Of Blackness and “Beauty”
At an art exhibit exploring black models through Western art, Morgan Jerkins finds historical evidence of the white supremacist definitions of beauty Dr. Tressie McMillan Cottom identifies in Thick: and Other Essays.
At Risk, at Home and Abroad
As Joy Notoma grapples with uterine fibroids, harmful biases in the medical establishment, and a move from Brooklyn to West Africa she wonders where, as a black woman, she can find safety.
Blackstars
A personal essay in which Michael Gonzales reflects on the deaths of a dear friend, and a bookworm he idolized: David Bowie.
In My Own Voice, Redefining Success and Failure
In this personal essay, Lauren DePino looks back at her ambitions as a singer, and re-evaluates the rejections she once allowed to define her.
Cowards and Accomplices
A personal essay in which, in light of her own family’s experience during the Holocaust, Judith Hertog considers her ethical responsibilities in today’s world.
A Woman’s Work: The Outside Story
In the latest installment in her illustrated series, Carolita Johnson catalogues her efforts to maintain her appearance from about 1970 to 2018.
Swipe White
In this personal essay, Jennifer Chong Schneider considers what it is to be Asian, maligned, and fetishized in dating — and questions her own desire when she dates someone of her own ethnicity for the first time.
A Portrait of the Mother as a Young Girl
In this personal essay from our Fine Lines series, Marlene Adelstein finds herself transported back in time and consciousness via an inherited painting.
Jack, Jacqueline — Dad
A personal essay in which Yvonne Conza wrestles with the complexities of estrangement from her dying — complicated — dad.
Losing the Plot
A personal essay from our Fine Lines series in which Sari Botton finds that not planning for death is, well, killing her.
