If there were no visible scars, no witnesses, couldn’t I just leave it behind? Content warning: rape It happened 14 years ago, five years before my husband and I met, far away from where we live and I’m no longer in touch with anyone from that time period. Most of my friends, ex-boyfriends, and family members […]
I cannot give myself over to a cycle of inadequacy and shame. So, what can I do? If you receive news from as many sources as I do — New York Times, Washington Post, Facebook, Twitter, that gun control group I joined four years ago, the Islamic Cultural Center I once donated to, the Southern Poverty […]
Just as my family desperately needed an adult to shepherd it through our tough times, this country needs civil servants who are willing to set aside avarice, partisanship, and ambition to take control in Washington. When I was a child, I cared for — and mostly raised — my younger siblings. My father was often […]
Just like dusting vampires one at a time will never rid the world of evil, we’re not going to take down rape culture by throwing individual rapists through plate glass windows. Buffy the Vampire Slayer premiered twenty years ago last Friday. If that makes you feel old, you’re not alone. I’m approaching 30, and that […]
G.I. Joe is as much of a doll as Barbie. But gendered marketing tells children that action figures and dolls are somehow different. Logan Everett, the first boy doll to be produced by the American Girl brand, made his public debut in February. Parents eager to raise girls and boys who will consider themselves each […]
What happens when the citizens of one nation inhabit two opposing realities? I went through a pretty substantial identity crisis when I left teaching. Six months into my new full-time job, I had health insurance, sick leave, and an apartment where I was proud to host parties. But, without my students there to greet me […]
I map days around places where I can safely pee. The reality is, where I live, there just aren’t that many. “My name is Justin.” I used to practice saying that in front of my bedroom mirror when I was in second grade. I would put my long, curly brown locks up in a baseball […]
If my dad hates liberals and feminists, he hates me. If he hates Muslims and unauthorized immigrants, he hates the people that I love. “You can’t cut people out of your life if their politics don’t align with yours,” my therapist told me. We were sitting in her office a few days after the election […]
