JUDAS: A Modern Journal

We've all wanted to spill the tea on our new bae or comment on how you can't stop cheesin ' because of what your new homie said, even though it was so not woke and probably cap - but do we know where these words come from, and should we be using them at all? Much of the vocabulary we use and hear today has its roots in various oppressed subcultures, namely in African American spaces (especially by women,) and in spaces and media dominated by the LGBTQIA+ community. But with the rise of the digitization of these spaces through popular and social media, this language is spread through all social circles - circles that are ignorant of these terms' origins - and the line between subculture and mainstream is blurred by our new collective cultural consciousness on who can say what and why. The most prominent example of this is through the absorption of queer slang into our cultural knowledge thanks to popular media like RuPaul's Drag Race. However, recognizing the popu...

Barbie is almost always criticized by feminists, who claim that Barbie exemplifies the kind of compulsory heterosexuality, white imperialism, and oppressive patriarchy that feminists so hate. These claims aren't just based on suppositions, but more so on the heap of ethnographic research conducted amongst Mattel's consumers.  Barbie is a household name, having been a computer engineer, astronaut, rockstar, doctor, and even a presidential candidate. Over the last few years, Mattel has given Barbie a woke new makeover fit for the 21st century. I don't doubt for even a second that Mattel's re-invigoration of Barbie is motivated by anything but a consumerist need for more profit, but that doesn't mean that she isn't a feminist. One can have skewed motivations for their feminism, whilst still existing in a space that benefits and benefits and uplifts women. One of their latest adverts really does exemplify Mattel's newfound liberalism - and pulls on my heartstrin...