Earlier this year, BUST investigated claims that the COVID-19 vaccine may be having an impact on people’s menstrual cycles. Today, more research has been carried out regarding COVID vaccines and menstruation. On August 30th, the NIH announced that it has awarded $1.67 billion worth of one-year supplemental grants to conduct these studies on the correlation between vaccines and menstruation. We have taken a look at how this research has been updated and encourage you to still get vaccinated. In recent weeks, some people… Read more

On September 8th, at the 78th annual Venice International Film Festival, Jamie Lee Curtis received the Lifetime Achievement Award. In anticipation of the final two installments in the Halloween franchise, Halloween Kills (2021) and Halloween Ends (2022), Curtis will be reprising her role as protagonist Laurie Strode. When asked about Curtis’ career, Alberto Barbera, Festival Director, stated: “To date, her extraordinary four-decade career reminds us that true talent, combined with intelligence, wit, endurance, and… Read more

THE SURREAL LIFE Best known for her portrayal of feisty ballroom legend Lulu on the Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated FX series, Pose, Hailie Sahar has been blazing a trail for trans performers since she first appeared on Transparent in 2016. Here, she serves up a variety of luscious lewks, turning a gallery into a runway for BUST's Fall Fashion Feature. Sorapol Gown; Kyle Chan Earrings; Tamara Mellon Shoes; Vintage Ring from the Archives & Showroom Private Collection Libertine Dress; Raad Kerr Bodysuit; Kat Maconie… Read more

My Name is Pauli Murray is quite possibly one of the most eye-opening documentary about race and gender identity to come out in recent times. The 91minute long documentary chronicles the life and work of African-American writer civil-rights activist Pauli Murray. Born in 1910, the Baltimore Maryland native struggled with her sexuality and gender identity their whole life. A graduate of Howard University School of Law, Murray was admitted to the bar in California in 1945, later working as the deputy attorney general of… Read more

After the success of her HBO TV series I May Destroy You, which explored issues of sexual assault, consent, and their intersection with race, British actress and screenwriter Michaela Coel is continuing her work on these very important topics. This past September 7th she released her first book, Misfits: A Personal Manifesto. From her experience with racism at a very young age to the traumas of sexual assault, Misfits is a touching look at Michaela Coel’s life and work as a “misfist”. Shiny purple and orange moths… Read more

If you’ve ever seen even one of Leslie Jordan’s viral Instagram videos, you can imagine what an absolute blast it is to talk to him on the phone. He spins yarns like a Tennessee grandma on her third mint julep, even when making small talk about the weather. “We were told when we were kids that if the sun comes out when it’s raining, that means the devil’s beatin’ his wife,” he recalls. The Chattanooga-raised actor, singer, and writer, 66, has had a solid career in TV and film since the late ’80s, popping up in… Read more

A Wall Street Journal article published on Tuesday revealed that for the past three years Facebook has conducted research on the ways in which Instagram (owned by Facebook since 2012) impacts the mental health of its users. The results are grim, especially for one of Instagram’s top demographics: teenage girls. In a March 2020 company presentation obtained by the Journal, Facebook’s researchers stated that, “Thirty-two percent of teen girls said that when they felt bad about their bodies, Instagram made them feel… Read more

Halsey mastered dreamy indie-pop on their 2015 debut album Badlands, delivered club-ready jams on 2017’s hopeless fountain kingdom, and demonstrated a voracious musical appetite with detours into baroque pop, mainstream rock, and country on 2020’s Manic. Now, bolstered by production from Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, Halsey has conquered the murky, haunting terrain of industrial rock in an album reflecting nothing less than the horrors and desperate joys of pregnancy and childbirth on her latest… Read more

I was raped in my first year at university. I was a virgin, so my attitude towards men and relationships changed to one where sex is only enjoyable for men. At an age where I’d previously felt ready to have sex, I was now terrified of the prospect. For nearly 2 years, I remained untouched; I’d freak out and cry during near-sexual experiences, or when a guy held my body in a certain way or got aroused when we were on a date. I began to think that there was something wrong with me because I’d never feel turned on, even… Read more

Happy Hour: A Novel By Marlowe Granados (Verso Fiction) Happy Hour, the debut novel by Marlowe Granados, follows Isa and Gala, two best friends in their early 20s, as they survive a sweltering summer in N.Y.C. through their feminine wiles and too many hot dogs. Isa is hot off a stint in London and has found herself in the Big Apple running a clothing stall with Gala. Like The Last Days of Disco for the millennial age, both girls have definitive (and occasionally misguided) opinions about the way the world works,… Read more

“When I went viral,” Tarana Burke says, “it amplified the work that I was already doing. It gave me an opportunity to mainstream the work and ideas that I had been carrying for a long time.” Four years ago, on October 15, 2017, Burke found herself catapulted into a long-overdue national conversation. At the time, she was the program director for the Brooklyn nonprofit Girls for Gender Equity. A lifelong activist who saw a lack of empathy in traditional responses to sexual assault, Burke had been using the phrase “me… Read more

With her latest release Lady Gaga has given us new reasons to dance.The artist, known for her techno-pop music released a remixed version of her 6th studio album Chromatica, released in 2020. With the help of many young artists, mainly from hyperpop and electro background, she has reinvented her own universe with this new album Dawn of Chromatica released on September 3rd. In April 2021, producer BloodPop, who had already worked on Chromatica, announced that a remixed version was on the way by asking what artists… Read more

After her father filed to end her conservatorship, 39 year old Britney Spears, is finally engaged to long-term boyfriend Sam Aghari. The beloved pop princess revealed her engagement with a video on Instagram of her and Sam flaunting her $70k engagement ring, designed by Forever Diamonds New York, with a hidden message engraved. The engagement has been responded to with an abundance of joyful congratulations from fans all over Instagram and Twitter. The 13-year conservatorship, which followed Britney’s infamous public… Read more

In its latest curated collection, the Criterion Channel highlights the work of the “Queen of Paris” herself, Josephine Baker. The actress, dancer, activist, and French Resistance hero was born in St. Louis on June 3, 1906 but achieved international fame in France, where she spent most of her adult life and built her legendary entertainment career. Baker started out in Paris’ illustrious cabaret halls, where her magnetic persona soon elevated her to the silver screen. With her 1927 film debut, Siren of the Tropics, in… Read more

When Agnes Woodward created the rainbow ribbon skirt that Deb Haaland wore at her ceremonial swearing-in as the first Indigenous American U.S. Secretary of the Interior in March, she didn’t tell anybody. “Only because I had a hard time believing it was real,” the self-taught Plains Cree seamstress says. The traditional skirt was a fast turnaround, sewn start to finish in about six hours. It wasn’t until she saw footage from her home in North Dakota—of Haaland lacing up her moccasins while wearing the skirt—that… Read more

Last Thursday the National Radio and Television Administration in China revealed an eight-point plan reflecting President Xi Jinping’s efforts to strengthen China and impose an official moral code for the nation. The plan calls for “further regulation of arts and entertainment shows and related personnel.” This includes banning effeminate men from television or, in the words of the regulator, "resolutely put an end to sissy men and other abnormal esthetics" in the media. In 2018, the annual Chinese Central Television’s… Read more

On Tuesday, Sept 7, Mexico’s Supreme Court set a precedent that could lead to the legalization of abortion procedures in this predominantly Catholic country. The court made a unanimous ruling that penalizing abortions is unconstitutional, thus decriminalizing abortion procedures across the country. Up until now, many Mexican states could mandate jailtime for people who got abortions, and the ruling, which many hope will legalize abortions in the near future, follows years of public demands for greater rights and… Read more

Since their debut in 2019, Amyl and the Sniffers have embodied everything that it means to be punk. The group is known for their insane live shows, outrageous style and fresh music; they are making waves in the punk scene. Their new album, Comfort to Me, out Sept. 10 is proof that nothing, not even 2020, can hold them back. BUST sat down with Amy Taylor, the lead singer, and talked about how she found herself in the music industry, how she dealt with the lockdown, and her new album, Comfort to Me. BUST: Growing up did… Read more

Natalie Morales is an accomplished actor best known for her work on Dead to Me, The Little Things, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Abby’s, and Parks & Rec among her many credits. But this year, she also emerged as an exciting feature film director with an incredibly relatable and undeniably feminist point-of-view. First, she released the teen road trip comedy Plan B in May on Hulu, about two high school girls who have a wild adventure trying to get their hands on the morning-after pill in South Dakota. And on… Read more

Inspired by the launch of the Voyager Golden Record in 1977, Ilana Glazer (Broad City) creates her own snapshot of humanity with Ilana Glazer Presents Comedy on Earth NYC 2020-2021. With the help of her artificially intelligent assistant VAL 420, Glazer hosts a one hour comedy time capsule, hoping to share a piece of human existence with "extraterrestrials" and to remind ourselves of all we've come through. As Glazer says, “If we didn’t record it, you wouldn’t believe it.” Ilana Glazer Presents Comedy on Earth: NYC… Read more

Classic t-day dishes go gluten-free I used to love devouring anything made out of flour (especially a bread basket). I’d feel great for 20 minutes, then start coughing like a cat with a furball. I met a naturopathic doctor who said, “You’re allergic to wheat.” I said, “No pizza, no pasta, no bread? Couldn’t I just be allergic to sex?” When I stopped eating wheat, I felt lighter, younger, healthier, and happier. But Thanksgiving can be particularly hard for us gluten-free folks. I can usually eat the turkey, but not… Read more

The CW’s Charmed reboot has found a new lead for its fourth season. Australian actress Lucy Barrett, best known for her recurring role in the Duplass brothers’ web series, Co-Ed, will join the series in place of Madeleine Mantock, who exited the cast at the end of last season. The series follows a trio of sisters, better known as “The Charmed Ones” who use their witchy powers to protect the innocent from creatures of darkness in their quaint Michigan town. Beware... Charmed’s season three finale saw Mantock’s… Read more

Under the leadership of the Women's March Foundation, on October 2nd thousands of women across all 50 states, in major cities from Los Angeles to Washington D.C., will march alongside one another to defend their reproductive rights. With the recent eruption around Texas SB8 near-total abortion ban, which consequently bans abortions in Texas after six weeks, the long-term effects on abortion clinics and safe healthcare seem daunting. Grassroots movements on a local level are crucial in dismantling the stigmas and policy… Read more

Janet Jackson took to social media on Monday to tease the release of Janet, a two-part documentary about her life that will air on both Lifetime and A&E. Slated for a January 2022 release, the film will coincide with the 40th anniversary of her first album, Janet Jackson (1982). It also follows the addition of her music to the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry earlier this year, an honor bestowed annually to 25 recordings that express the “diversity of American recorded sound heritage.” “When I was 17 I… Read more

Yours Cruelly, Elvira: Memoirs of the Mistress of the Dark By Cassandra Peterson (Hachette Books) Elvira is one of those celebs who seems to have sprung from the ground fully formed—sky-high wig, wild eye makeup, and full vampire queen regalia. But in Yours Cruelly, Elvira, the woman behind the boobs, Cassandra Peterson, reveals how she became the Mistress of the Dark, and her tale is far more complex than one might expect. Her memoir covers everything from her difficult Kansas childhood to her days as a teenage… Read more

L'RAIN Fatigue (Mexican Summer) On her sophomore album, experimental multi-instrumentalist Taja Cheek mixes moods and switches styles with chaotic energy. While spanning different genres, the overarching sound is rich and dense with unexpected tone shifts, sudden stops, layered loops, audio clips, and samples. On “Find It,” fuzzy dreampop fades into traditional gospel and ends in a cacophonic chorus. A child’s handclap game adds rhythmic flourishes to the smooth R&B landscape of “Suck Teeth.” A voicemail from her late… Read more

Photo: photofest Discovered by Howard Hughes at 18 and poised to become Universal Studios’ answer to Marilyn Monroe, Mamie Van Doren made a name for herself in the ’50s playing big screen bad girls. Now 90 and as daring as ever, Van Doren opens up about sexism, censorship, and that time she almost hooked up with Marlene Dietrich. “Mamie Van Doren is a Hollywood icon. Tough as diamonds, she is the very last of the platinum blond studio starlets—appearing in 41 films between 1951 and 2002—and she is, at this very moment,… Read more

After the report a month ago that Robbie Kaplan, TIME’S UP Legal Deference Fund Co-Founder, would be leaving the group, the organization is reeling from continued shifts in leadership. Actors Eva Longoria and Jurnee Smollett, along with producer Shonda Rhimes, will be stepping down from the TIME’S UP board because of the recent scandal surrounding former New York governor Andrew Cuomo’s sexual harassment case. When Kaplan’s resignation was first announced by The New York Times, there were still lingering questions… Read more

Our columnist, Sarah Potter, provides this season's tarot readings for the signs. Virgo: Wheel of Fortune Reversed (Aug. 23 to Sept. 22) I see you, Virgo. You’ve been moving and grooving along on your path to success and then, bam—a roadblock appeared. Instead of getting frustrated or giving up, use this as an excuse to come up with a creative solution that will lead you to a place you never would have gone otherwise! Success will be even sweeter because you made it through this momentary challenge. Libra: The Emperor… Read more

After much teasing, the release date for the final season of Issa Rae’s comedy Insecure has been revealed in a new trailer. Based off of Issa Rae’s critically acclaimed web-series, Awkward Black Girl, viewers have followed the fictional Issa Dee, a late 20's Black woman coming-of-age in Los Angeles. In the trailer, Issa has one of her trademark mirror chats with her internal self via her reflection, "Wow, Issa, you were so simple then," she says, reminding herself just how far she's come. Five seasons later Issa has… Read more

Another beloved DC Comics character will hit the CW this fall. Poison Ivy, Batman’s toxic, eco-terrorist enemy, will be portrayed by Bridget Regan on Batwoman’s upcoming third season. This won’t be Regan’s first time in the villain seat. She’s best known for playing the cunning drug lord Rose Solano (alias Sin Rostro) on Jane the Virgin for five seasons. Regan has also held recurring roles on TNT’s The Last Ship and Spectrum Originals’ Paradise Lost. Poison Ivy’s arrival was teased in Batwoman’s season two finale… Read more

September has barely started, but the state of Texas has already managed to implement the most extreme abortion bill in the United States. The bill, which the Supreme Court failed to suppress, bans abortion after six weeks of pregnancy (when embryonic cardiac activity is detected for the first time). Most people aren't even aware they are pregnant before seven weeks, when morning sickness typically starts. To make things even more horrifying, the bill also includes a $10,000 bounty, plus lawyer’s fees, for anyone who… Read more

Autumn is upon us here at BUST, and to celebrate this warm, wonderful season, we’ve got glamorous indie rock star extraordinaire St. Vincent on our cover! Inside, we’ve got a deep dive with #MeToo movement founder Tarana Burke, a surprising investigation into “full service” massage providers for women, a hot take on child marriage from former teen bride Courtney Stodden, and much more! And Get Ready For Even More Tasty Tidbits, Including: Country-soul crooner Yola; Southern scene stealer Leslie Jordan; Setting… Read more

Angel Haze is the perfect interview subject — honest, open, and eager to share her thoughts and creations with the world. I start off the interview with one of the first questions I like to ask all the folk I interview: what are your pronouns? “I don't have any, I mean, you can call me anything you fucking want, I really don’t subscribe, you know what I’m saying?” Even through a ZOOM screen, the rapper’s charisma and personality are palpable. Released independently, it’s been almost six years since Back to the Woods,… Read more

On Friday, August 13, 2021, in Plymouth, England, Jake Davison, 22, shot and killed five people before turning the gun on himself. According to CNN, the victims included the shooter’s mother Maxine Davison, 51; Sophie Martyn, a 3-year-old; her father, Lee Martyn; 44, Stephen Washington, 59; and Kate Shepherd, 66. Footage was later found of the shooter, Jake Davison, talking about his frustrations with women as a result of his lack of a sex life, calling women “simple-minded” and saying that the only thing women want from… Read more

Lauren Fensterstock is a sculptor and installation artist whose sparkling, intricate creations look like secret treasures stolen from a gothic witches’ cathedral or like the charred remains of a fairy swamp. Made from materials including glass, vintage crystal, quartz, obsidian, onyx, hematite, shells, sand, plexiglass, paper, charcoal, and wood, her most recent installations—like the one on display at the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Renwick Gallery in D.C. earlier this year—are enormous, completely black, and… Read more

Following suit of artists who are bringing back the early 2000s such as Dua Lipa and Doja Cat, Chelsea Collins, singer, songwriter and producer, is doing her part to ensure that pop stays as lively and fun as we need it to be. The 22-year convinced her parents to move from San Francisco to Los Angeles while she was in high school so that she could further pursue her music. Since then the singer has released singles such as “07 Britney," an upbeat pop ode to none other than Britney Spears, and “Open Your Mouth," a song… Read more

The first peak at the new Princess Diana biopic, Spencer, starring Kristen Stewart as the late princess has debuted. Spencer is set over three days during Christmas at the royal family’s Sandringham Estate in 1991 as Diana decides to end her very public and troublesome marriage to Prince Charles (Jack Farthing). Spencer is directed by the celebrated Chilean filmmaker Pablo Larrain, who is also known for his direction on the acclaimed 2016 movie Jackie about former First Lady Jackie Kennedy. Despite her death nearly 25… Read more

Craving individuality, sustainability, and creativity, intrepid sartorialists are taking their sewing projects to Instagram, serving homemade looks you could only dream of finding in stores. Whether they’re dusting off their childhood Singers or threading brand new Berninas, these stylish creators are making great things happen with fabric and sharing the details—from pattern numbers and modification tips to specific fabric choices and body measurements—so you can, too. Here are some of our favorite sewists (a new term… Read more

Shan Boodram is not shy when it comes to sex. A certified sex educator, dating coach, relationship expert, and best-selling author, Boodram believes that knowing what you want out of dating, love, and sex, is a powerful part of self-discovery. Known as “Shan Boody” to her over 600k dedicated Youtube followers, the sexpert, wife, and new mommy is known for having open and honest dialogue about intimacy in today’s day and age. Now Boodram is making her mark in the dating show space as the resident sex and dating expert… Read more

The Food and Drug Administration has given their full approval for Pfizer-BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine on Monday, marking the first covid vaccine to receive FDA approval. Previously, vaccines had been distributed and administered to patients via the FDA’s emergency use authorization which allows for the quick availability of medical products needed during public health crises. Vaccines administered under emergency use authorization still go through rigorous safety and efficacy testing of two months of safety monitoring… Read more

Written and Directed by Marion Hill. Out Now Newlyweds Bertie (Idella Johnson) and Fred (Lucien Guignard) have just moved to the South of France and seem to have it all. But Bertie’s depressed after the loss of her mother and struggling to adapt to her new life as an American expat. As a last resort, Fred decides to invite Lane (Hannah Pepper-Cunningham), who once dated both Bertie and Fred in a polyamorous relationship, into their home. But Lane and Bertie didn’t part on the best of terms. And when Lane becomes… Read more

“Guess the Carney is out of the cage!” exclaimed Birds of Prey actor Jurnee Smollett. The actor, who starred as Black Canary in the 2020 Harley Quinn vehicle, confirmed that her character will be getting her own stand-alone sequel, in a tweet last Friday. Guess the Canary is out of the cage! 🤪 So excited to finally embark on this adventure with my creative soul sis @MishaGreen. 🖤💛 #blackcanary #dinahlance #lettttssssssgoooooo ahhhhhhhhh!!!!! https://t.co/GocuNdEn6E — jurnee smollett (@jurneesmollett) August 20, 2021… Read more

Julie Murphy’s adult romance debut—the first in her new series of fairy tale retellings—is billed as an all-grown-up take on Cinderella. But even though this novel has glamour, secrets, and shoes, If The Shoe Fits is really its own story, with a goal-oriented heroine, stepsisters who aren’t actually evil, and a reality TV twist. Cindy is fresh out of college and eager to enter the world of fashion when she learns that her stepmother, a producer, needs contestants for a Bachelor-style dating show. Cindy signs on, but… Read more

In “BLACK EFFECT,” a track from Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s 2018 collaborative album “EVERYTHING IS LOVE,” Beyoncé describes a quintessential Black female form: Stunt with your curls, your lips, Sarah Baartman hips Gotta hop into my jeans like I hop into my whip, yeah The celebration of Sarah Baartman’s features marks a departure from her historical image. Saartjie “Sarah” Baartman was an African woman who, in the early 1800s, was something of an international sensation of objectification. She was paraded around Europe, where… Read more

Old Navy is on a quest to revolutionize shopping for curvy women everywhere, with the launch of its new BODEQUALITY initiative. Committed to a “democracy of style”, the store will no longer have a separate line for plus size clothing but will be selling all styles in a wider size range (00-30) in the same sections, and, most importantly, larger sizes will no longer cost more. Old Navy was one of the major brands criticised back in 2019 for cost disparity when it came to plus sizes, but now the brand has made changes… Read more

When it comes to Southern lady movies, there’s no question that Fried Green Tomatoes reigns supreme. At the heart of the 1991 film are two women: spitfire Idgie (Mary Stuart Masterson) and quiet Ruth (Mary-Louise Parker), whose love for each other gives them the strength to tackle life’s obstacles—including but not limited to bigotry, sexism, racism, etc.—in Depression-era Alabama. Not only is the arc of their relationship a heartwarming love story we can all aspire to, but their 1930s wardrobes are also truly… Read more

At only 17, Billie Eilish became the unofficial spokesperson for Gen Z. Teenagers fell in love with her debut album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? for the unfiltered rawness with which she describes the spectrum of growing pains: from unrequited love to depression. On the surface of her new record Happier Than Ever, Eilish has shed her trademark angst; trading in the dark hair, demonic grin and asylum aesthetic of the first album cover for a platinum blond, old Hollywood, angelic vibe. But listening to the… Read more

In a Tweet praising Disney Channel show The Owl House, Mae Whitman came out as pansexual. On Monday, August 15th, the actress known for her role of Annie Marks in recently cancelled Good Girls, tweeted about how being a part of the animated show has affected her. “Just taking a moment to say I am SO proud to be even a small part of a show like The Owl House. Being pansexual myself, I wish I had such incredible characters like Amity and Luz in my life when I was growing up,” Whitman tweeted on Monday. Just taking a… Read more

As the Taliban continues its rapid insurgency throughout Afghanistan—sweeping through the country and on the verge of capturing the capital city of Kabul as the country’s Western-backed government collapses—an increasingly alarming humanitarian crisis has emerged. Since the end of May, the UN Refugee Agency reports nearly a quarter-million Afghanis have fled the country, with a reported 80% of those fleeing being women and children, signaling a heartbreaking disaster for the rights and well-being of women and girls… Read more