Posts by author
Katie O’Brien
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Written in Ink
In a powerful essay at The Establishment, Evelyn Deshane discusses rejecting the medical narrative around transitioning, and how tattoos allowed them to reclaim their own body: When the physicality of my gender—that “place” that could be home—feels out of reach, tattoos…
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Anti-Blackness in Sci-Fi Publishing
Less than two percent of science fiction stories published in 2015 were by black writers. And a recent study found that black speculative fiction writers face “universal” racism—more damning evidence demonstrating the institutionalized racism in book publishing, and the importance of…
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Journalism’s Increasing Blind Spot
Barriers for entering journalism are only increasing; according to a report, journalism has “a greater degree of social exclusivity than any other profession”. The Guardian’s Harrison Jones argues that if newsrooms do not attempt to invest in remedying this issue,…
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Why Women Freelance More
More and more people are leaving the salaried workplace for the freelance economy. But it’s not necessarily by choice; at Bitch Magazine, Sarah Grey discusses how companies and labor policy push women in particular toward freelancing, and why the “lean…
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No Cure Necessary
At The Establishment, Mariah Ramsawakh discusses the damaging, unrealistic “miraculous cure” trope often found when the media portrays characters with disabilities: People with disabilities are tired of being lumped together as less than able-bodied folk, and being told they’ll only be the…
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Books on a Plane
A German airline has teamed up with the German book trade for a campaign called Buch an Bord (Book on Board) that allows each passenger to travel with an extra kg of weight just for books. Hear that, American airlines?
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Welcome to the World of Wakanda
Last week, the exciting news came out that Roxane Gay will be joining Ta-Nehisi Coates as a co-writer on the second Black Panther series, World of Wakanda. The New York Times looks at how the series will center women both on the…
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Flannel-Soaked Nostalgia
Is there any fabric more well-loved than flannel? At Vela Magazine, Sonya Huber discusses the significance wearing flannel had to her teenage self in the 1980s Midwest: Flannel hid the shape of a woman, yet it revealed as we pushed…
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Why We Love Witches
At The Establishment, Annie Theriault discusses the allure of witches and witchcraft for girls that has lingered since the 17th century, musing on how witches both subvert and uphold gender roles: Beneath all that glossy packaging hums the same idea…
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The Privilege of Innocence
In a powerful essay at Electric Literature, Nicole Dennis-Benn writes on innocence as a privilege that is not afforded to black children: Truth is, there is nothing parents can do. There is nothing black parents can do to protect their…
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Antigua through the Eyes of Jamaica Kincaid
Antiguan-American novelist Jamaica Kincaid has often made the island a centerpiece of her writing. New York Times travel editor Monica Drake recounts visiting Antigua alongside Kincaid’s words—an alternative to the dominant, colonialist narrative around the island: The tension that we’d…
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Roxane Gay on Resisting Numbness
There is a new name to add to this list—Alton B. Sterling, 37, killed by police officers in Baton Rouge, La. It is a bitter reality that there will always be a new name to that list. Black lives matter,…