14 Jun 2013
Mark Anthony Neal is a professor of Black Popular Culture in the Department of African & African-American Studies at Duke University. Dr. Neal received his PhD in American Studies from University of Buffalo. He is the author of five books, including the recently published Looking for Leroy: Looking For Leroy: [...]
9 Jun 2013
By Mohadesa Najumi Many people object to the phrase “rape culture.” They don’t understand how a culture as civilized as ours can be defined by a force as destructive as rape. They deem it an overstatement, an “over-analysis” by angry bra-burning feminists. Some even consider it an oxymoron. And others [...]
5 Jun 2013
By Bruna Lobato In my first creative writing class as a Brazilian international student at a private American college I received my fiction assignment back with comments and a tall slender “A” written in green ink. I was glad to see validation that I, a non-native speaker, could write well [...]
3 Jun 2013
By Ashley Yenick Do millennials know of any famous feminists in our society? There are many feminists mentioned in this video: bell hooks, Audrey Lorde, Peggy McIntosh, Susan B. Anthony, Gloria Steinem, and Michelle Obama. I was intrigued to hear that Michelle Obama was considered a feminist. I think the interviewee’s [...]
7 May 2013
*Trigger warning* Sometimes I feel like the NRA is actively just trying to lose all the credibility it has left in this world. Just when you thought the NRA’s annual convention in Houston this weekend couldn’t draw any more negative attention, it goes out and casually promotes a company selling a product [...]
29 Mar 2013
By Monica Torres When I sign my name, it’s Monica, not Mónica. When I order pupusas at my favorite restaurant, the waiter will give my accent an approving nod, as if to say, you’re one of us. But it will only take a harder question for me to reveal the [...]
18 Mar 2013
By Alexa Lambertis At an early age, I was exposed to a woman who essentially changed my life. A sweet lady with a southern background, she was introduced to me as a family friend. I met her in her own home, where we would spend a majority of our time [...]
By Lillie Anne Brown Ok, let me just start by acknowledging what I get: I get that Tyler Perry provides excellent employment opportunities for people of color at his Atlanta-based studio. I get that he is a spiritual person and understands from where his blessings come. I get that he says he doesn’t care what...
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By Bo Luengsuraswat One decade is a long time. Ten years. One-zero. It’s the beginning of the next digit. A transition. One decade is a vast space. Constantly shifting, warping into different shapes, rolling across landscapes. One decade is a great distance, yet unpredictably proximate. It will be one decade this fall. One decade...
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By Chaya Babu I was a few weeks into my freshman year at Duke when my sister, a senior at the time, said to me, “Indian girls who date black guys are sluts.” Just like that. We were sitting in her car in the circular driveway behind my dorm. The night was warm and...
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By Kelly Sharron and Abraham Weil Laura Briggs is the chair of the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies department at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. We had the opportunity to speak with her about her latest book, Somebody’s Children: The Politics of Transracial and Transnational Adoption, an interdisciplinary text that analyzes transracial and transnational adoption,...
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By Breea C. Willingham The 5 ½ hour drive to Hunlock Creek, PA is always filled with conflicting emotions. I’m excited about seeing my brother, but at the same time, I dread the visit because of the overwhelming guilt I feel when I leave. Visiting a loved one in prison never gets any easier,...
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By j.n. salters This letter is for my mother. Our mothers. Grandmothers. Aunts. Sisters. All of the other black women who continue to raise black and brown warriors in this battlefield we call America. Who constantly find ways to make ends meet–in a world that continually fails to acknowledge your worth and beauty–just to...
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By Anis Gisele “Did he hurt you, in a new way?” –Fear and Convenience, Thao Nguyen And you were finally free to call yourself gay. Fifteen years after your mother first asked you, in front of your extended family, in a red-decked Chinese restaurant, if you were a lesbian—and you said no. Four years...
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By Tanwi Nandini Islam When something happened. An allusion to something ominous from the distant past. I documented my rape thoroughly in my creative work, yet within the nucleus of my family, I’ve only felt I could openly name it to my sister. While my parents braved my teenaged vacillations between rage and impetuousness,...
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By Ynanna Djehuty I like to open with definitions. The usage of words and knowing the weight they hold is important to all discourse, regardless of whether we are conscious of their weight or not. For this piece, I want to define the key words in its title so I may offer the reader...
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As the lead attorney for Proposition 8 trotted out the standard Christian fascist “marriage is only for procreation” party line before the Supreme Court yesterday, I was reminded of a 2012 Los Angeles Times story about the changing demographics of California families. The article leads with an idyllic portrait of a white lesbian-headed family...
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19 Jun 2013
THE ANATOMY OF TRUST OR BREAKING _____ I. HEART The pulse shudders the body at such infinitesimal levels that many of us ignore its existence. Walk around carrying fists in the center of our chests, the bottom tipped somewhat rightward, sitting more-or-less directly below the sternum, squeezing each moment [...]
12 Jun 2013
Diana and the face of the moon another night you are . turning your face ………………….. i am already gone and you are throwing stones . Diana swearing never ….. swearing never …… swearing never ………………………………………… again just say what you are trying [...]
5 Jun 2013
By Kristy Webster The Bee Trap Some girls have eyes like invitations, and some girls wear glasses and scarves, walk with a whistle in their mouth, Some girls leave the window cracked open, they need more air always more than the breeze will bring and some people [...]
13 Jun 2013
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