Noah Berlatsky

Fifth Harmony is nobody's idea of a roots band.

Female masturbation is sexy in part because it flirts with lesbianism. For male masturbation, it's a different story.

The founder of the brilliant fyeahblackrockmusic Tumblr talks racial politics, Kelis, and . . . the Doobie Brothers?

It's not the gender that's the problem: It's the oppression.

According to an Academy Awards voter, the right sort of people, with the right sort of education and connections, can't be racist.

Talking about race can get you into a lot of trouble . . . especially if you don't have a lot of class power or status.

This doesn't mean that the outcomes of domestic violence are always equal; men tend to be bigger and stronger than women, and therefore are more likely to cause serious harm, even in situations where violence is reciprocal. Still, the fact that women are frequently perpetrators of violence in domestic situations substantially undermines the typical story of domestic abuse—and helps to show just how harmful that story is.

Art without politics actually results in a sweeping Puritanism. For art to have power, it needs to engage with power, with politics.

Some love stories don't end happily. So why do so many romance novels insist they do?

The surface text of the film is that you can't trust some guys. The (barely) subtext is that you can't trust any guys.