Columns
Kamala Khan, Ms. Marvel, and Me
I’m still drawn to stories about teenage girls’ lives, real or fantastical, and a part of it is trying to glimpse a world I never fully got to walk in.
We Are All Still Children
A lot of my fears have been made real by the last year. And somehow, some way, I have returned to an insatiable appetite for things that scare me.
How My Grandma Reclaimed Her Femininity and I Shed Mine
While I am shedding my femme clothes, I’m reminded of how my grandmother reclaimed her femininity, stolen from her by the Nazis, with a new dress.
My Call Center Job’s No-Uniform Policy Was a Dream, But for Who?
Though the person in the skirt and I weren’t the same, when I saw them, I felt something I never had before at work: like I could be totally, completely myself.
Dear H.O.T., I’ll Love You Forever
My obsession with the group was the first step I took away from the life prescribed to me as the Korean American daughter of devout Christian parents.
The American Road Song Is Changing with the Climate
It’s not just a single driver who’s lost direction and seeks a new destination—it’s an entire population.
Tragic Gentrification Mulatto
I occupy an unusual space: Black enough to be terrified of the police, but white enough to not get pulled over for driving while Black.
Why Is There No Place for Serious Mental Illness in Anti-Stigma Campaigns?
In listings for old pottery that was not intended to be crazed, sellers will disclose what they see as damage: ‘Some crazing.’ Sometimes that’s how I feel. Some crazing.
‘Bridgerton’ Is a Gilded Failure of Imagination
Whiteness, not a fantasy, is what grants the Black English aristocracy its legitimacy in this fictional world.
I Traded My Image for Money, Now I Want It Back
The largest archive of footage of myself, ages twenty-three to thirty-years-old, never belonged to me but is owned by brands.
