Arts & Culture
New York, I Love You—But Are You Bringing Me Down?
What parts of me are still fed by my New York environment? Are other parts of me getting hungrier? For more, or for something else entirely?
My Kwik Trip Gas Station Has Always Been There for Me
I want to preserve this old gas station because it feels like preserving myself.
Nigerian Food Is Evolving In America—So Am I
Whether one calls it “adaptation” or “assimilation” is a matter of one’s personal politics. But I—like the food I love—am undoubtedly changing.
An Ode to Kraft Dinner, Food of Troubled Times
While the world has continued to change, Kraft’s product has remained the same, somehow evading inflation at one or two dollars per box.
Is HBO’s “The Last of Us” Anything Like the Games?
For all of its commitment to diverse representation, the game was fundamentally another apocalypse story about the reproduction of white patriarchal violence.
Untangling the Horrors of Being Parented Resentfully
In the ‘Beloved,’ ‘The Baby,’ and ‘Barbarian,’ Black women grapple with vengeful mothers and children. In my life, I’ve broken that cycle.
What Is “Skin-First” Beauty Actually Selling?
Rebranding beauty rituals as self-acceptance does nothing to remove the obligation that says we must aspire to be beautiful.
Learning to Take Risks Like the Queer Pirates in ‘Our Flag Means Death’
Love and connection require emotional risk. After the harrowing nature of the last three years, I needed ‘Our Flag Means Death’ to remind me.
What “The Mindy Project” Did (and Didn’t Do) for Brown Girls on TV
The critiques Mindy Kaling received shaped the representation we see on-screen today as much as her successes did.
Prince Taught Me a Whole New Love Language
“Sign o’ the Times” is candy for a cute little he/they like me.