Consent, Children’s Lit, and Ella Enchanted
Ella Enchanted makes it clear that obedience is not a virtue, and that never having the option to refuse is a miserable, unlivable existence.
Read MoreAuthor: Ella Dawson
Ella Dawson is a sex and culture critic and a digital strategist. She drinks too much Diet Coke.
Summer Mini-Mix
I miss being a radio DJ. I really like making playlists. I’m trying to post more often on my blog. So here’s a thing: a summer soundtrack or whatever. 1. West Coast – Lana Del Rey Look, I just moved to California and I’m often moody. Of course Lana Del Rey was going to be […]
Read MoreBachelorella: The Nice Guy, Male Entitlement, and The Bachelorette
It was inevitable that I would some day write feminist commentary on The Bachelorette, and ladies and gents, that day has come. Tonight was the episode of the franchise when all the shit usually hits the fan: the fantasy suite episode. Last season, when our darling bachelorette Andi was merely a final three contestant on Juan Pablo’s […]
Read MoreBook Review: Active Duty, Gay Military Erotic Romance
Active Duty is in turn sweet, funny, sexy, and graphic.
Read MoreWhy I Don’t Write Under a Pseudonym
The fact is the “respectable girl from a nice family in Connecticut” ship has already sailed.
Read MoreDear Manhattan,
I’ve been in Berkeley for a month now, and between you and me, I think about you a lot. Please don’t get me wrong: I stand by my decision to get some space. I know it was hard for both of us to say goodbye, but last summer in your sweaty, sprawling jungle of subway […]
Read MoreEbook Review: WHAT KIND OF TROUBLE?
It scares me when people say I’m sweet because I’m not. I’m bitter enough to burst, half-sick with rage on my good days. I wish someone hated him the way I did, so that I could stop, so that I could get rid of this fury that rots & blooms inside of me. This is […]
Read MoreHow To Feel Better In Berkeley
After my whiny, desperately unhappy blog post about not adjusting well after my move, things turned around, or at least I’m heading in the right direction. That’s the result of members of the class of 2013 coming out of the woodwork to tell me my reaction was totally normal, and of me getting off my […]
Read MoreEbook review: NO LONGER MINE: INTERVIEWS WITH EX BOYFRIENDS
Anyone who spends enough time on tumblr will recognize Sara Sutterlin’s poetry. Usually appearing in all capital letters and uploaded in a screen-cap of a text window, her work is unapologetic, demanding, and brutal in its detail. She writes about everything from heartbreak to internalized misogyny, and her posts are wildly popular, resonating hardcore with […]
Read MoreBook Review: Daddy, a Memoir
Today I want to talk about Madison Young’s ‘Daddy: a Memoir’. In the interest of full disclosure, I should start this post by mentioning I am one of two literary interns on Team Madison, promoting Young’s memoir ‘Daddy’ and helping with future publishing projects. I cannot be impartial as a reviewer, and I won’t try […]
Read More
Ella Dawson 