Noah Berlatsky

Noah Berlatsky

Bio

Noah Berlatsky is a contributing writer for The Atlantic. He edits the online comics-and-culture website The Hooded Utilitarian and is the author of the forthcoming book Wonder Woman: Bondage and Feminism in the Marston/Peter Comics, 1941-1948.

Noah Berlatsky Articles

Ex Machina Promotional

The Castrating Power Of The Femme Fatale: Ex Machina

Their sexuality traps and destroys male innocence, as they grad hold, by the penis- the better to lead him to castration. Make no mistake that castration is greeted with fear, terror, and disgust—but also with glee. Women as super villains allow their characters to be super powerful; a force for evil is at least a force. In a media landscape where women are often rendered secondary, invisible, and passive, the femme fatale, in her icy violence, seizes female agency along with the phallus that she so efficiently cuts off.

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Does Making A List Of The Greatest Female Comics Creators Denigrate Women?

Is it insulting to ask about the greatest female comics creator?

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Domestic Violence: Not Just A Female Issue

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.

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A behind-the-scenes shot of rehearsal. Courtesy of Beyonce's Facebook

The Problem With Beyonce's "Precious Lord" Cover At The Grammys

So, if there are so many ways to sing this song, and if it's meant different things at different points, why complain about Beyoncé's version?

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The illustrious and utterly rockin' Carlene Carter. Flickr.com

Move It On Over: 12 Women Who Made Rockabilly History

There's a good argument to be made that the earliest, and the best, rockabilly performers were women. Slicked-back, hiccuping, hopped up cool.

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Image: Flickr

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2, Continues To Deliver Violence 

Katniss is the voice of conscience and morality in the film, and in The Hunger Games series as a whole. In the just released last film in the series, she tries repeatedly to avoid unnecessary deaths. She insists that refugees from an attacked base be given an escape route, for example, and exposes herself in an effort to help them.

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From Etta To Brandy: 12 Undervalued Black Women Of Rock 

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

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On Privilege And Online Bullying

The Lord of the Flies can feel like a vacation spot for conflict-management consultants in comparison to social media.

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Hazel Scott

11 Forgotten Torch Singers You Should Know

Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Edith Piaf: they're all still practically household names.

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Billie Holiday (Credit: Wikimedia Commons)

Blues Music's Hidden Queer History

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

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