Noah Berlatsky

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

With the death of Leonard Nimoy, it's a good moment to pay tribute to (and question) his most famous character.

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

Illicit passions aren't less enjoyable because they're illicit. Quite the contrary.

Scientists are hotly debating whether we should send messages into space. Perhaps they should consult Octavia Butler for some wisdom...

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.

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

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

Sex and bodies don't clarify gender; they confuse the issue.

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