it seems yet more relevant.

Poetic Justice: Drake and East Africa Girls by Safy-Hallan Farah for The Feminist Wire

This isn't a topic I know much about so I really enjoyed reading this piece.

Parties We Should Be Having Instead of Weddings by Ann Friedman for NY Mag: The Cut

The Not-Pregnant Party is my monthly rave.

An Interview with Rookie Editor Tavi Gevinson by Andi Zeisler for Bitch Mag

I love Tavi Gevinson. Teenage girls today seem way smarter than the teens in my time!

Dear Alice by Margo Rabb for The Rumpus

An ode to Alice Munro.

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Read Something No.15

Black Girls Hunger for Heroes, Too for Bitch Magazine

A conversation between black feminist writers Ibi Aanu Zoboi and Zetta Elliott on fantasy fiction for teenagers.

An Interview with Dr Mimi Hoang by Seth Fischer at The Rumpus

The invisibility of bisexuals.

The Year in Racial America by Cord Jefferson for Gawker

A recap of 2013.

One Weird Old Trick to Undermine the Patriarchy by Michelle Nijhuis for The Last Word On Nothing

If I ever have kids, I will do this!

A Complete Curmudgeon's Guide to The Sound of Music by Linda Holmes for NPR blog, Monkey See

Hilarious, loved this! I WILL LOVE THE SOUND OF MUSIC FOREVER.

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Read Something No.14

Why Its Smart to Court Your Friends by Ann Friedman for NY Mag

On platonic girl-crushes.

Girl on Girl Crime by Brodie Lancaster for Rookie Mag

The other side of girl-crushes: girl-hate!

Rape Joke by Patricia Lockwood for The Awl

Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant.

Walking the Tightrope: Good Indian Girls, Race, and Bad Sexuality by Chaya Babu for The Feminist Wire

"The curves of my face, my boisterous personality – versus many other Indian girls’ reserved studiousness – and my avid obsession with making mix tapes off of Hot 97: to other Indians, these things indicated something unrespectable and, indirectly, sexual about me. And it was like a stain that spread over the years."

Is There a Racist Undertone to Lily Allen’s “Hard Out Here” Video? by Michelle Dean for Flavorwire

I was disappointed with Lily Allen's video, as I had hope to find some solid satire. Instead... it was really poorly done. Michelle Dean, on what was missing: 

"She’s dancing with a number of comparatively voiceless and nameless black women: Their feelings about the situation they find themselves in are neither highlighted nor even explored; most of the time they’re smiling and laughing, as though they were enjoying themselves in the act. And let’s face it: most people are going to walk away from this video thinking, “Oh, those dancers were having fun,” and leave it there."

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Read Something No.13

A Memorandum of Ghosts by Sondra Morin for The Rumpus

"I plan to build an army of ghosts from the hearts of those I love. Their conduits will come with an industrial sewing machine and the most shimmering spools of thread, a wood stove, a tool shed, and a chopping block."

The Violence in Our Heads by T.M. Luhrmann for NY Times

About violence and mental health. I like what one commenter added: "It's not surprising that this cultural obsession with violence affects our entire population, whether easily classified as mentally ill or not."

How To Help The Crazy People In Your Life by S.E. Smith for xoJane

"Be aware that the things inside our heads are very, very real to us. They might seem utterly irrational and ridiculous to you and sometimes they might frustrate you, but saying that doesn’t help us; taking what we’re saying seriously and finding a way to help us work through it helps us."

Breaking Up Is Hard To Do by Pixie Casey for Rookie Magazine

About friendship break-ups.

Can the White Girl Twerk? by Ayesha Siddiqi for The New Inquiry

I know we're tired of the Miley Cyrus conversation but this essay is fucking right on the mark. Also, it doesn't matter how sick we get of rehashing subjects like this, as long as its relevant, and I think we can all agree the subject of appropriating culture is always relevant, then we need to talk about it.

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Read Some Emily Rapp

I've been enjoying some essays by Emily Rapp recently. Here are ones I've liked, published on Role/Reboot:

There Is No Such Thing As A New Beginning (Dec 2012)

We Grieve For People We've Never Met (April 2013)

Everyone Has Their Own Right Road (April 2013)

What Are Family Values (May 2013)

Does Our Culture Confuse Healthy People With Good People? (June 2013)

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Read Something No.12

The Danger of Disclosure by Roxane Gay for Creative Nonfiction

"I want to believe writing can be a catalyst for action, for demanding change with respect to racial, sexual, and gender equality or reproductive freedom or sexual violence or the diversity of literary or popular culture."

In Praise of Joanna Rowling's Hermione Granger Series by Sady Doyle for Global Comment

SO GOOD. I loved the Harry Potter series. I wish I appreciated Hermione more when I originally read them (I will do during my next re-reads!). A follow up.

Can Men Be Taught Not to Rape? by Mary Elizabeth Williams for Salon

Zerlina Maxwell went on television and talked about teaching men not to be sexually aggressive as a way to prevent rape. The backlash she got was horrendous to say the least. Who would have thought suggesting that “if you train men not to grow up to become rapists, you prevent rape” would be so controversial? This is a simple yet profound idea amongst the regular "teach-women-not-to-get-raped" narrative. And yet, the response Maxwell got? A lot of rape-threats.

What if This Thanksgiving Was Your Last? by Emily Rapp for Role/Reboot

Written last November 2012, before her son died, Rapp puts forth this exercise to her writing class, asking, "When faced with the choice between shutting down your emotion, at the fear of risking pain, or opening up to everything and trusting that you’ll survive it, which will you choose?"

The Great Unfathomable How by Laura Bogart for The Nervous Breakdown

This was written at the end of 2012 after the Newton massacre in the US. Really beautiful essay.

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Read Something No.11

How Breast Cancer Won the Battle for October by Ann Friedman for The Cut, New York Magazine

October is also Domestic Violence awareness month (among lots of things). But Breast Cancer awareness wins the publicity. Cos boobs.

What Not to Not to Say to A Grieving Parent by Emily Rapp for Role/Reboot

Not saying I would die if I were you or I can’t imagine.

The Trauma of Being Alive by Mark Epstein for New York Times

"The willingness to face traumas — be they large, small, primitive or fresh — is the key to healing from them. They may never disappear in the way we think they should, but maybe they don’t need to. Trauma is an ineradicable aspect of life. We are human as a result of it, not in spite of it."

First Encounters With the Male Gaze by Tavi Gevinson for Rookie Mag

Puberty, women’s bodies, shame, the male gaze.

Confessions of a Black Morrissey Fan by Joshua Alston for The Feminist Wire

The problematic nature of being a fan of someone’s work who otherwise sometimes says hateful shit.

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Read Something No.10

Healthy Sex Talk: Teaching Kids Consent by the editors of Good Men Project

For everyone between the ages of 1 to 21.

When Women Wanted Sex Much More Than Men by Alyssa Goldstein for Alternet

Pretty much as the title says. Sex! Women! Puritans! Religion! But an important bit:

"Rather than a handicap, a large sexual appetite was positive once it came to be seen as a characteristic of men. Women, being passionless, supposedly lacked the drive and ambition to succeed. Much like sex, the public realm of work was dirty and distasteful, hardly suitable to womens’ delicate sensibilities. Since their instincts were maternal rather than sexual, they were best suited to staying virtuously at home with the children. Black women and poor women, on the other hand, were firmly shut out from the dainty flower role. They were still seen as suitable for both work and for satisfying white mens’ sexual urges that were no longer appropriate for their wives."

The Redemption Narrative by Caperton for Feministe

Can a person achieve redemption after making huge mistakes? How should they go about doing that?

Getting Over Girl Hate by Tavi Gevinson for Rookie Mag

Combat internalised sexism!

What Men Want, America Delivers by Roxane Gay for Salon

Everyone just needs to read this.

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Links and Longform Loves No.9

Why Women Smile by Amy Cunningham

Smile, love.

Women Writers and Bad Interviews by Lorraine Berry for Talking Writing

This is about the ridiculous questions that female writers get asked in interviews.

Breaking Bad’s Skyler White: Victim or Villain? conversation between Lindsay Beyerstein and Sady Doyle for In These Times

Something that has hugely perplexed me this past year has been the reaction to the character of Skyler White in Breaking Bad. I had no idea the amount of hate directed at her until I randomly came across one link online (which led me down the rabbit hole). I think I could write far too many words on why this baffles and enrages me, but I’ll let this article speak instead.

Building a New Racial Justice Movement by Rinku Sen for Colorlines

"We cannot solve a problem that no one is willing to name, and the biggest obstacle facing Americans today is that, in the main, we don’t want to talk about race, much less about racism."

The Astronomer’s Guide to Solace by Anne Valente for Freerange Nonfiction

Astronomy, love, heartache, family.

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Links and Longform Loves No.8

Beauty Trap by Harmony Neal for The Toast

"I know I was trained at an early age to value physical beauty in women over any other characteristic, but can’t I be better than that?"

More Than Words: Adjective Invective by Cara Giaimo for Autostraddle

Can words be gendered?

For All The Saints by Laura Adamczyk for The Rumpus

A teacher tasks their student to go to a cemetery and find a stone that speaks to them, then to find out who they were.

Home Movies by Laura Bogart for Her Kind

A memoirist reflects on Sarah Polley’s autobiographical documentary and her own tales of the past: "At times, I look at the father I’ve rendered on the page—a man who smacks his daughter in the face for yawning when he tutors her in multiplication tables—and it’s unfathomable to imagine that man carrying that girl up to her bed, whooping, ‘It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s Supergirl!' Yet he did.”

Punk Planet 33 by Mimi Thi Nguyen for Thread and Circuits

"Is sex always just about fucking? Does sex have a history? a memory? For the white woman, it seems the violent legacy of slavery is best dealt with by stripping it of its historicity, its material and psychic realities of torture, suffering, and death. But as feminist theorist and video-maker Laura Kipnis writes, ‘How long can the amnesia last? And does it stay forgotten?’”

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Links and Longform Loves No.7

Rock Out With Your Book Out 3: Nick Flynn by Dani Burlison for The Rumpus

Interview with writer Nick Flynn.

Who Was Mary of Magdala? by James Martin for America Magazine

Mary Magdalene wasn’t the prostitute people usually mistake her as, rather she was one of Jesus’ favoured disciples: “Perhaps it was convenient for the early church fathers to dismiss Mary Magdalene and even insult her as a prostitute, fearful of what her role would mean for the place of women in the early church.”

How White People Shouldn’t Talk About Race Part Two by Katy Waldman for Slate

Jessie Lane Metz discusses her essay for The Toast on racism, white allies, and racial appropriation. This is a fantastic follow up.

Hollaback: Finding Effective Solutions to Street Harassment by Debjani Roy for Huffington Post

Roy argues that criminalising isn’t the solution or end goal of anti-street  harassment, and that if we were to criminalise harassers it would have a negative impact on communities already marginalised: "A family may depend on a harasser due to certain institutional and cultural barriers, including immigration status (dependent visas, lack of documentation, etc.), linguistic barriers or economic dependency."

Tangible Values by Roxane Gay for HTML Giant

The publishing industry is not dying.

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Films I watched in Sept 2013:

Win Win

The Oranges

War Horse

ParaNorman

Frankenweenie

Dark Shadows

My Week With Marilyn

Groundhog Day

Moonrise Kingdom

Half Nelson

Vamps

Pitch Perfect

Paul

Silver Linings Playbook

Ruby Sparks

Rebecca

Misc Feelings:

- Any accent other than British coming from Hugh Laurie sounds wrong.

- ParaNorman had an openly gay character! In an animated film for kids! Yesssss.

- Andie MacDowell was a 90's dream babe if there ever was one.

- Sometimes I forget that Bradley Cooper is this heart-throb actor now and not just Will from Alias. Other times I forget he played Will in Alias and think, "Who is this good looking twit?"

 - Ruby Sparks played on the Manic Pixie Dream Girl trope really well. Kudos to Zoe Kazan for her thoughtful screenplay.

- Passed Bechdel and/or Mako Mori test: The Oranges, My Week With Marilyn, Vamps, Pitch Perfect, Rebecca. Some of the others are debatable.