As a publication that prides itself on the broad spectrum of identifies and voices we represent. We thought it time to emulate that across the board. So, come February we will be launching our new newsletter!
Every month we will be spotlighting one person to take over our newsletter for 3 weeks! We are looking for writers, artists and photographers who would like to have their work featured! The content you put out will be entirely up to you!
Perhaps you want to educate us on African Spirituality or life as an Asian American in these current times. Do you want to show us a series of artwork with a coherent theme or, perhaps, critically analyse Bridgerton? …
America loves a binary. Black or white, rich or poor, fight or flight, DC or Marvel. We even envision America itself as a binary. A quick Google search reveals hundreds of Op-eds and think-pieces on “the two Americas” — articles that simplify what’s happening in our country to fit the us-versus-them, single-issue narrative we’ve been using since 1776.
Psychologically speaking, binary thinking does serve a purpose. It helps our brains make decisions in stressful or scary situations. It makes us feel safer and more comfortable in times of uncertainty. …
It seemed so innocent.
Latif, my Brown-skinned 12th grader, casually commented one day during dinner that a classmate had changed his screen name in their Google classroom over the holiday break.
Always one for a laugh, Latif smiled and chuckled a bit then said “Golliwogg.” He continued: “Remember all those books we read about Golliwogg when we were little?”
Thinking back to our homeschooling years, of course I remembered Florence Upton’s children’s books starring the black doll, Golliwogg, and his adventures with two white Dutch dolls.
When my granddaughter came out, I was surprised that as a gay man I felt sad.
Things are different now. What a joy it is to see her fall in love the first time.
Had I wanted her to resign as a sexual being? Never to experience the intimacy of another’s body? Heart? Soul? Of course not.
It wasn’t about her. I grieved my expectations for her life.
I thought, “I want to protect you from the pain I have experienced.” But the truth is, I was more concerned about my pain than hers.
She recently wrote to me, “Grandpa, You talk about things people can’t talk about.” …
I went for a walk this morning as it was a cold, but rather calm sunny day. After being cooped up for a long-time due to the pandemic I knew I needed to take advantage of the good weather because it’s still winter in the Northeast, and it won’t start warming for months.
As I progress I notice my shadow. Instantly my mind takes me to one of the dark places in the deep recesses of consciousness. Watching my shadow walk, my mind wonders if I am being perceived as a female or male as I stride. Along with that follows the usual parade of gender related questions like Am I standing correctly? Or, do I swing my arms in the right way? …
“It is a disgrace to grow old through sheer carelessness before seeing what manner of man you may become by developing your bodily strength and beauty to their highest limit.” — Socrates
Various beliefs and cultural upbringings inform gender norms, but across the board, our views of the ‘ideal’ man share some provocative commonalities:
a broad-shouldered, three-legged specimen, with intelligence for days and an obnoxious sense of self.
“Oh, it’s like he’s been sculpted by the Greeks…” and exactly that he was.
Greco-Roman antiquity birthed not only the ability to measure, calculate, and critique man-made invention, but also man himself.
The male form would (and must) only conform to one desired image: poised, strong, and proud. But why did the belief originate that in order to be manly, men must be unbelievably muscular? …
I will admit that familial relationships are often the most complicated social entanglements that people have. For a myriad of safety, mental health, and logistical reasons, people aren’t often willing to fully disengage with their racist relatives.
Romantic relationships, on the other hand, have no such excuses. Romantic partners are the result of nothing more than personal choice, and a lot of Good People™ are choosing wrong.
Someone once told me that on a first-date they learned that the person they were with was explicitly racist, avidly anti-immigrant, and believed that people with disabilities shouldn’t be allowed to have children. Somehow, none of this ended the date prematurely. …
I recently had the honor of interviewing Elizabeth “Lizzy” Talbot, an intimacy coordinator and intimacy director for both film and stage, respectively. Her latest project, Bridgerton, has taken the world by storm and is projected to become the 5th most-watched Netflix original series. Bridgerton’s highly talked about sex scenes have been on everyone’s mind, but the relatively new role of intimacy coordinator is still largely unknown outside of the industry.
Below is our conversation about her role, challenges, and triumphs.
What I noticed when working with fight work is that there are so many protocols, rules, and technicalities about what you can do with fights. It’s all quite formulaic. Whereas when you’re working with intimacy, it’s quite different because there weren’t really any rules. It was kind of like a free for all. And you were often resting on the good graces of your partner. That was your safety net. …
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel is credited with the saying: “What experience and history teaches us is that people and governments have never learned anything from history, or acted on principles deduced from it.” Watching recent events in the US while living in an emerging democracy on the African continent, one has had no choice but to hope that this is both true and not true at the same time.
For months after losing the election to his challenger former Vice-President Joseph R. Biden, Donald J. Trump not only refused to acknowledge his loss, but went to great lengths to allege that there were widespread voting irregularities that had resulted in him losing an election that he had in fact won. Mr Trump said the election had been “stolen” from him. He issued statements and released videos stating exactly where and when the election was stolen. …
In recent days (okay, months) I felt compelled to keep up with developments in the last days of Trumpism. I watched from afar, an incredulous Brit who could not believe the daily dramas of democracy and overt gaslighting that were playing out across the Atlantic.
I genuinely find it disturbing. It seems impossible to contemplate that such events could ever be witnessed here in the UK, just as I’m sure the average American wouldn’t have believed it could happen there.
But happen, it did.
In trying to make sense of things it occurred to me recently that the closing days of the Trump administration must have felt much the same for America as I felt a few years back — weathering the dying throes of a horribly volatile and toxic relationship as it ended and she finally moved out. …