I became a historian because of a television show. That is something I don’t often admit, but it’s true. I […]
The Opioid Epidemic as Metaphor
[gblockquote source=”Susan Sontag, Illness as Metaphor“]Of course, one cannot think without metaphors. But that does not mean there aren’t some […]
A Brief History of “Bouncing Back”
So the world has witnessed yet another round of the Royal Baby bonanza — from tracking Meghan Markle’s maternity style, […]
How to Do It: Sex Education and the “Sex Life”
In 1696, in Somerset county in southwest England, a schoolboy named John Cannon and his friends took their lunchtime break […]
Mange, Morphine, and Deadly Disease: Medicine and Public Health in Red Dead Redemption 2
Spoiler warning: This essay discusses major plot points about the ending of Red Dead Redemption 2. It’s dead midnight, there’s […]
Hallmark Christmas Movies: Guilty Pleasure or Feminist Rallying Cry?
A woman arrives in a small American town at Christmas time. Possibly her car has broken down, or she’s there […]
My So-Called Life: Angela Chase, Body Image, and Teen Angst
In August 1994, ABC aired the pilot episode of My So-Called Life, and for the first time I felt that […]
Lillie Western, Banjo Queen
It should come as no surprise that the Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Guitarists list includes only two women, Bonnie Raitt […]
Deconstructing HIV and AIDS on The Golden Girls
In 1990, the much-beloved sitcom, The Golden Girls — a show about four older women, Rose, Blanche, Dorothy, and Sophia, […]