On the cusp of a life-changing procedure, Jane Rideau Demuth makes peace with the paths that brought her here, and the obstacles she had to wrestle with along the way.
Essays & Criticism
The Erotic Thriller’s Little Death
What/If references the celebrated steamy genre of the 80s and 90s, but lacks its guts. Why can’t any of the new neo-noirs go all the way?
Confessions of a Lapsed Catholic Dancer
Kate Branca considers the body as an instrument of faith.
Shovel, Knife, Story, Ax
When you live with animals, you collect killing stories.
America Is Still Hard To Find
Kathleen Alcott’s latest novel is a dramatic reenactment of the ethical dilemmas posed in antiwar activist Father Daniel Berrigan’s ’60s manifesto.
An Audience of Athletes: The Rise and Fall of Feminist Sports
Billie Jean King once tried to find a sustainable business model for feminist sports coverage. Then women’s fitness tried to revive the swimsuit model.
Becoming Family
Jennifer Berney explores how queer families challenge traditional notions of heredity and paternity.
The Fraught Culture of Online Mourning
Nowadays, we live online, and so we grieve here too. But there are limits to the comfort digital mourning can provide.
The Psychiatrist in My Writing Class and His ‘Gift’ of Hate
Rani Neutill recalls a literary workshop in which a white man critiqued her ability to write in “proper” English.
‘Give It Up For My Sister’: Beyonce, Solange, and The History of Sibling Acts in Pop
Family dynasties are neither new nor newly influential in pop.
