Arts & Culture
My Queer Chinese Comrades, in My Mother Tongue
Today tongzhi is seldom used in a political context, if ever: The Beijing LGBT center is called Beijing Comrade Center; 同志村, or comrade village, translates to gayborhood. So yeah, everyone knows what comrade really means—everyone except the president of China, apparently.
Imagining a Way Out of My Codependency
My codependency is always trying to convince me that it deserves to live. It asks me to keep the poison coming.
How Brazil’s Madame Satã Transformed His Life and Became an Icon
By day, he protected businesses from thieves and corrupt police. By night, he changed into sequined gowns to sing and dance in Rio de Janeiro’s cabarets.
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You Bet Your Life: ‘Death Bonds,’ the Investments That Want You Dead
When a new drug regime gave him a renewed lease of life, Morrison began to receive irate calls from the investor who’d bought over his insurance policies.
When Scandal Swallows a Book
Marjorie Hillis’s 1930s self-help bestseller, which celebrated women’s happiness, met a strange fate in England.
Why Do Our Faces Turn Bright Red at the Exact Moment We Wish We Could Disappear?
The paradox of blushing.
Eventually, I Had to Lead: On Learning the Dance (and Writing the Book) That Scared Me
Tango is not a thing that can be done halfway. Neither, I learned, is memoir. You’re either all in, or you’re dishonest.
Get Down to Work or God Help You: Reading Etty Hillesum
When Etty wrote to herself, I heard her speaking to me, and I took her words to heart.
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“Parrot Isn’t Hungry”: On Family, Food, Fasting, and Ramadan
This Eid will not be Eid until I’ve spent time crying and laughing, describing the aromas of foods that are not here.
