Articles
The women behind late-night punchlinesLate-night comedy can appear effortless: a microphone, a spotlight and a performer collecting laughs. Yet each polished set rests on scripts rewritten against…
Why the Good for Her Meme Overstates the Politics of Pop MusicThe Good for Her meme turns pop culture into a quick moral scoreboard. It celebrates an individual woman, then treats her win as proof of what women as a whole…
The fridging trope is still ruining action movies for womenA dead woman is often the first person an action hero goes looking for. She may be his wife, girlfriend or sister, and her death lets him ignore ordinary life…
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and the Rise of Revenge TropesThe 2011 David Fincher adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo arrived at a useful moment for adult action cinema. Lisbeth Salander, the tattooed Swedish…
When the lone white woman becomes a content brandThe problem with single white female revivals in the age of influencers begins when a familiar screen character returns as a lifestyle brand. The lone,…
When Slot Wins Are Really Losses In DisguiseSlot games are designed to make outcomes feel significant. A bright animation, a burst of sound, and a rising win counter can turn a small return into a moment…
Why The L Word: Generation Q still falls into old stereotypesTen years after The L Word ended, Generation Q returns to Los Angeles with better lighting, looser ethics and the same engine: queer women surrounded by…
The erasure of butch identity in lesbian mainstream mediaButch identity is a lived expression of gender and lesbian culture, not a synonym for every masculine-presenting woman. It can carry defiance, erotic style,…
Drag Race’s Debt to Black and Latinx Trans WomenWhen RuPaul’s Drag Race debuted in 2013, it turned drag vocabulary—reading, shade, serving and the final lip sync—into global entertainment. In Australia,…
Consent, comedy and power in The Sex Lives of College GirlsConsent in television is often reduced to a single dramatic question: did someone say yes? The Sex Lives of College Girls is more interested in everything…