culture
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Don’t Blame Your Hysterectomy if He’s Not Happy
I am a 44-year-old married mother of three. A year ago, my doctor advised me to have a hysterectomy. My research and a second opinion proved him correct. I had the surgery but kept my cervix and ovaries. Since then, my husband complains that sex is not the same. He hints that I am not…
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How #YallQaeda Is Nothing but a Big Bucket of Highly Armed White Tears, Explained
Who is this #YallQaeda you’re talking about? On Saturday, a group of anti-government militiamen—armed to the teeth and ready to fight to the death—took over the federal Malheur Wildlife Refuge after a protest in Harney County, Ore. They were apparently upset because two ranchers—Dwight Hammond Jr. and his son, Steven—had been convicted of arson. The…
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Your Confusing Relationship With Cliff Huxtable Doesn’t Justify Victim-Blaming
When I was 11 years old, I sat on a witness stand and was interrogated for the crimes of my father. I had reported his sexual abuse to my mom when I was an innocent 10-year-old, woefully unaware of how the turn of events would play out. I understood nothing when his guilty sentence was…
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Seeking Justice: 6 High-Profile Cases to Watch This Year
Thanks to the efforts of the Black Lives Matter movement and a seemingly never-ending stream of disturbing videos, police brutality was one of the biggest news stories of 2015. A Washington Post investigation found that last year, at least 980 people were shot and killed by police. One in 10 was unarmed, and a disproportionate…
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Waist Training Is More Like a Waste of Time
If a new hourglass figure is one of your New Year’s resolutions, Kim Kardashian and many other celebs may have you thinking that whittling your middle is a cinch. However, waist shapers, appropriately named, are actually a waste of time. So don’t believe everything on your social media feed as you prepare to shape up…
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Kanye West Drops Surprise New Year’s Eve Track Dissing Bill Cosby
Kanye West, never one to shy away from controversy, dropped a new single on the last day of 2015, getting all up in Bill Cosby’s, Nike’s and Drake’s pudding. West, the father of 2-year-old North West, took it to the Coz on “Facts,” a track that has been burning up social media since Friday, when…
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When White Girls Get Black Dolls for Christmas, Watch a Cycle of Bias Begin
Tamir Rice’s tragic death has exposed painful assumptions that seem hard-wired into the (white) American psyche about black children. The video sequence of Tamir’s killing has been read in a variety of ways. About what could be seen in the video, a Cleveland prosecutor said, “Tamir was big for his age—5 foot 7 and 175 pounds,…
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Natalie Cole Dead at Age 65
Natalie Cole, the singer who followed in the foosteps of her famous father, Nat King Cole, passed away Thursday in Los Angeles at the age of 65. The official cause of death, according to TMZ, was congestive heart failure, but the website reports that she had underlying issues of complications from a kidney transplant. Cole…
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As Someone Raised on Bill Cosby, I Feel No Joy in Writing About His Alleged Crimes
My parents forced me to have a crush on Rudy Huxtable. Now, I realize how that might read. I can imagine people picturing a dictatorial and deranged mother and father tying an 8-year-old me to a chair when The Cosby Show came on and forcing me to chant, “I will crush on Rudy Huxtable” while…
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Motherhood Resolutions for 2016
I have five resolutions for how to be a better parent to Emmy in the new year. Let’s go. 5. Be careful of the snap-back. I don’t necessarily lose my temper with Emmy. Wait. That’s a lie. I do often lose my temper with Emmy. Because her sister is 10 years older, Emmy functions as…