Queer sex is still criminalized in The United States. Though same-sex and transgender sex acts are no longer unlawful in our society, per se, another kind of queerness is. The queerness of HIV is stigmatized and literally criminalized throughout America via the persecution of consensual sex acts between an HIV positive person (someone with […]
Archive
Own Voices: Reclaiming Time on the Page Part II
On September 24, 2017, writer and activist Justina Ireland wrote a review of the YA novel, American Heart by Laura Moriarity. Her review, entitled “American Heart, Huck Finn and the Trap of White Supremacy” is critical of Moriarity’s choice, as a white author, to write a narrative about the American-Muslim experience with a white protagonist. […]
What I Make of the Student Government Controversy (Part 2)
In this post, I will be following up on my analysis of the controversy by talking about some of my motivation for writing it in the first place. I typically write about national issues or broader topics, rather than about my local community or personal life. In fact, the only time that I have ever previously […]
The Dark Side of the Meme
Most memes happen by accident. An artist draws a cartoon, a reddit user will mess around with a stock photo, or someone will take a screenshot from a movie or TV show, and next thing anyone knows that image is everywhere. And then it will evolve, adopting new captions, new connotations, new users. Usually this […]
We Need Diverse Books: Reclaiming Time on the Page Part I
The fight for diversity in publishing is happening on social media. On April 24, 2014 Aisha Saeed one of the founders of We Need Diverse Books tweeted: No diverse authors at #BookCon None. Nada. Zilch. #nowords http://t.co/iGza0WYXHL … #weneeddiversebooks @BookRiot — Aisha Saeed (Amal Unbound Out May 8!) (@aishacs) April 24, 2014 The groundwork for […]
Confessions of a Shopaholic
The only time I can ever imagine myself attending an AA meeting is when I’m close to bankrupt. I’m going to have to crawl out of my broken chair, make my way to the front of the vacant garage, stand in front of a podium that smells suspicious, and confess: Hi. My name is Sunmbul Ahmed […]
What I Make of the Student Government Controversy (Part 1)
Today, I will be acting as sort-of an independent investigator into the matter of the recent accusations made against the President of the Student Association (SA), Japneet Singh. I have decided to look into this possible scandal because I realized that it has been looming over this year’s student elections (which were held a few […]
Hate in America
After 9/11, anti-Muslim hate groups emerged faster then I could say “freedom of religion!”. By 2010 anti-muslim legislation was making headlines in New York because people were opposing development of Islamic Centers in lower Manhattan. ACT for America, founded in in 2007 by Brigitte Gabriel is a US-based anti-Muslim advocacy group. It is one of […]
Don’t Crucify Jesus Christ Superstar. Don’t Worship It, Either.
Jesus Christ Superstar, a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, that conflates the story of Jesus’s last days with modern celebrity culture. On April 1st, NBC broadcasted its acclaimed live concert performance of Jesus Christ Superstar. Despite some technical flubs, the production has been unanimously praised, overcoming the ambivalence that audiences usually have for […]
Back to the AfroFuture
When the Black Panther movie was announced it sparked renewed interest in Afrofuturism. What is it? What are its characteristics? Is the Black Panther even a good example of Afrofuturism? Like all of the great debates of our time, the debate about Afrofuturism happened on social media: on the Elysian plane of reason and measured rhetoric that […]
