Below is a list of things I would do if other things were true.

In collaboration with Rise magazine, Jezebel is publishing a series of articles written by parents affected by the child welfare system. This post, the last in the series, is written by Piazadora Footman, who lost her son for three years after she was arrested for buying drugs. In New York City, an estimated 25 to 40…

In collaboration with Rise magazine, Jezebel is publishing a series of articles written by parents affected by the child welfare system. This post, the fourth in the series, features narratives by Deborah McCabe and Adisha Garner, two parents who were unable to reunite with their children. In New York City, an…

In collaboration with Rise magazine, Jezebel is publishing a series of articles written by parents affected by the child welfare system. This post, the third in the series, features narratives by LaQuana Chapelle and Lashonda Murray, two mothers who themselves grew up in foster care. In New York City, an estimated 25…

In collaboration with Rise magazine, Jezebel is publishing a series of articles written by parents affected by the child welfare system. This post, the second in the series, features narratives by Antoinette Robinson and Jeffrey Mays, two parents who felt unjustly treated by the Family Court process.

The tragic death of Zymere Perkins, a child who died at the hands of abusive parents even though the city’s child welfare agency had repeatedly investigated his family, made headlines in New York City publications for months this past fall. In their coverage, many outlets focused on a familiar narrative of monstrous…

My grandfather has always encouraged my independence. When I broke off an engagement with a man I know my grandfather had come to love, he surprised me when he said, “For the first time, you are not living under the control of a man.” Last year, when I objected to an ancient Hindu belief that says a grandfather goes…

On Thursday, our friend and former colleague Jia Tolentino wrote, “The Personal-Essay Boom Is Over” for the New Yorker. Respectfully, Jia, it isn’t.

I grew up in a house with lots of wands.

If my younger self could see me now, she would certainly have a reaction.

Last night, my two-year-old son and I watched Hillary Clinton deliver her historic victory speech on CNN, me sucking down a double bottle of Pinot Grigio through two straws I jammed together; my gifted child guzzling milk from both of my desiccated breasts. (How can I tell him no? He’s a growing boy, thirsty for…

I can’t believe it’s been a whole year.

Any good comedian knows that if there is something you hate about yourself (or rather when, for otherwise you wouldn’t be a comedian), you turn it into a joke.

If there were an award for feeling most conflicted about porn, I’d take the cake, or maybe the creampie. Despite peddling sex and other bodily wares in various capacities for almost a decade, I’m not so keen on porn, at least the mainstream stuff. It feels reductive and hollow—an apologist for the male gaze, as I’m…