Dear Hannah Gadsby, thank you for Nanette

Dear Hannah Gadsby, Thank you. Thank you first and foremost for existing. Thank you for existing in the margins. Thank you for your jokes, your “lesbianing,” your non-binary gender in a binary world, for being a “quiet gay” who likes the sound a teacup makes on a saucer, your art history degree, for hating baby…

Now what: on the Orlando shooting and privilege

The first thing my husband said to me Sunday morning was, “Have you seen the news?” The look on his face told me it would be bad. Because my job requires me to have a near-constant connection to social media, I usually allow myself to unplug on Sundays. It’s my feeble attempt at work/life balance…

From BernieBros to TrumpBots, the 2016 election season is about Privilege Panic

If there is one uniting theme in the 2016 presidential campaign season it is the rise of Privilege Panic. Again and again, across parties and at venues all over the country, we see a deep well of anger exploding with the landing of fists and the hurling of chairs (and death threats). From BernieBros to…

From #CuffCosby to Dennis Hastert, Larry Wilmore is the late night comedian who has our backs

When it comes to comedy, it’s rare that survivors of sexual violence aren’t served up as the punch line. Even otherwise smart, feminist comedians get tripped up with how to crucify the ones who deserve it – the rapists – without stumbling into the low-hanging fruit of blaming the victims. (It’s actually not that hard…

[TW] Why ‘safe spaces’ and ‘trigger warnings’ are progress, not fascism

[Trigger Warning] Dear Steve Sebelius, I was disheartened to see your opinion piece, titled Beware of the ‘safe space’ movement. In the decade we’ve known each other, I have seen your usually unfailing support for the oppressed. Despite your occasionally borderline sense-of-humor and brash public persona, I know you to be kind and (probably hard…

Why you should be happy about the Veronica Mars movie, even if you don’t like Veronica Mars

Unless you’ve been living in a far-flung locale off the grid, it would be hard to miss the hullabaloo about the Veronica Mars movie, which debuted in limited release and video-on-demand on March 14. Whether you’re on Team Reboot or Team I-DON’T-CARE-PLEASE-SHUT-UP-ALREADY, there is no denying that the record-breaking fan-funding that breathed life back into…