The Flytrap

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An illustration of s.e. smith, a white person with curly brown hair and glasses, surrounded by flowers.

Meet a Flytrap Founder: s.e. smith

Flytrap worker-owner s.e. smith talks peaches, death, and their favorite cultural criticism.

The words "Ask the Flytrap" are written in a scripty, throwback pink font

Ask The Flytrap: I've Got The Euro-Blues

I can't talk to anyone back home about how I feel.

An illustrated pair of yellow platform heels are accented with pink "ouchie" exclamations under the header "ARCH ENEMIES"

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Arch Enemies

After 30 years of heels, injuries, and and pain management, it was glorious, ugly shoes that finally convinced me to give my bad feet a break.

a still shot of Reese Witherspoon, a white woman with blonde hair, as the character Elle Woods in Legally Blonde. She is holding a chihuahua in a sweater.

What, Like It’s Hard?

Twenty-five years later, the legacy of “Legally Blonde” lives on.

The words "Ask the Flytrap" are written in a scripty, throwback pink font

Ask The Flytrap: How Do Poly People Manage It All?

Do I need to get an advanced degree in time management to make this work?

An upside-down US flag blending into Mount Rushmore, with text: THEY SUCKED.

The Founding Fathers Sucked

In honor of America’s 250 birthday, we should stop lionizing them.

A collage of the Unreasonable Women cover on a red to purple gradient background shows a black book cover with red, pink, and purple flowers. The title is "Unreasonable Women."

Documenting Criminalized Survival

In this excerpt from Unreasonable Women, Justine van der Leun introduces her work to surface the lived experiences of over 1,000 women imprisoned for surviving assault and abuse.

The words "Ask the Flytrap" are written in a scripty, throwback pink font

Ask The Flytrap: I Would Like to Do Things with People, but How? And What?

I need more friends!

Illustration of a white man in glasses and bowtie holing a gun while running by a window with text: "we need fun, silly, espionage shows."

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Where Did All The Fun Spy Shows Go?

Can I please have some escapism with my fascist nightmare?

Annie Segarra, a Latinx American person, sits in a wheelchair wearing a rainbow skirt next to a doorstep and door that reads “Make Pride Accessible.”

(Un)safe Refuge

The built-in ableism in queer spaces.

The words "Ask the Flytrap" are written in a scripty, throwback pink font

Ask The Flytrap: Will Burnout Fuck Me Up Forever?

Everything is on fire everywhere all the time. I'm worried it will cost me the job I love.

an illustration of a Black grandmother shelling peas with one two little girls on a brick wall and one little girl doing her hair

Been Country: Commemorating Juneteenth in a Dying Empire

On America’s 250th birthday, Brittney Cooper meditates on grieving a country that has never loved Black folks.

An illustration of Tina seated at her laptop, lustrous black hair flowing over her magenta shirt, with a "California love" poster behind her and a plant in the window.

Meet a Flytrap Founder: Tina Vásquez

Flytrap co-founder and worker-owner Tina Vásquez talks about what brought her to feminism, her favorite risotto, and her least-favorite billionaire.

An illustration of a broken television in a trashed living room, with soccer gear on the walls. Someone is hiding inside the tv cabinet.

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This World Cup is Bad

How I fell out of love with football and became a World Cup hater.

A dark-skinned person with long black hair riding a bird soaring high above the water, trailing flower petals.

Good Grief

Why does mourning have an expiration date?

a movie slate features the words it's not about you on top of a collage of movie images

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The Discourse is Ruining Film Criticism

Can’t we just watch films on their own terms?

a photo of a book cover with flowers that reads Black. Single. Mother.

The Radical Possibilities (and Fears) of 50/50 Parenting

In this excerpt from ‘Black. Single. Mother.’, Jamilah Lemieux makes the case for building co-parenting arrangements that require equal responsibility from both parents.

The black and yellow Dungeon Crawler Carl book cover is on a red background, surrounded by the text 'At least there's a cat involved'

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Dark Times with Dungeon Crawler Carl

How did I end up binge-reading an excessively violent, cringingly crass litRPG series featuring a dickhead antihero and his sassy show-cat?

Shrek and Donkey from the movie Shrek. Shrek's mouth is open while Donkey looks at him attentively.

Layered Onion

Remembering “Shrek,” the ironic film that poked fun at us.

A dreamy illustration of three Black women characters amid a floral motif on a pink, fluffy cloud background. A header reads: "Visibility will not delivery long-term structural change. We

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The Vulnerability of Visibility

Ten years ago, Black women were more visible than ever. It didn't get us—any of us—very far.

An illustration of a dark-skinned person with long dark hair carrying a shield and a gaming controller, pursued by hate mail, weapons, and grasping hands.

No Girls Allowed

The fragility of gaming culture.

A computer screen showing a dot-matrix map of Western Europe is surrounded by the words "I'm in control. I make the decisions."

Does Playing Grand Strategy Games Make Me a Fascist?

Living a life without autonomy has led me to seek out control through video games.

The covers of Nightbitch and The Upstairs House. Nightbitch features a photograph of cut meat, The Upstairs House has an illustration of a two-story gray house.

Mother Monsters

"Nightbitch," "The Upstairs House," and "Die My Love" bring postpartum psychosis and depression to the big screen.

On a black and white squiggly background, pink lettering reads "Feminism Feels Like An Optical Illusion," with two hands with a futuristic look are reaching out to the lettering.

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Taking Feminism Back From Capitalism

Techno-fascism and choice feminism have emptied the movement when we need it the most.

Steve Zahn as Mark and Murray Bartlett as Armond in The White Lotus. The men are seated at a bar in conversation.

“The White Lotus” Shines Its Tiki Torch on Settler Colonization’s Greatest Exports

Can whiteness be centered in our attempt to decolonize? Or is the effort to dismantle settler colonization merely a vessel—a rowboat—for appeasing white shame?