When people talk about our so-called postmodern era, one presumption is that creative artists have somehow absorbed the modernist triumphs and now borrow from them in all sorts of self-conscious ways that range from clever pastiche to flagrant piracy. That may have been true in the heady sixties and seventies, but the creative arts today [...]

  Did you hear the one about the traveling septuagenarian comedienne? Fans of comic Joan Rivers may want to stand up and applaud Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work as a labor of love. The less moved will have to work harder to find the punch lines—other than Rivers herself.

Heated debate surrounds recent legislation in Europe that aims to ban Muslim women from covering their faces in public. While the reasoning behind the ban is to protect Muslim women from oppression, some wonder if that is actually what the ban will accomplish. Many women simply view the ban as a limit on their constitutional [...]

The article on Female Genital Mutilation, by Victoria Belle-Miller, reminded me of the book Engaging Cultural Differences – The Multicultural Challenge in Liberal Democracies. Richard A. Shweder‘s chapter,  “What about Female Genital Mutilation? And why Understanding culture matters in the first place”  prompted readers to contemplate how certain cultural practices, as female genital mutilation,  are deemed inhumane.

Sarah Palin has generated a lot of controversy as a result of a speech she gave calling for a new brand of feminism.  Palin argues that the true feminists are anti-abortion, and unwilling to compromise on the position.  This speech has understandably outraged liberal and progressive feminists, and it raises an interesting question: Who gets [...]

  On March 8, 2010, Amnesty International released its report on maternal health in the United States called “Deadly Delivery.” The report demonstrated the rates of preventable maternal death and called for action to solve these issues. The report also received media attention upon its release from news outlets such as CNN, the Guardian, Time Magazine [...]

The title of Nujood Ali’s book was certainly enough to get my attention.  “I am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced.”  As a very young child, her father told her she would be marrying a man in his 30s.   And sadly, this was expected.  This was normal.  Marrying at a young age was something Nujood had [...]

Women in the Congo are still getting raped, sick and killed in an effort of war from the Militia who have seemed to take over.

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is still a monumental problem in several countries including the U.S., although many in the U.S. may be unaware of the issue. Legislation has been passed in some countries (including the U.S.) to end this abusive practice, but immigrant families in the U.S. are still sending their daughters overseas to have the procedure [...]

Rihanna released her music video Te Amo yesterday. Much to my dismay, I was left shrugging and mumbling “Me disgusta” as Rihanna fell into the new fad of homoerotic homophobia among female pop stars. Rihanna’s video depicts the age-old tale of a heterosexual female entertaining the attention of a homosexual female only until things get [...]

As a high school comedy-drama celebrating the outcast community, Glee has its roots in 80s shows like Fame and Square Pegs, as well as 90s favorites My So-Called Life and Freaks and Geeks. There are times when Glee is best enjoyed as a 40s or 50s era MGM musical: don’t worry so much about the [...]

The simultaneously ridiculous and sublime Bayonetta unexpectedly hints at how publishers can create successful female characters. Sega/Platinum Games’ latest is a hit, with a recent filing announcing the success of Bayonetta, having 1.35 million units shifted since its release this January. During the game’s release window, Gamespot’s Leigh Alexander suggested that part of Bayonetta’s success could [...]

Trials against two New York City cops that began on Tuesday demonstrate why granting more power to local police to enforce laws like Arizona’s new immigration initiative could be particularly disastrous for women.

In the temperate cycle between evening and twilight, Ugandan families prepare dinner. Living to the cycle of seasons and nature’s clock, there is a quiet pace that breaks the sounds of day. Chickens and goats are settling down, the air becomes more still and windows glow with an evening light. The daytime sounds in the neighborhood are [...]

It’s been nearly two years since Planned Parenthood of Indiana entered a storm of heated controversy and economic hardship that hasn’t quite settled. The organization was accused of harboring sexual predators in 2008 after undercover videos surfaced showing clinicians allegedly ignoring instances of statutory rape. Less than a year after the videos, the organization lost [...]

  In the waning days of the 2009-2010 television season, as finales full of time-traveling islands, extreme budget cuts, and triple weddings approach, this avid TV fan would like to take a moment and reflect upon the successful first year of one of this season’s few sitcoms to garner both critical acclaim and significant audience [...]

Every kid wants to make comic books, but not every kid grows up to STILL want to make them. Why? What largely occurs is a lack of mentorship in the comic industry, the art world, and our very culture that leaves many aspiring comic writers and artists twisting in the wind at over-priced colleges and [...]

Are you persuaded that Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan is not gay, and that it should never have mattered anyway? Good, because we can now move on to her next supposed shortcoming. “The Supreme Court needs more moms,” proclaims the headline of Ann Gerhart’s story in the Washington Post. I don’t mind Gerhart making her [...]