October 2013: Jay was glued to the TV set. Mayam Mahmoud, an eighteen-year-old economics undergrad, had stepped onto the stage wearing a pink veil and begun to rap. Oozing anger and attitude, she tackled harassment...
The Experiment Charlie is a lawyer turned entrepreneur who is usually either single or in a relationship–but rarely in between. Last fall, upon arriving in New York City, she challenged herself...
Have I grown up too fast? Ahalya: I seem to have taken the “traditional” route: “settled down,” achieved financial stability, married, and bought a house by the age of 30. In many...
Por-ni-fi-ca-tion, noun, /pɔːnɪfɪˈkeɪʃ(ə)n/ The increasing occurrence and acceptance of sexual themes and explicit imagery in popular or mainstream culture: the growing pornification of our society....
New York, October 2013. You’re walking by a street vendor selling art. It’s signed Banksy but is clearly a fake at $60. There’s no way you’re paying that much for a knockoff. You’d maybe...
What is beauty? And how does it govern our lives? Is there an “innate” standard for beauty that we’re all born with, or is beauty socialized? In which case, what are the power dynamics that influence...
This article is a part of the Cultural Confusion series. Read more here. A Miniature Nomad By the time I arrived at my all-girls high school in London at the age of eleven, I was already onto my eighth...
What are our expectations for public displays of affection, and have we established a universal etiquette? It’s all about context, obvz. In certain places, such as in a nightclub, concert, big open space,...
At some point during childhood, you realize that one day the people around you will no longer be there, and that eventually you won’t either. No one recalls worrying about being born but we do have...
Covert warfare “Nothing is as it seems”—a phrase that I’d associate more with James Bond than the modern US army. A recent trip to visit a family member in the Marines reframed my understanding...
6 Things My ACL Injury Taught Me About Social Etiquette
The Pornification of Society
Embracing the Passionless Life
