Laurie and Debbie say: Roman Vishniac’s photography of pre-World War II Jewish life in Eastern Europe has stood for over fifty years as primary documents of a way of life destroyed by the Nazis. His photographs of Orthodox Jews in traditional dress, often in extreme poverty, were frequently displayed after the end of the war, [...]

Lynne Murray says: Gabourey Sidibe, the brilliant, fat, African-American actress nominated for the 2009 Academy Award for Best Actress, hosted Saturday Night Live last Saturday night (April 24). Although Sidibe, who is 26 years old, did not win the 2009 Oscar, she won several awards for her role as the title character in the movie [...]

Debbie says… Anti-racist activist Tim Wise has been thinking about the Tea Party Movement. Specifically, he’s been thinking about what happens if the Tea Party protesters were simply re-colored. Imagine that hundreds of black protesters were to descend upon Washington DC and Northern Virginia, just a few miles from the Capitol and White House, armed [...]

Debbie says: (If I had a nickel for everything I’ve wanted to post about in the last ten days, I’d probably have more than a dollar. But at least here I am.) The problem with the estrogen question in the year 2010 is that you set out one day to ask it in what sounds [...]

Laurie says: I was amazed and delighted by these  photos of dew-encrusted insects by photographer Miroslaw Swietek. His images for me have both the beauty of microphotography and the aesthetics of Faberge. .. .. Images and text are from the Daily Mail in England. Glistening in the early morning, these insects look like creatures from [...]

Marlene Says: Last Wednesday, I attended the Hellhole Handballers panel discussion at the Center for Sex and Culture. I won’t be writing explicit descriptions of hands in asses here, but that’s what was talked about. I want to talk here about being the only woman in a room of kinky gay men talking about sex. [...]

Debbie says: We’re overdue for a long, thoughtful Body Impolitic post, and you’ll get one in the next day or so. Meanwhile, here’s your weekly ration of outrage: Rachel W (evilpuppy)’s United Airlines flight last week. Let’s make it a quiz: You are a paid flight attendant for United Airlines, and a young disabled woman [...]

Lynne Murray says: One way I can tell when I am going through a rough patch is when I seize on a book, a poem or a film and read or watch it over and over. It’s like clutching and hugging the fuzz off a comforting stuffed animal. The DVD I watched seven times in [...]

Debbie says: Mainstream news did a reasonable job (for what I’ve come to expect of mainstream news, anyway) of covering the story of Constance McMillen, who wanted to bring her girlfriend to her private high school prom. With the help of the ACLU and a favorable court judgment, McMillen won the skirmish, but she and [...]