The fault for this is not just the corporate suits that run the networks. The fault is in a society that privileges the words and talents of white males and gives them universal breadth. Vanity Fair is taking some social media heat for an article proclaiming that late night television is better than ever. While great […]
Serena is a tennis player. She is still arguably the greatest of all time. But for now, she is a great player who lost a match. By now, you’ve heard: Serena Williams will not make a calendar grand slam this year. Having lost to Italy’s Roberta Vinci in the U.S. Open women’s semi-final, Williams fell […]
We as men have been so inundated with the idea that all space is our space that we, often subconsciously, act as if that’s true—both in our body language and in more overt expressions. A few weeks ago, I was having a meeting with a friend at a coffee shop. It was hot out, I […]
My favorite fall pastime now just makes me sad. In the latest NFL off-season, four relatively young players decided to walk away from multi-million dollar contracts and instead retire from football. While only one of the players expressly cited trauma from concussions as a reason for quitting, the trend suggests that football players are becoming […]
How did this happen? What part of me had managed to hold onto the idea that my vagina made my writing more trivial? I’ve written poems off and on, mostly off, over the course of more than two decades, and I’ve published them in Ploughshares,The Antioch Review, and maybe 10 other respectable literary magazines. I work […]
Let’s see who we are and like what we see. Enough already. I love glossy women’s magazines. I’ve always loved clothes, and shoes, and beautiful objects beautifully shot. Of course, as a teenager growing up with an artificial leg, I never saw my body reflected in magazines like Sassy or Seventeen, but at the time […]
I want my sons to realize that racial relations in our country need healing. I want them to bear the responsibility and burden to help. Race relations in this country are broken. This simple fact, we all know, is black and white. I desperately want our nation to be reconciled. Honestly speaking, my power in […]
Maybe if the history of women’s oppression and denial of rights was taught as more than a few glorified sidebars, this wouldn’t be the case. It’s ok. Admit it. You really don’t care that much about gender and racial equality. Today, for example, is Women’s Equality Day, something, I imagine, maybe 1% of the country […]
