Monopolizing Young Minds: The Politics Behind Hasbro’s Monopoly

Written By Leslie Carmelotes Edited By Carmen Faria As a child, my parents encouraged me to play the board game Monopoly by Hasbro, believing it was a game that would make me smarter. While it didn’t appeal to me back then, I’ve recently begun playing Monopoly with my partner, and realized how much the game embodies the American Dream and its capitalistic ideals. This further … Continue reading Monopolizing Young Minds: The Politics Behind Hasbro’s Monopoly

Decolonizing Desire: The Kamasutra and Its Mistranslations

Written By Giselle Gulik Edited By Carly Rabie You might’ve heard of the Kamasutra as a series of elaborate and near-impossible sex positions that will fill you and your partner with pleasure. However, this is not what the original author, Vatsayana, intended for the text. The original Sanskrit text, believed to be written around 3 C.E., explores not only sex but also lifestyles, class, power, … Continue reading Decolonizing Desire: The Kamasutra and Its Mistranslations

The Commodification and Crucifixion of Megan Fox: Sex Symbol or Tortured Lonely Soul

Written By Sam Rabie Edited By Carly Rabie The Artifice of Megan Fox Megan Fox: a “screensaver on a teenage boy’s laptop,” a “middle-aged lawyer’s shower fantasy,” a “sexual prop used to sell movies” (Cooper, 41:03). These crude descriptions, pulled from her interview on Call Her Daddy, encapsulate how the media has framed the famous actress not as a person with passions, interests, quirks, and … Continue reading The Commodification and Crucifixion of Megan Fox: Sex Symbol or Tortured Lonely Soul

10 Essential Films Directed by Black Women 

Written By Sean Martin Edited By Colin Parker Griffiths The first Nickelodeon theatre in the United States was established in 1905: forty years after the (official) abolition of chattel enslavement (1865), thirty-five years after (a limited number of) Black men were granted suffrage (1870), and fifteen years after women’s suffrage was officialized (1920). This also occurred sixty years before the Jim Crow period would end, … Continue reading 10 Essential Films Directed by Black Women 

Black Women’s Contributions to South Africa’s Anti-Apartheid Movement

Written By Shoshana Iny Edited By Anya Labelle For some individuals, getting involved in a revolutionary movement is as simple as raising a hand. Historically, this has not been the case for Black women. Although men have frequently assumed front-facing leadership roles in Black civil rights movements, women have also sought opportunities to resist oppressive regimes (Irons, 1998). Despite scholarly literature frequently overlooking Black women’s … Continue reading Black Women’s Contributions to South Africa’s Anti-Apartheid Movement

“Society is in Bed With You,” The Politics of Desire

Written By Sam Rabie Edited By Carmen Faria Trigger warning: sexual violence A group of friends is chatting; they talk about school, that annoying prof, plans for the upcoming weekend, and of course, their prospects. One of them leans in and points toward the neighboring table. “What do you think of that guy? I see him all the time at the gym,” she whispers. The … Continue reading “Society is in Bed With You,” The Politics of Desire

“To be a woman is to perform.” – Simone de Beauvoir

Written By Azyadée Bleicher Edited By Hannah MacDonald To be a woman is to perform…to be a woman is to perform… to be a woman is to perform. This sentence has plagued my mind: seven words that resonate so profoundly and so clearly illustrate what women are confronted with by simply existing in our society. Women perform in all senses of the word—even performing within … Continue reading “To be a woman is to perform.” – Simone de Beauvoir

Queerness, Femininity, and Monstrosity: How Jennifer’s Body (2009) Reimagines Revenge Using the Abject and the Power of Camp Horror

Written By Emma Lowry Edited By Hannah MacDonald A memorable scene from the film Jennifer’s Body (2009), directed by Karyn Kusama, shows Jennifer caught in her best friend Needy’s kitchen, vomiting up a tar-like substance after she couldn’t keep down a rotisserie chicken; Jennifer is drenched in the blood of the boy she cannibalized, dripping from her fangs down to her white puffer jacket, mini … Continue reading Queerness, Femininity, and Monstrosity: How Jennifer’s Body (2009) Reimagines Revenge Using the Abject and the Power of Camp Horror

Historical and Theoretical Exploration of the Corset: Transcending its Confines Through Modern Interpretation

Written By Sasha Lootvoet Edited By Julia Winterhalder Elizabeth I and Catherine de Medici trailblazed, while Madonna, Rihanna and Kim Kardashian followed; each of these women are important figures who contributed to the establishment of corsets as a long-lasting trend in women’s fashion. This garment made either of metal, whalebone, or plastic, functions as a true reflection of beauty standards for women across different geotemporal … Continue reading Historical and Theoretical Exploration of the Corset: Transcending its Confines Through Modern Interpretation

The Education Plummet: A Catalyst for Rights Violations Amongst Sudan’s Young Women

Written By Shoshana Iny Edited By Elisabeth Ferris Trigger warning: sexual violence Sudanese women are disproportionately impacted by the ongoing civil war in their country. Prior to the current civil war, gender inequalities were already rampant in Sudanese society, with the country being “shaped by entrenched patriarchal cultural norms that promote[d] male dominance and female subordination” (UN Women, 2024, p. 3). However, since the onset … Continue reading The Education Plummet: A Catalyst for Rights Violations Amongst Sudan’s Young Women