From the Mixed-Up History of Mrs., Miss, and Ms.
Language can reveal power dynamics, as in the terms of address, or honorifics, are used to refer to a woman's social status: Mrs., Miss, and Ms.
The Dangers of Gone With The Wind’s Romantic Vision of the Old South
In October 1944, as the Third Reich began to collapse, a Nazi propaganda organ praised the novel, finding parallels with its Aryan desires.
The Popular, Lucrative, and Legally Questionable Fossil Trade
Middlemen sell fossils to the highest bidder, whether it’s a museum or a wealthy collector who wants their own stegosaurus.
What Lady Gaga Teaches us about Pain and Gender
What does GAGA: Five Foot Two teach us about pain? The documentary challenges viewers to consider how female pain is often perceived or diminished.
Ralph Ellison on Race
Ralph Ellison believed fiercely in the American project and in the centrality of black people to it.
The Marketable Misogyny of James Bond
The attitudes reflected in the James Bond franchise are wildly out of touch with social reality.
7 Pieces of Expert Writing Advice
Great fiction-writing advice and commiseration from novelists that we dug out of the JSTOR vaults for you procrastinating, er, research pleasure.
The Man Whose Snowy Day Helped Diversify Children’s Books
Ezra Jack Keats's 1962 book The Snowy Day featured an African-American protagonist, a first for a full-color children’s book.
The Sad Story of A. A. Milne and the Real-Life Christopher Robin
The film Goodbye, Christopher Robin tells the story of how A. A. Milne’s popular children’s stories damaged his son, the real-life Christopher Robin.
When Ward Cleaver Caused Social Anxiety
In the early 1960s, an Illinois Children and Family Services worker tried to figure out how TV dads were impacting contemporary American fathers.