Flashback in a Film Reel
A Review of Taylor Swift's album folklore
by Natalie Marshall ‘21 and Sage Wentzell-Brehme ‘21
On July 23rd (although who really knew what a date was by that point in quarantine), we woke up to a frantic text in a group chat: “Y’ALL, CHECK INSTA, THERE IS URGENT NEWS.” This is how we learned that Taylor Swift was releasing a new album the next day.
Read MoreMy Lime Jell-O Marshmallow Cottage Cheese Surprise
by Eleanor Nash ‘21
“Jell-O salad is one thing I know!” exclaimed my mom. Growing up in eastern Kansas in the 1960s and ’70s, she was on the receiving end of many Jell-O-based culinary experiments. Since their invention, Jell-O salads have evolved from show-stopping dishes at dinner parties and potlucks to quaint regional concoctions, a chronology that obscures both the marketing influence of the Jell-O Company and the creativity of everyday women.
Read MoreTaglish.
by Samantha Elalto Cuneta ‘21
Language forms the basis of a culture, and Taglish, a combination of Tagalog and English, is a daily norm in the Philippines. Yet the concept of synonyms is almost nonexistent. “Nakakatuwa” translates into “funny” in English, and is interchangeable with “humorous” or “witty.” In my country, the word is almost never used in these contexts. To translate “nakakatuwa” from its native form—to strip it of connotations built up through three centuries of colonization—would dissolve the culture that invented this word and prevent its people from adopting a permanent culture of indignation.
Read MoreA Tribute to "Wild Geese"
by Emma Sullivan ‘24
CW: sexual assault
After I read Mary Oliver’s Wild Geese at the onset of quarantine, I thought, Yes, I just need to let my body “love what it loves.” I’d always brushed off the jokes about liking girls from the boys at my lunch table, or once from my father at Thanksgiving dinner. While I dodged the thought, I compiled a Straight-Girl-History for myself as refuting evidence. Now that I was in forced meditation, I had to address that, Yes, boys were fine, I guess. But girls made my breath hitch. I thought maybe, this is the thing I love and need to let myself love.
Read MoreJust Girly Things, But Kombucha
by Christina Lin ‘21
The connection between kombucha and Christine de Pizan’s The Book of the City of Ladies isn’t immediately obvious: how can a jar of sour tea possibly be philosophical? The baseline of comparison is its structure—the starter tea is Lady Justice, the pellicle is Lady Reason, and the yeast is Lady Rectitude. Pizan’s descriptions of the nature of women parallels conceptions we have of kombucha, but it may allow us greater insight into the nature of the inherently variable.
Read MoreWomansplaining Mansplaining
by Vanessa Ntungwanayo ‘21
I think this is what makes mansplaining such an insidious phenomenon. To partake in it is to have the privilege of knowing that should you be wrong or appear abrasive, you have nothing to lose.
Read MoreAre We Overreacting?
A Response to Anne Helen Petersen’s Too Fat, Too Slutty, Too Loud
by Lia James ‘21
CW: discussion of a racial slur
One may argue whether including the word in the written version of the book is crossing a line. Regardless, hearing the word in her own voice moved something in me. In not censoring herself in the audiobook, Petersen has normalized it. She has okayed it. She has set a precedent.
Read More"Gamer Girls": A Concept
by Cheryn Shin ‘20
Those of you who know me know that I play a lot of games, especially League of Legends. For a long time, gaming was—and still is—considered a male-dominated activity.
Read MoreNo Cultures Left to Appropriate
by Caitlyn Chung ‘20 and Midori Yang ‘19
Ariana Grande’s Japanese tattoo has recently gained international attention, but not for positive reasons. The hand tattoo, inspired by her music video titled “7 Rings,” was supposed to be a translation of the song’s title in Japanese. The full Japanese translation is “七つの指輪,” as shown repeatedly in the music video and in promo materials for the song. However, when Ariana got the tattoo, she shortened the phrase to ”七輪” due to the pain of getting the tattoo. Unfortunately, the phrase no longer translates to “seven rings,” but instead, an idiom that means “small Japanese charcoal grill.”
Read MoreCharacters from The London Players’ "Hamlet" Ranked by Queer Energy
by Addie Pates '19
Did you miss The Actors from the London Stage’s production of Hamlet last month? Not to worry; I’ve got the recap you need.
Read MoreMy Ice Cold Mermaid Sex Summer
by Samantha English '19
Content warning: mention of suicide attempt
Look, I didn’t set out to read a bunch of vaguely pornographic feminist retellings of fairy tales this summer. It just kind of happened.
Read MoreAn Open Letter to Chidi Anagonye
By Francesca Gazzolo '20
WARNING: Spoilers for The Good Place.
In all my time on this good green Earth, I have never found someone like you. My two decades of media consumption have led me to Hermione Grangers, Scout Finches, Jane Eyres, Kurt Hummels, Willow Rosenbergs, Ygrittes, Eowyns, Ben Wyatts, and Pam Beeslys—a vast array of colorful characters who are wonderfully and lovingly crafted, like me in some ways and so very different in others. But you, Chidi, are something else.
Read MoreVirginia's Curse
By Samantha English '19
Don’t—no matter what anyone tells you—go to St. Ives in a snowstorm.
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