Lifestyle - Communities
Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton had the voice, the power, and the presence to command any stage - but history didn’t give her the recognition she deserved. She sang Hound Dog before Elvis and wrote Ball and Chain before Janis Joplin, yet others profited from her work. Her story is one of many, reflecting a music industry that thrives on Black creativity while denying Black artists their due.
Tennis player Anna Kalinskaya recently became the target of online scrutiny due to her relationship with fellow athlete Jannik Sinner. This kind of backlash is far from unheard of. Famous women often find themselves at the center of parasocial-relationship-fuelled online debates because of their relationships with other celebrities. Yet this phenomenon exemplifies how, in a world obsessed with romance and dating, women in heterosexual relationships still can’t escape societal norms and expectations of how a girlfriend or wife “should” act.
Vampires have been used as allegories for an array of Others, from the LGBTQIA+ community to people with disabilities. Still, stories of female vampires tend to have even another narrative layer. They frequently explore the female experience's many elements and other vampire fiction themes.
In "A Woman I Once Knew," photographer Rosalind Fox Solomon takes readers into an intimate exploration of memory, identity, and aging. Through a clever combination of media, Solomon reflects on her life as a woman, empathically giving space to a subject artists rarely focus on.
“Growing up, I never saw girls who looked like me. Later, I was fortunate to surround myself with the right people to get to where I am today. But I’m still that little girl from Sonnenallee who just loved to dance. I think the less I try to be a role model, the more I can inspire others in my own way. Step by step, I’m happy to see more Arab women in the spotlight, showing other Arab women, girls, and boys that they can say, “That’s going to be me.”
The music industry is experiencing a powerful shift as Sapphic pop and rock dominate charts and festival lineups, bringing LGBTQ+ voices into the mainstream. With artists like girl in red, MUNA, and Billie Eilish leading the charge, songs that openly celebrate women-loving-women (WLW) experiences are resonating with wider audiences. This new era of queer visibility is finally giving fans the representation they've been searching for, proving there's a thriving market for music that speaks authentically to LGBTQ+ lives and stories.
The music business has always been tough, and that will never change. Even though it's often hard, it's a privilege to make art. We should value art so much more. Culture is an extremely important product of our society, and the thing that fascinates me the most. What do you leave behind? What are the memories that define us and our time? Art.
The undetectable era of cosmetic procedures is here, offering subtle enhancements that reverse aging naturally. While stealth cosmetics grow in popularity, cultural movements like body horror in fashion and film push back, critiquing our obsession with youth and perfection. This clash is reshaping how we view beauty and aging.
What happens when women take over the silver screen and engage in cold-blooded acts often reserved for men? Well, aside from upsetting hetero men, these narratives often delve into the eerie and the uncanny—the unexpected. Portraying what’s inconceivable, Kristen Stewart has embraced this shift, transitioning from a confused, vampire-obsessed teen to embodying queer occultism and erotism—and we’re here for it.
Art is more than expression—it's a mirror to everyday life and the socio-political forces that shape it. In this interview, Ahmet Öğüt discusses how his work challenges power structures, redefines public spaces, and uses irony to expose deep societal truths.
