When I was in my late teens, visiting Calcutta (this was pre-“Kolkata” conversion, not that renaming a place changes its ethos), I was groped by a guy as my cousins, my mom and I stood on a curb waiting to cross over to a shopping mall. Stunned, I whirled around and glared — I was… Read More Agni Pariksha: Violence Against Women and the Test of Fire
I’m reading a series right now that I’m really enjoying — except for its portrayal of race, particularly through the lens of its first-person narration. It’s textbook depersonalizing, fetishistic, racefail — accurate for the time and the character’s head space, but not exactly sunshine and roses for the reader. And I’m torn: On the one… Read More Take Me Out To The Black: Spec Fic, Space and Racefail
Mitt Romney’s running mate for the 2012 Presidential election has QUITE the checkered past. How in the world did he get vetted? 1. As a teen, he lost his virginity to his father’s former mistress. Admittedly, they’re happily married now, but that’s a rather questionable start to a romance, wouldn’t you say? 2. From 1986… Read More Eight Things You May Not Know About Paul Ryan
It’s with a sort of numb horror that I’m thinking about how, the same week that the Internet explodes with condemnation of Daniel Tosh and his crass gang rape joke about a female heckler at a comedy club, a young woman was attacked by a mob in Guwahati, India, while a camera crew recorded the… Read More All We’re Really “Asking For”
You’ve pretty much had to be living under a rock to not hear about Steven Soderbergh’s Magic Mike, which opens in U.S. theaters tomorrow. Loosely based on the life of lead actor Channing Tatum, from its promo campaign you could safely assume it’s two hours of nonstop thongs and gyrations. “Plot, what plot?” is the… Read More Object Lessons: Magic Mike, the Male Gaze and More
It’s 2012, and we’re still having a world-wide conversation about women’s sexuality. Yeah, I don’t know. I don’t get it either. So, allow me to throw my .02 cents in the ring with a resounding “What in the ever-loving HELL is going on around here?” I wish I could tie this all up in a… Read More Fifty Shades Of…Why Are We Still Talking About This?!
Move over Kurt and Santana, Sonny Kiriakis is in town! The rest of the TV viewing universe may think Ryan Murphy Glee-fully cornered the market on visible gay youth, but soap fans know that our genre has been trailblazing in this department for years. Another Ryan, Ryan Phillippe, played Billy Douglas on OLTL from 1992-93.… Read More Enjoying the Sonny Weather in DAYS’ Salem
