Emerging Writers
How Amy Fisher Taught Me To Embrace Being An Outsider
Growing up in Colombia, it was reading about "Long Island Lolita" Amy Fisher that made me realize the biggest scandal was the boredom of normality itself.
Alessa Dominguez
Vintage Gay Porn Taught Me To Name What (And Who) I Want
Smutty videos helped me name and claim my desires as a black gay man, in a world where only straight people’s sexuality comes with an owner’s manual.
Frederick McKindra
Don't Let Men Steal Your Favorite Songs
After years of trading music with boyfriends, I've finally reclaimed these songs for myself.
Nichole Perkins
My Mother And I Went Halfway Around The World To Find Each Other
When my mother started traveling alone after her divorce, I saw a new side of her — and it helped me understand myself.
Jennifer Hope Choi
How Santeria Brings Hope To The New Yorkers Who Need It Most
Cuban santero Rudy Guardiola has hundreds of "godchildren" in New York and around the US. Like the religion itself, many of its followers, including young people who were drawn to Santeria over trendier forms of spirituality, are in a constant struggle to survive. At Rudy’s botanica, they find safety, healing, and hope.
Chaya Babu
Why Do Funny Black Women Still Need To Be Trailblazers In 2016?
Black women have always been integral to comedy — from Moms Mabley to Whoopi – and have set the stage for stars like Leslie Jones, Jessica Williams, and Issa Rae. So why must black women in comedy still fight for recognition?
Tomi Obaro
“That’s How We Survive": When Police Brutality Turns Mothers Into Activists
Before the mothers of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, and Eric Garner took to the streets in protest, there was Iris Baez, a homemaker who became an activist after an NYPD officer killed her son Anthony in 1994.
Esther Wang
What "Girls" And "Broad City" Teach Us About Female Friendship
With the rise of #squads, complex relationships between twentysomething women are finally having a pop-culture moment.
Tomi Obaro
How Indie Filmmakers Are Fighting Bollywood's Rape Culture
Hindi cinema's obsession with chastity has long helped fuel sexual violence and victim-blaming in India. Independent film is finally changing that.
Chaya Babu
Moving Beyond "Crazy Rich Asians" In The Stories We Tell About China
In a time of rising Yellow Peril, it's never been more urgent for us to move away from stereotypes about China and its people in our literature.
Esther Wang
Black Trauma Remixed For Your Clicks
In viral videos, the real-life pain of black people is repurposed into fun, catchy songs for popular consumption. But at what cost?
Niela Orr
What Do Kendrick And Kanye Owe Women Listeners?
Until they deal with the sexism in their music, Kanye and Kendrick will never be as innovative as they think they are.
Tomi Obaro
To Love Your Sister Is To Grieve Your Twin
It’s impossible to explain what having a twin is like to someone who asks, but I am going to try.
Tomi Obaro
Two College Degrees Later, I Was Still Picking Kale For Rich People
While buying groceries for rich people, I realized upward mobility in America is largely a myth.
Niela Orr
Prepping For My First Marathon Meant Running Through India's Rape Culture
Training for a marathon changed my body, and changed my relationship with it, too. Just not in the way I expected.
Chaya Babu
