Country music sensation and feminist icon Dolly Parton has once again proved that she’s a queen while admitting she’s still learning. Earlier this week, the 76-year-old musician made headlines when she spoke out about the Black Lives Matter movement in an interview with Billboard. “I understand people having to make themselves known and felt and seen,” Parton stated on the recent global uprisings that followed the murders of George Floyd and other Black Americans. “Of course Black lives matter! Do we think our little… Read more

Donald Trump gained notoriety for falsely claiming that President Barack Obama, who was born in Hawaii, was not a U.S. citizen and was lying about his birthplace. This statement was the genesis of the “birtherism” movement where people suspected Obama was lying about his nationality and demanded to see his birth certificate. Many people falsely claimed that Barack Obama was a Muslim. And despite there being nothing wrong with being a Muslim, it was a bald-faced lie, a movement rooted in racism and xenophobia. Even… Read more

Sarah Cooper has made a name for herself over the past few years as a comedian, but she really blew up this year with the help of TikTok. She posts humorous videos of herself lip-syncing to Donald Trump and whatever nonsensical thing he’s said this week. She’s even been blocked by Trump on Twitter, which is an honor in its own right. She has the hashtag #blockedbytrump in her Twitter bio, wearing it like a badge of honor. @whatchugotforme How to tiktok ♬ original sound - whatchugotforme @whatchugotforme How to bible ♬… Read more

Wonder Woman and her alter ego, Diana Prince, have a stylist, and her name is Lindy Hemming. When the Oscar-winning Welsh costume designer behind The Dark Knight trilogy was brought on to dress Gal Gadot for director Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman, the heroine’s red, gold, and blue battle armor had already been created for her Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice cameo. But in Wonder Woman 1984, set for release on August 14, Wonder Woman’s new winged golden battle armor is entirely Hemming’s design, taking inspiration from… Read more

There’s a good chance you’ve read a book and not known that the author is a woman. That’s because, throughout history, many women have used male pen names in order to sneak their work through the publishing industry’s patriarchal doors. As more women tried to get their work published in the 19th century, they faced criticism from publishers who considered them unfit for the literary realm and refused their work for publication solely on the basis of their gender. Even the beloved Charlotte Brontë was told “literature… Read more

In the UK, Tampax recently released a new television ad campaign which shows viewers how to properly insert a tampon. This ad campaign, dubbed “Tampons and Tea,” was launched after Tampax did research and came to the conclusion that 42 percent of tampon users were not inserting it correctly. The number jumps higher to 58 percent in the age bracket of 18- to 24-year-olds. The ad features a fictional daytime show where the host asks the question, “How many of you ever feel your tampon?” After a guest raises her hand, the… Read more

This week, we're excited about new music (Rico Nasty! Peaches!), new books, and an irreverent new Netflix comedy. Read on for our top picks. MOVIES/TV Teenage Bounty Hunters Described as Buffy meets Veronica Mars, Netflix’s latest comedy follows two twin teenagers who join forces with an older veteran bounty hunter and start living double lives. All episodes out August 14. MUSIC/PODCASTS “iPhone” by Rico Nasty and 100 gecs Rico Nasty and 100 gecs previously collaborated on the Charli XCX-studded “ringtone” remix, and… Read more

Today marks Black Women’s Equal Pay Day, signifying the number of days that a Black woman has to work to earn what white men earned in 2019. That is to say, it takes Black women 226 days to catch up to their white male coworkers’ earnings. Why so long? To this day, Black women continue to make 62 cents to every dollar that a white man earns. This is a pay disparity that has not tapered for the last 25 years. It’s Black Women’s Equal Pay Day and the message is quite simple! pic.twitter.com/MDszoFkDfa — Black BEEN King… Read more

In our Writing Life series, we talk to your favorite writers about their routines and careers. Here, we caught up with Roxane Gay, who wrote An Untamed State, Bad Feminist, World of Wakanda, Difficult Women, and Hunger and edited the anthology Not That Bad. Do you write on particular days? I try to write every day. Do you write at particular times? I write whenever I can find a pocket of time but I prefer to write late at night. How many hours a day do you devote to writing? I write for anywhere from one to six hours a… Read more

Kiki, also known as @kikimancy on Twitter and Instagram, is known for her blend of cosmetology and cosmology, and her knowledge shines through in her latest e-book, The Ancient Art of Onychomancy In the Modern World. Grounded in palmistry (divination through reading palms), Kiki takes on onychomancy, also known as nail reading, in a whole new way through looking at the shape of nails and translating that to personality and possibilities. With The Ancient Art of Onychomancy In the Modern World, Kiki encompasses the art… Read more

Last night, there was a TikTok posted by Jimi Ono, also known as Melissa Lingafelt, where she accused Drake Bell of verbal and physical abuse during their relationship, which lasted over two years. Bell is best known for his role on the Nickelodeon sitcom Drake & Josh. @jimiono This is my truth. I hope this message reaches young girls, and that no one has to go through what I did. ##2020survivor ♬ original sound - jimiono In the TikTok, Ono claimed that she started dating Bell when she 16, making her underage. Ono… Read more

This socially distant shoot features some style staples you'll be dreaming about for the rest of quarantine (at least). Champion jacket Staud coat; Martine Ali necklace; shoes: vintage Zara sweater; scarf: stylist's own; earrings: model's own Baum Und Pferdgarten dress; Martine Ali necklace; bracelet: stylist's own; shoes: vintage Cos sweater and skirt; Labucq shoes; earrings and bracelet: stylist's own Baum Und Pferdgarten coat; Martine Ali necklace Morgan Lane pajamas; Avec Modération slippers Photographed by Kat Borchart… Read more

Autoimmune diseases cause your body’s immune system, or "germ police force," to identify healthy tissue as an invading pathogen. They launch a full-scale attack that leads to pain, inflammation and a host of other unpleasant symptoms that can deteriorate your quality of life. People with autoimmune diseases are at increased risk of infection during COVID-19, and guess what? Women have an increased risk of having autoimmune diseases. Why is this, and how does it impact women’s standing during the COVID-19 pandemic? For… Read more

“We should vote for women because they’re women,” former U.S. representative Katie Hill said in an article for Bustle. Although I understand the sentiment behind her statement, I don’t necessarily agree. Women have been fighting for seats in politics forever. In 2018, the largest class of women came into Congress at 127, but they still only make up 23.7% of the Congress population. So, there is definitely more work to do. But, as much as we would all like to have more representation in the places that matter, voting… Read more

Kamala Harris was announced as Joe Biden’s running candidate for Vice President yesterday via email and twitter. Kamala Harris is the first Black woman and the first person of Indian descent to be nominated for national office by a major party, and only the fourth woman in history to be chosen for one of their presidential tickets according to The New York Times. Even all-adored Bernie Sanders is endorsing Kamala Harris new running candiancy. I have the great honor to announce that I’ve picked @KamalaHarris — a… Read more

If you’ve heard of catfishing and Blackfishing, get ready for another wild phenomenon: wokefishing. Apparently, wokefishing is what happens when men on dating apps pretend that they’re “woke” in order to entice potential partners. The term was coined by Serena Smith in a Vice article about people who had been with their partners until finding out they held problematic beliefs...to say the very least. Smith writes “A wokefish may at first present themselves as a protest-attending, sex-positive, anti-racist,… Read more

In many parts of India, menstruation is often associated with dirtiness, making it a taboo subject. The origin of this taboo can be traced back to The Vedas, or ancient Hindu scriptures, which associates menstruation with the myth of Indra’s slaying of Vritras. In the text, menstrual flow is a manifestation of Indra’s guilt for the murder and appears every month for women because they have taken the guilt upon themselves. This core myth, along with other cultural factors, has contributed to the country’s modern… Read more

Ben Shapiro, conservative commentator and the king of bad takes, recently reacted to the new Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion song, "WAP," on his show for the conservative outlet, The Daily Wire. And it’s a doozy to watch. Not only does Shapiro prove that he has no rhythm, but he also completely misses the point of the video. But despite how bad his take is, the video is kind of entertaining because of how bad it is. Throughout the video, Shapiro laments about the vulgarity of the song and says p-word instead of pussy.… Read more

I first became aware of the artist/sign painter Olive Panter when I saw her 6 FEET MEANS 6 FEET signs up in a row of residential windows in my neighborhood back in March, when the pandemic hit hard here in Brooklyn. Soon afterwards I noticed a new hand painted sign on the same block at a restaurant that was offering free food for covid-impacted restaurant workers. I wondered who was making these great signs and found out it was the 29 year old artist. Since I love traditional sign painting, and we are practically… Read more

Studies have shown that women are one third as likely to ride a bicycle than men. Globally, men are 6.7% more likely than women to commute to work via bicycle. There are many reasons as to why this gender gap exists, but one theory is that (at least in the U.S.) women are less willing to ride in traffic. However, since the COVID-19 pandemic struck, decreased traffic has left streets unclogged and more friendly to cyclists, leading to an influx of women taking their wheels to the streets. In Tunisia, women cyclists have… Read more

Directors of The Matrix trilogy Lilly and Lana Wachowski, sisters who underwent gender affirmation procedures shortly after finishing the movie, related a lot to the journey and message of their film. When they were making this film, the journey Neo takes as the main character in The Matrix was always meant to be an allegory for the transgender identity and experience. Lilly Wachowski also revealed that the character Switch, a crewmember on the Zion hovercraft Nebuchadnezzar, was meant to originally be a man in the… Read more

It’s been said that the only guarantees in life are death and taxes. That the only certainty is uncertainty. And if 2020 has forced us to do anything, it’s to shake hands with the unknown. A loss of normalcy has culminated in collective grief. We may have never had control, but now we don’t even get to have the illusion of it. And since Covid shows no signs of slowing down, never has the phrase, radical acceptance, been more pertinent. Much like how it sounds, radical acceptance means accepting the things that you… Read more

Heartfelt and hilarious, Kris Rey’s forthcoming film I Used To Go Here explores a young woman’s self-perception and feelings of failure in a way that balances both humor and heaviness. The film follows a writer named Kate (played by Community’s Gillian Jacobs) who returns to her alma mater to promote her new novel. Steeped in nostalgia for her college days, Kate falls in with a peculiar group of undergrads and attempts to rekindle a connection with her former crush, a sordid English professor played by Flight of the… Read more

Content warning for discussion of suicide For some people with clinical depression, oral antidepressants and talk therapy just don’t work. Those suffering from treatment-resistant depression might find benefit from a nasal spray that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved in March. The drug, esketamine (sold under the name Spravato), is a fast-acting version of the anesthetic ketamine. It can be administered to people actively experiencing suicidal thoughts and intentions. And unlike oral antidepressants which… Read more

E. Jean Carroll is going to be suing President Trump for defamation over the following months. Carroll accused Trump of assaulting her in a Bergdorf Goodman in the ‘90s in June 2019. Following the accusation, Trump called Carroll a liar and said he had never met her—despite there being photographic evidence saying otherwise. Carroll then filed a suit against the president for defamation, according to The New York Times. Trump’s lawyers have been trying to delay Carroll’s suit while an appeals court decides whether or… Read more

During the roaring ’20s, cartoons featuring flappers were all the rage. And some of the best were actually drawn by the era’s most talented women WHEN FLAPPERS TOSSED their corsets and shore their locks in favor of short, slinky dresses, crisp bobs, and bold cosmetics in the 1920s, they introduced the world to the modern woman. These these middle- and upper-class young ladies, newly armed with the right to vote and opportunities to work outside the home, were free in ways previous generations could only dream of. They… Read more

If you haven’t heard about Black August, it’s a month that commemorates the Black revolutionaries who dedicated their lives to fighting white supremacy, capitalism, and colonialism. It began in the 1970s during a California prison rebellion to pay tribute to the murder of George Jackson, a revolutionary, author, and Black Panther member. He was killed on August 21, 1971, by prison guards during a rebellion at San Quentin Prison. His brother, Jonathan Jackson, was murdered a year earlier during a mission to liberate the… Read more

Alicia Keys recently announced that she was coming out with a beauty line. Because the singer-songwriter is known to not wear makeup because of the unrealistic beauty standards forced on women and girls, this upset some influencers. Namely, the popular beauty influencers James Charles and MannyMUA. Both of them took to Twitter to tweet their frustrations in now-deleted tweets. James Charles and Manny Mua both shade a celebrity who is launching her own beauty line and many think it’s Alicia Keys because her whole brand… Read more

Bob the Drag Queen first rose to prominence as the winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 8 and since that time, he has been using his huge platform to not only become a major name in standup comedy but also to become a powerful voice for LGBTQ rights and the Black Lives Matter movement. His HBO series We’re Here features Bob alongside fellow Drag Race alums Shangela and Eureka traveling to small towns across America to help create support systems and communities for isolated queer folks by putting on drag shows. And… Read more

To no one's surprise, going back to school in person is already not going well. A few of Georgia’s public schools went back to in-person schooling on Monday with no mask requirement, and things are going as well as we all expected. Day two at North Paulding High School. It is just as bad. We were stopped because it was jammed. We are close enough to the point where I got pushed multiple go to second block. This is not ok. Not to mention the 10% mask rate. pic.twitter.com/JKbGYqG9RS — hannah (@ihateiceman) August 4,… Read more

Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, has been struck by tragedy this week. On Tuesday, Beirut experienced an explosion that has left over 150 people dead, 5,000 people injured, and 80 people missing. The explosion was caused by 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate being stored in the port of Beirut for six years without safety measures. The explosions, which destroyed the port, also destroyed the already collapsing economy and exacerbated Lebanon’s ongoing economic crisis. It has been reported that government officials knew of… Read more

Nia DaCosta is about to become a household name. According to Deadline, DaCosta has just been tapped to direct the sequel of the highly successful Captain Marvel movie, which will make her the first ever Black woman to direct a movie for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. If DaCosta's name already sounds familiar, it might be because she directed 2018's highly acclaimed Little Woods and the upcoming Jordan Peele-produced Candyman sequel. DaCosta was born and raised in New York and attended New York University’s Tisch… Read more

After George Floyd’s death sparked masses of Black Lives Matter protests, Latinx TV writer and QUIERO host Priscila Garcia-Jacquier’s DMs were flooded with people asking for her help. “I started receiving a lot of messages from fellow Latinx, extremely confused on how to stand at this moment. I ran my talk show for a while where I hosted Latinx entertainment, but suddenly the great voices in Hollywood were big silent in our community in this process,” Garcia-Jacquier said over Zoom. Garcia-Jacquier saw people reaching… Read more

Korryn Gaines was a 23-year-old young woman who was shot by the police on August 1, 2016, during an hours-long stand-off in Baltimore County, Maryland. This incident happened after a traffic violation where Gaines allegedly didn't appear in court because, when she went into the station to get clarity about her court date, the police told her that the supervisor with the documents was unavailable. Her failure to appear in court led to an arrest warrant and officers showed up to her apartment to serve that warrant. When… Read more

In the 1987 comedy Overboard, Goldie Hawn made jaws drop in her high-cut thong bathing suits and splashy accessories as Joanna Stayton, an incredibly rich and unlikable heiress who falls off her yacht and gets amnesia. A carpenter (Hawn’s real-life love Kurt Russell) convinces her she is his wife to give her a taste of what regular shmegular life is like. Leave the snobby attitude behind but embrace the ’80s glamour with these three takes on Hawn’s over-the-top Overboard style. 1. Wacker 8.4 Market Umbrella, $122,… Read more

Rodham: A Novel By Curtis Sittenfeld(Random House) Last year, Hillary Clinton said that “the gutsiest thing” she had ever done was stay married to Bill Clinton. But what if she hadn’t? Scratch that—what if she hadn’t married him in the first place? Rodham begins as a fictionalized biography. Hillary graduates from Wellesley, heads to law school, and finds herself in a passionate relationship with charismatic Bill Clinton, who then brings her to Arkansas post-graduation. Almost halfway through the novel, however, author… Read more

Making decent barbeque chicken isn’t hard, but there is a trick to it. The problem is that when you get a nice crispy outside, the inside of your chicken is still raw. And if you go on grilling until it’s done, well, then the outside will be overcooked—or even burned. Some folks try parboiling the chicken first but who has time for that nonsense? Here’s the way to do it, all on the grill. This method works for any chicken parts, with skin or without (but c’mon, barbeque chicken needs the skin, people!). It can also… Read more

WNBA team members, including the WNBA team co-owned by Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler were seen wearing shirts before their games that say "Vote Warnock" in support of Reverend Raphael Warnock, Senator Loeffler’s challenger in the upcoming election. Elizabeth Williams, a player on the Atlanta Dream team, tweeted a quote from the late civil rights icon and longtime Georgia Representative John Lewis and posted a photo of herself wearing the incredible shirt. Williams encouraged others to support Warnock for Senator of… Read more

You would think Gen Z men would be better right? Gen Z has been hailed as the “woke generation” from trolling Trump on TikTok to joining their predecessors, the Millennials, on the streets, protesting police brutality. Well, according to a HOPE not hate study done in the UK, Gen Z’s men really aren't too different from their Boomer fathers. The study showed that half of Gen Z men believe that “feminism has gone too far and makes it harder for men to succeed.” The UK-based advocacy group, HOPE not hate conducted the… Read more

#beautifullybisexual has been trending on Twitter since last night and bi folks are feeling themselves. People are tweeting out their best selfies with the hashtag “#beautifullybisexual,” and it’s honestly overwhelming. Here are a few to start us off: i heard #beautifullybisexual was trending n if ya don’t know now u do lmaooooo 🤍 pic.twitter.com/ZcXt30xf7l — kennie (@fr0mkentucky) August 5, 2020 ok i'll bite #beautifullybisexual pic.twitter.com/PxxVGIl0Ny — Anj (@anj3llyfish) August 5, 2020 oh shit. i think they… Read more

Sarah Paulson is one scary Nurse Ratched in Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest origin Netflix series Ratched. Ryan Murphy setting a series in a mental institution with Sarah Paulson as the leading character seems suspiciously familiar…(*ahem* AHS: Asylum). But we have to admit, this one feels very different and a lot more sinister. On August 4, Netflix premiered the first trailer for Ratched, which stars Sarah Paulson as the iconic villain from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest during her early… Read more

Remember last week when Trump shook the world and said he was going to ban TikTok? Well, the story continues. Last Friday, Trump—over concerns that the China-based company could be using the app to steal Americans’ information—announced that he would be banning the app through an executive order as soon as the next day, according to The New York Times. Trump has since backed down, pushing the supposed ban date to Sept. 15, according to CNET. Since then, Microsoft has offered to buy the app from the Chinese company in… Read more

Yesterday, nurse, single mother, and BLM activist Cori Bush won the democratic primary in Missouri—beating incumbent William Lacy Clay. In a historic win, Bush knocked Clay out of his 1st Congressional District seat. Clay has held this seat since 2001 and his father held it before him. If elected to Congress in November, Bush would become the first Black woman to represent Missouri in Congress, according to NPR. “It is historic that this year, of all years, we're sending a Black, working-class single mother, who has… Read more

On Sunday, August 3, Aurora resident Brittney Gilliam was with her 6-year-old daughter, 12-year-old sister, and her 14- and 17-year-old nieces. Gilliam told CNN in an interview that she was taking everyone to get their nails done that day. Gilliam and all of the four children are Black. Things didn’t go as planned because police officers from the Aurora Police Department ordered the four children at gunpoint to lie facedown on the parking lot while two of the children and Gilliam were handcuffed. They were handcuffed… Read more

FOR THE THOUSANDS of people who turn to Kim Krans’ beautiful tarot cards for answers, it might seem like the artist behind the Wild Unknown deck must have them. But in 2019, when Krans found herself in the throes of an eating disorder in the wake of a painful divorce and miscarriage, she realized she didn’t have the answers at all. She retreated to an ashram in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains, and spent 40 days working through her trauma with art. The result is her new book, Blossoms & Bones: Drawing a Life Back… Read more

It looks like The Ellen Show may need a new host pretty soon. After allegations of sexual misconduct and toxic work culture from former employees shortly after a series of blunders for the famous talk show host, many are calling for Ellen to leave her show and be replaced by someone else. So far, the suggestions range from outrageous to pretty plausible, including everyone from Harry Styles to Ellen Page to Eric Andre to literally anybody else. Actress and social media genius Tabitha Brown: I would absolutely… Read more

This past week, tens of thousands of demonstrators flooded the streets of Warsaw and other Polish cities with the outcry: “fight against the virus, not against women.” The protest follows the Polish government's plans to withdraw from a pan-European convention tackling violence against women. “The aim is to legalize domestic violence,” said Marta Lempart, one of the protest organizers said at a march last Friday. Istanbul Convention: Poland to leave European treaty on violence against women https://t.co/3GxZBHUPmY —… Read more

An incredible rhythm-and-blues singer and songwriter, Big Mama Thornton recorded multiple hits in the early ’50s that have been credited with helping to jumpstart the decade’s new music craze known as rock ‘n’ roll. Think you know how Big Mama came to define the era? Then take the quiz! 1. Born on December 11, 1926, in Ariton, AL, Big Mama’s given name was _____ Thornton.a. Norma Rae b. Willie Maec. Sandra Day d. Tammy Faye 2. Which instrument(s) did Big Mama play?a. Harmonica b. Drums c. Both d. Neither 3. Big Mama’s… Read more

“As harsh as it may sound, the government didn’t hire me for my moral views.” “We don't pick and choose groups of people based on race, color, religion. We just look for people who are removable.” “Sometimes the American dream becomes a nightmare.” These are just some of the quotes from Netflix’s new docuseries. Immigration Nation explores the ongoing immigration crisis in the United States and the widely contested work of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents under the Trump Administration. The six-part… Read more

After a stressful year that is getting crazier and crazier by the day, it was a well-deserved breather to celebrate cultural accomplishments in television for a brief moment before we get back to preparing for the 2020 election. The Emmy nominations brought great accomplishments, like a record number of Black people being nominated, but also some problems, like the lack of Latinx nominations. But another important snub not to overlook is the exclusion of trans actors. Despite an incredible year for trans actors,… Read more