Category Archive

Pop Culture

Harry Potter gifts to compensate for not getting your owl AGAIN this year

It can be challenging to find the right gifts for your family. But if they’re Potterphiles? Then it gets super-duper easy. We may all be Muggles sitting around at our day jobs, but at night, yer a wizard, ‘arry. I’m a what?

Let’s shop for baby mandrakes, Cars Against Potter, Hogwarts travel posters, “Boo, you whorecrux” mugs, and all things Potter….

The Force is strong with these party food ideas for your Last Jedi party

The Force is strong with these party food ideas for your Last Jedi party

Join me on the Dark Side to nosh on these Last Jedi party recipes for the premiere THIS WEEK! We’ll finally be released from our carbonite to see the next movie in the reboot franchise, The Last Jedi. Are you excited, young padawans?! I am, both for the movie and for this roundup of geektastic Star Wars recipes.

Let’s start planning the shopping list for all kinds of junk (and maybe not-so-junky) food to make a bunch of nerdy Star Wars recipes like Leia buns, blue milkshakes, and Wookiee cookies…

The best breakup movies to sooth your broken heart

The best breakup movies to soothe your broken heart (or stoke your rage)

When you’re reeling from a recent breakup, sometimes you just need some quality time with your favorite (or new-to-you!) breakup movies. You can feel all the feels with a sad romance, get empowered to find your fresh start, or get your rage on with a good revenge fantasy. Whatever your aim, there’s a movie to quench the thirst.

Grab some gelato and peruse our huge list of movies to soothe your poor hurt heart…

From rape-y to spacey: The evolution of sex scenes in Blade Runner

Consensual robo sex? The evolution of sex scenes in Blade Runner

In Blade Runner 2049, there’s a spacey three-way between humans and replicants that was fascinating and compelling. We could debate the finer points of whether or not replicants can actually consent, but I’m going to instead compare it to its predecessor, the original Blade Runner from 1982. There was one particular scene that still sticks with me as highly controversial…

Aromanticism: What if romantic love goes extinct?

A musician I adore named Moses Sumney has a new album called Aromanticism. It’s an exploration of our cultural fixation on romantic love, something that Moses says he’s never experienced.

I’m reminded of this article: Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation? And all the news about how teens aren’t having as much sex.

And then I think about this old post I wrote about how my grandchildren will shock me

Sansa is a strong character

High-key femininity isn’t weakness and here’s why Sansa proves it

Why is Sansa Stark presumed weak because she is high-key feminine? And what the hell make a female character “strong” anyway? Let’s lay out Sansa’s more powerful turns and see if a dress-wearing, high-key feminine character (even in a fictional Medieval-style universe) can overcome her gender spectrum stigma. Femininity doesn’t undercut feminism, and here’s why Sansa proves it…

Want something better than 13 Reasons Why? Here's the show that wins in portraying mental illness

Want something better than 13 Reasons Why? Here’s the show that wins in portraying mental illness

13 Reasons Why was problematic when it came to dramatizing suicidal ideation and execution — in all it’s heavy and highly dramatized detail. I want to call out an alternative. A really good alternative and one you may have missed if you’re outside of the U.K. Here’s why My Mad Fat Diary is a much better portrayal of mental illness and suicide…

Why are female politicians STILL getting looks-shamed?

Why are female politicians STILL getting looks-shamed?

When Hillary Clinton was running for president, there was a troubling amount of talk about her “stamina” and her “look.” Now Theresa May was called out for looking “heavily made up, as if she’s been crying.” So what’s the deal — why are we still having to dodge distraction headlines about the looks of female politicians?