Noah Berlatsky

english lit academic. wish fulfiller. thwarted world-changer.

Genre boundaries are conscious of race—and, in the case of rock, conscious of gender too.

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

The cover for A-Force is a combination of tired trope and deodorant ad. Female empowerment can do so much better.

The history of pop music, and of black pop music in particular, has always been gay history.

In the U.S., anti-Semitism is universally condemned. This means that, effectively, anti-Semitism doesn't exist.

"The look on Miley's face during Nicki Minaj's savage, expletive-laden rant says it all," Salon tweeted the day after the VMAs. Less than 140 characters, but still enough to link a black woman to a longstanding racial slur.

Writing can be hard and uncomfortable and precarious—but it's hard and uncomfortable and precarious in the way that any job can be.

Is the gender of the philosopher a marginal curiosity—or is it more central?

Hating sex workers—and treating them as things—can get you money.