How Jack the Ripper Became a Legend
In 1880s London, an anti-prostitution campaign, anti-immigration feelings, and a deep class divide set the scene for the Jack the Ripper media frenzy.
Homophobia in Women’s Sports
Ever since women began to publicly play sports in the late nineteenth century, female athletes have been seen as threats and subjected to suspicion.
The Political Provocations of Asexuality
As more people begin to identify themselves as asexual, their presence is revealing the limits to certain kinds of feminist politics.
Fifty Shades of Affective Labor for Capital
Fifty Shades of Grey sells an absurd fantasy version of a romantic relationship—as between man and woman, so between capitalism and female workers.
Super Mario, Homer’s Odyssey, and the Meaning of Marriage
Nintendo's Mario and Homer's Odysseus have more in common than you might think.
Bonnie Nardi
Welcome to Ask a Professor, our series that offers an insider’s view of life in academia. This month we interviewed Bonnie Nardi.
What Star Trek: Discovery Can Tell Us About Tech and Social Progress
What makes Star Trek essential for any contemporary tech user is its role in helping us understand our relationship to technology.
Synthetic Fabrics Inspired a Cultural Revolution
The advent of synthetic fabrics played a surprising role in bringing women into the workforce, as Mercury 13 trainee Geraldine Sloan’s story illustrates.
The Pioneers in the Fight against Sexual Harassment
Some of the first precedent-setting sexual harassment cases were filed by women who were African-American, working class, or both
“Give Us Bread!”
In 1917, a food riot erupted in Brooklyn over the prices of staples. These forms of protest, sadly, are not quite yet ready for the dustbin of history.