This article was originally written as a producer piece for Things Not Seen. This summer, a wave of up-beat, supposedly empowering pop songs came out. A similar outpouring of self-esteem boosting anthems happened in 2011, with Lady Gaga’s “Born this Way,” Katy Perry’s “Fireworks,” and Pink’s “Perfect.” The music industry has apparently discovered that inspiring … Continue reading Whose Bass Is It Anyway? (Or, The Problem with Pop’s Empowerment Anthems)
On Sweet Valley High, Chris Brown, and Being a Bad Feminist with Roxane Gay
I came to realize that I might be a “bad feminist” around the same time Beyoncé’s surprise album dropped. I loved the album. I mean, I liked Beyoncé a lot before the 13th of December 2013, but the album led me towards a whole new realm of fangirldom. As always, the tuneage was excellent, but what got me … Continue reading On Sweet Valley High, Chris Brown, and Being a Bad Feminist with Roxane Gay
Ladies We Love: Roxane Gay
I owe a lot to Roxane Gay. Her thoughtful pieces on current events and pop culture allow me to think more clearly about my own feelings on these topics in the news. I can't tell you how many times her Salon.com articles have saved me from being an inarticulate rage monster on social media, spewing … Continue reading Ladies We Love: Roxane Gay
Theft, Cocaine, and Tavi Gevinson: A Review of Lonergan’s This Is Our Youth
I managed to restrict myself to only one Arrested Development joke during Steppenwolf Theatre Company’s production of This is Our Youth, which speaks to how much I liked Kenneth Lonergan’s play. Directed by Anna D. Shapiro and starring George Michael Cera, Kieran Culkin, and Tavi Gevinson, the show will move from Chicago to Broadway at the Cort Theatre in Fall … Continue reading Theft, Cocaine, and Tavi Gevinson: A Review of Lonergan’s This Is Our Youth
Speaking Truth to Power: Thanking Anita Hill
It's an unfortunate fact that as a woman, I'm entirely too familiar with being sexually harassed. Every day, I fear unwelcome advances as I walk to work, lingering and inappropriate grazes as I squeeze into a subway car, even catcalls as I open the door to my own home. But as a young woman who … Continue reading Speaking Truth to Power: Thanking Anita Hill
Ladies We Love: Jane Borden
As a small-town-raised, Greek-life-affiliated southern transplant living in the big city, I could certainly relate to Jane Borden’s laugh-out-loud memoir, I Totally Meant to Do That, which her website describes as the musings of “a Cerberus, a griffin or one of those joints near Port Authority that’s both a Pizza Hut and a Taco Bell…a hybrid too … Continue reading Ladies We Love: Jane Borden
In Case of Tent Collapse, Find My Body Next to the Spotted Pumpkin: Dinner Party Does Frieze NY
Saturday, 10 May 2014. 5:04 p.m. The big, bright white tent that housed Frieze New York shook violently in the afternoon rainstorm. The choppy waves of the East River crashed onto the shore only a few feet away. Surely someone prepared the tent for Mother Nature's attempts to party crash, I thought. I was, after … Continue reading In Case of Tent Collapse, Find My Body Next to the Spotted Pumpkin: Dinner Party Does Frieze NY
Ladies We Love: Nane Press
There's just something so uniquely elegant about a letterpress-printed item. And Jennie Putvin from Nane Press certainly puts her distinctive stamp on this subtle but oh-so-satisfying art. Dinner Party had the chance to speak with the Brooklyn-based artist about her stunning creations. Nah-neh? Nayn? How do you pronounce Nane Press, and where does the name come from? Nane … Continue reading Ladies We Love: Nane Press
Dinner Party 