I heard this on an American sitcom few weeks back: “I think that women can be friends with each other, but I think it can be tricky sometimes when you try and force women to hang out with each other. You could never put together a heist of women. Like Ocean's 11 with women wouldn't work, 'cause two would keep breaking off to talk shit about the other nine.”I felt disgusted.Why it is that boy groups, gangs and wingmen symbolically represent unity, togetherness, fun, wildness, and good times? But on the other hand,… Read more

“38 Watched Murder — And Did Nothing”That New York Times headline tied Kitty Genovese’s murder up into a neat bow. The Witness gently tugs at the strings of that bow, slowly unravelling a complex web of lies behind the infamous story, and gradually weaving together the truth of Kitty's life — and death.The film follows Bill Genovese, who was just sixteen when his 28-year-old sister was murdered, through 11 years of research and interviews. There is nothing exploitative about the exploration of Kitty’s horrific murder,… Read more

Creedmoria is Alicia Slimmer’s directorial debut about Candy Cahill and her dysfunctional family in 1980s Queens, NY. Slimmer is a part of the Film Fatales, a badass group of women in the film industry working on bridging the gap of female involvment in directing and producing movies. Initially funded on Indiegogo, this impressive project is now working the festival circuit with great success, already scoring Best Narrative Feature Film in the Comedy Genre for the Cinequest Film Festival back in March.Candy (Stef… Read more

The Fits Co-Written and Directed by Anna Rose Holmer Out June 3 Rating The Fits begins and ends with Toni, a lanky teen tomboy who finds herself drawn to a drill team practicing at her local community center. Played by newcomer Royalty Hightower, Toni is used to spending time with her brother at the boxing gym, wrapping her hands and practicing hooks and jabs. But her attraction to the glamorous drill team overtakes her shyness and prompts her to cross over into their world. This push and pull of gendered spaces—the… Read more

Take a piece of paper and draw a circle. Now imagine that circle as your center for support. Who would you put in the middle? Your family? Your partner?For many clients at the East Los Angeles Women’s Center, that circle is empty inside. They have no support—but they do have hope. And that’s why they’re getting help.Since 1976, ELAWC has supported and empowered countless women—survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and HIV/AIDS—through its bilingual 24/7 helpline, counseling services, and community outreach… Read more

Tegan and Sara are no overnight success story: the twin sister pop duo from Calgary has seen their band grow over twenty-one years from indie favorites with a devoted queer following to full-on pop stars. The band’s new album, Love You To Death, might be their most personal and accessible one yet. Speaking on the phone, separately, while preparing for their North American tour this summer, Tegan and Sara opened up about writing their new album, what “mainstream” means to them, and the truth about success.You’ve been… Read more

Nadkins, otherwise known as “Male Jewels Refresher Towelettes,” are now a product available for purchase. These moist wipes provide a natural and non-toxic way to clean your gonads and while that’s all good and fine, the commercial to sell this product is far from acceptable. Here is a list of why we think Nadkins is lamer than lame. 1) The Dancing Balls Excuse me, but you and your balls already consume so much space that seeing them dance on a screen makes me want to yak. This assertion of masculinity is laughable. We… Read more

What better way to teach people the meaning of friendship than a mockumentary about a Bieberesque musician who learns that fame isn’t everything?Um, I can think of a thousand better ways, but I don’t care. I know what you're thinking: Why would BUST, a feminist magazine, review a movie that has relatively few female characters, and barely passes the Bechdel test? Well, those female characters aren't just sex objects—in fact, we see more dick than tits and the few female characters who are actually in multiple scenes… Read more

Although her acting career was often attributed to nepotism, Sofia Coppola has carved out her own career writing and directing films. Coppola was born in New York, the daughter of Eleanor and Francis Ford Coppola. Her mother was a set decorator and her father, of course, is the film director most known for The Godfather trilogy and Apocalypse Now. Sofia’s acting career began from birth. She was the infant being baptized in The Godfather and went on to background roles in seven of her father’s films. When Winona Ryder… Read more

After a particularly long period of sexual inactivity with an ex, I finally decided to give him some action. It was terrible. TERRIBLE. I started crying in the middle and although I know he noticed, he did not stop right away. He annoyedly asked what was wrong. I hadn't yet mustered up the courage to say, "I hate you and this has been over for months," so I settled for an "I don't know." He was grateful I let him touch me at all. He even giggled a bit about the cryin,g he was so pleased. To make matters worse, when we… Read more

There’s something immensely gratifying about spending the day in someone’s cozy, aromatic home preparing a meal. N.Y.C. organization The League of Kitchens (leagueofkitchens.com) takes that experience one step further by offering intimate cooking workshops ($95 to $149) taught by phenomenal female home cooks from around the world—including places like Bangladesh, Japan, Trinidad, and Uzbekistan—in their very own kitchens. “Combining the elements of cuisine, culture, and experiential learning makes for a powerful… Read more

Feel like prolonging the stereotype of oppressed housewives cleaning? Well, look no further than the Angry Mama. The Angry Mama is an angry looking plastic woman that you stick in the microwave until steam comes out of her head. When she gets "hot-headed" enough, she cleans your appliance for you, the way all women do! It’s available for $14, and oh mama am I angry. I don’t know… maybe Mama’s so angry because the makers decided to prolong the misogynistic idea of a woman being in the kitchen, cooking and cleaning. Not… Read more

“Do you want me to buy you a vibrator?” Mom asks, holding up the Good Vibrations catalogue. The year is 1999. I am twelve. I know what a vibrator is from watching Slums of Beverly Hills—my favorite scene involves Marisa Tomei and Natasha Lyonne tossing the buzzing sex toy back and forth while gyrating to Parliament’s Give Up the Funk. “Sure!” I exclaim. We sit at the kitchen table and peruse the catalogue together, pens ready to mark which toys look most promising. Mom suggests one that’s thick and short, clear and… Read more

“Harry Potter and The Cursed Child,” the 8th story in the Potter series, is set to be released at London’s Palace Theater in just a matter of weeks! With the story picking up 19 years after the last book, we will witness Harry and Ginny’s child Albus Severus alongside Hermione and Ron's child Rose Granger-Weasley as they embark on their first year at Hogwarts. The play is set to preview on June 7th and officially open July 30th. Yesterday, the play’s Facebook page released a number of photos, showing off the new cast… Read more

A Pakistani group has drafted a bill that would allow a husband to “lightly beat” his wife for offenses such as dressing improperly, talking to strangers, or refusing sex. In response, Pakistani photographer Fahhad Rajper launched a photo-based social media campaign with the hashtag #TryBeatingMeLightly to criticize the bill.The campaign has gained traction online as women have begun to engage with the tag to protest the bill, which was drafted by the Council of Islamic Ideology, a group of clerics and scholars that… Read more

A Northern Ireland native, 23-year-old Megan Doherty uses photography to transform the tedium of small town living into a mystic, alternate reality where she and her friends thrive in the darkened shadows. Her work captures moments as they come; morphing a fleeting image to create intense, powerful narratives of freedom and desire. Doherty’s project “Stoned in Melanchol” depicts a youthy sub-culture that is simultaneously illuminated by neon and masked by haze. Portraying the perfect combination of longing and passive… Read more

Hello, my name is Jane Doe. And I accidentally got pregnant. From a one-night stand, when the condom broke and the morning after pill didn’t work. My name is Jane Doe and I’m one of the Lucky Unlucky Girls. Maybe the luckiest, maybe the unluckiest. The night I met Nick, I was in a lonely, dangerous form. The tequila was tasting a little too good and I was feeling a little too bored. I only knew one “friend” at the downtown NYC bar that night and her speech patterns and lack of eye contact were annoying me more so than… Read more

23 years ago, Liliana “Lil” Lovell lived a different life. She worked at her bar till 5 a.m. and came back to open it at 9 a.m. She worked 80 hours a week and got three or four hours of sleep, max. She was one of the youngest female bar owners in New York City, and she didn’t even notice.“I’m a powerhouse,” Lovell, who learned she was one of the few when journalists kept asking about it, says. “It doesn’t matter if I’m a woman or not. Nothing was going to stop me.”When Lovell opened Coyote Ugly at age 25, she already… Read more

I remember the vast majority of the times I’ve been bullied or hated.The first time was when I was six. I was talking to a boy I liked, and this girl — Angela Something — came up behind me and pulled down my pants. Thankfully, it was Friday. I was mortified and needed the weekend to decompress from this (albeit childish) trauma and hope that everyone had forgotten it by Monday. (I’m pretty sure they did.)After that incident, I mostly kept to myself, which helped me avoid direct confrontation with bullies. But in high… Read more

We've all experienced a bit of Ramona Flowers hair envy at some point. Her seamless hair color change from one shade to another may seem possible only in a fictional world. We’re here to tell you the truth: You can change your Crayola colored hair seamlessly without having to use bleach or worrying about the shades turning into a nice shade of greenish mud. Here’s how you can change your bright colored hair all on your own. 1. Use the color wheel. Going from blue to green will work much better than going from blue to… Read more

Harambe was a beautiful 450-pound silverback gorilla living at the Cincinnati Zoo. His strength was equal that of 10 adult men. So when a curious three-year-old found his way into the giant’s habitat, there was not much time for pondering.Michelle Gregg, a mother of four, had taken her children to the zoo over Memorial Day weekend. Never would she have thought that an exciting day would take such a horrifying turn. The family was getting ready to leave the zoo when Gregg’s tired, young daughter began to fuss while they… Read more

We've got you covered for June and July with the hottest (literally) beginning of summer entertainment. Keep up with us from Cocteau Twins-inspired music video to a gender-neutral fashion documentary, a must-follow on Instagram and handmade Candy Darling 'zine. 1. Ghostbusters The all-lady reboot of the classic 1984 paranormal comedy Ghostbusters is finally hitting theaters July 15, and we couldn’t be more excited! With an expert ensemble cast that includes Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie… Read more

Planned Parenthood returns to kick off their 12th annual Summer, Sex and Spirits benefit event Tuesday, June 28th, at the Broad Street Ballroom in New York City. Last year’s event was a time to be had, with awesome music, great performances, creatively named drinks and of sexy balloon creations by the ever amazing Mistress B. This year the Mistress is back and the heat is on with performances by The Afro-Latineers and Hudson Horns, open bar, and a chance to win from a huge collection of silent auction/raffle items (VIP… Read more

Happy birthday, Amy Schumer! We here at BUST are deeply, madly in love with you. You're one of the few (OK, one of 12) women who've been immortalized (OK, framed) on our walls! You are right in the middle, with Laverne Cox to your left and Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson to your right. We've written about you quite a lot, from your body positive messages to your best sketches so far. And now, to wish you a fabulous 35th birthday and show how much we love you, we wanted to showcase 35 times you perfectly captured the… Read more

During the 19th century, there was no such thing as a holiday from fashion. Seaside resorts in England—whether in Brighton, Bournemouth, or Burnham-on-Sea—were as much a place to flaunt one’s style as London itself during the season. An 1869 issue of the Ladies’ Monthly Magazine even goes so far as to declare: “...splendid as they have been in the season just ended, dresses to be worn at the Seaside, and at the mansions of our Aristocracy, often surpass those that have been worn in London or Paris, during the height of… Read more

Iranian actress Taraneh Alidoosti is under fire after images surfaced on Tuesday suggesting she has a feminist tattoo, The New York Times reports. The popular actress, widely considered "the Natalie Portman of Iran," was photographed at a news conference in Tehran with the suggested tattoo of a feminist symbol, a raised fist combined with the Venus symbol, on her forearm. Her latest film, The Salesman, just won two awards at Cannes Awards Festival. The potential existence of such tattoo has prompted some to blast… Read more

Love & FriendshipWritten and directed by Whit StillmanOut May 13 Rating Don’t expect to swoon over Love & Friendship. Writer/director Whit Stillman’s adaptation of Jane Austen’s unfinished novella Lady Susan is short on romance, long on social satire. The plot follows a beautiful young widow and scheming social climber, Lady Susan (Kate Beckinsale), who escapes London and its gossip to wreak subtle havoc someplace where nobody knows her: her in-laws’ country estate. While there, she manipulates friends, family, and… Read more

Summer’s coming and High Waisted is kicking off the long awaited season with the release of a brand new music video, Shithead, off of their debut album, On Ludlow. The colorful music video stars lead singer, Jessica Louise Dye, dancing like the sun will never stop shinin' at all her fave spots in New York City. Its free spirited nature matches the meaning behind Shithead; “a rejection of finding happiness and validation from others” and “...aims to inspire others to be silly, act wild, and do what makes you happy”. Now… Read more

A few days ago, I caught an Uber to the University of Sydney. Hopping into the car, the driver politely smiled and asked, “Where to?” Without thought, I gave him the address of the engineering building, a highly accessible area on campus. He looked into the front mirror and boldly stated, “You’re an engineer!” I paused before correcting him. This was a completely foreign feeling to me. No one was ever proud, excited, interested, in my real degree. Not that I needed to be interesting or impressive. But when I was asked… Read more

May is national Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month and the perfect time to shout out five Asian American and Pacific Islander women who are fearlessly standing up for reproductive health, rights and justice.We only have to look at a few recent examples to see how much work needs to be done to bust racial stereotypes about Asian American women and our reproductive health care. Take the recent House Judiciary hearing on a bill that would restrict access to abortion for women of color and… Read more

At Columbia University, the students of the anti-rape activist group No Red Tape were growing frustrated. The school’s president, Lee C. Bollinger, is the highest paid president out of 497 colleges, making $4.6 million per year, and the school is planning to build a $7 billion new upper Manhattan campus area called Manhattanville. Locating the funding at a school with an endowment of $9.2 billion to extend the hours of the campus rape crisis center to include weeknights and weekends (when rape is more likely to occur)… Read more

Dictionaries define plus size as an “extra large size category of clothing,” although society often regards "plus size" as sizes 12 and up. Technically, the term "plus size" doesn’t represent “extra large” women, but only those slightly larger than the average woman, a size 14. Many women are labeled as "plus size" by the media or identify themselves as "plus size," when they really belong somewhere in the middle. All this means that the community that was specifically made for plus size women is excluding them,… Read more

It only takes one of us to make a difference for all of us. We all can be like Emma Stone, but with yoga pants instead of corsets. In grammar school, young women are groomed to dress a certain way to avoid “creating a distraction to young men.”At my daughter’s grammar school orientation, Principal Ogyny began discussing the dress code and had three young women stand in front of the parents and students as examples of what not to wear to school. No young men. He kept referring to “hormones” and “distracting boys.” One… Read more

Amber Heard has accused her soon-to-be ex husband Johnny Depp of domestic violence. She filed for divorce last week, a brave act in an apparently abusive situation. The hashtags #IStandWithAmber and #imwithamber are popping up all over social media, and the amount of victim blaming in this situation is alarming. The hashtag #imwithjohnny is also popping up everywhere. Maybe people don’t want to believe the man behind some of their favorite films is capable of such cruelty, maybe some don’t really understand the gravity… Read more

'Spirited Away,' 2001 The renowned Japanese animator, Makiko Futaki, died Friday, May 13, after being treated for an unspecified illness. She passed away at age 57 in a Tokyo hospital, according to Hollywood Reporter. Futaki began working with Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli in 1981 on the film Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. After the release of the film, she became one of the lead animators at Ghibli, working closely with Miyazaki on all his major projects. 'Akira,' 1988 Makiko Futaki aided in the creation of… Read more

One black and white photography magazine, Monovisions, just captured the coolest of cool: Bohemian Greenwich Village in the 1910s and '20s. A collection of pictures taken by American photojournalist Jessie Tarbox Beals just made our hit list, displaying hip shops and radical ladies exposing their ankles (and maybe more). If you're curious, look on at the wonderous moments from life before beards, flannels, and, dare I say it, the internet took over the neighborhood. Here's what Monovisions had to say: "Jessie Tarbox… Read more

Our favorite way to beat the heat is with a steady stream of popsicles, which means having a freezer full of them throughout the summer. So we tapped La Newyorkina’s Fany Gerson (lanewyorkina.com), the queen of sweet Mexican treats, for her favorite DIY paletas—ice pops that let simple ingredients and fruity flavors shine. Put watermelon on cool-down duty, or get the party started with her boozy orange version below. All you need are all-in-one molds, shot glasses, or disposable cups; and some Popsicle sticks. Paletas… Read more

Bust’s Craftaculars came back with a bang, and we are exploding at the seams with some amazing raffle prizes thanks to our rad group of hardworking and talented vendors from our L.A. and N.Y. shows. If you were lucky enough to be able to attend either (or both) shows in Brooklyn (April 23) and L.A. (May 07), then you already know about the whirlwind of gadgets, knick knacks, jewelry, beauty products and delicious noms that captivated the interests and imaginations of our wonderful attendees. But, maybe you did attend… Read more

In honor of Memorial Day, we've listed some women who have made enormous contributions to our nation's military while in the service. Here are some of the brave, badass, pioneering, flat-out incredible women that your history books probably "forgot" to mention. 1. Jacqueline Cochran While she is usually remembered as being the first woman pilot to break the sound barrier, she also has a badass military history. When she first tried to become a pilot in the US Airforce, she was denied, despite her incredible flying… Read more

“It’s crazy because it is a total boys' club. On tour, some guy said, ‘Are you a roadie?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, I am a roadie,' and I got up there and played and it felt pretty good. And then I keep getting, 'Well, this is going to sound kind of misogynist.' Well then, don’t say it, dude! And then they’re like, ‘You’re really great for a woman,' or, 'You’re the best female guitarist I’ve ever seen.’” Dani Neff is constantly aware of her gender. As the lead singer and guitarist of Megafauna, an otherwise all-male band,… Read more

Short, heavy breaths escape our tight lips. Our chests heave up and down. I swallow hard, trying not to make a sound. Somehow, we have flipped both of our six-foot bodies all the way around, so that our heads are hanging off of the foot of my tiny twin bed. The duvet knots under my back, tangled as if there had been a category five storm. I consider readjusting, but I know the first movements after sex are always precarious. Especially the first time you sleep with a new partner.As our breathing slowed, Lee* turned… Read more

Well, we found it. The best Instagram. @look_at_this_pusssy is an Instagram entirely devoted to finding everyday objects that look like labia. Founders Eva Sealove and Chelsea Jones started the account in 2014 and it grew immensely in popularity (for obvious reasons). The account features everything from trees to bed sheets to ravioli, each bearing its own unique similarities to a vagina. Nearly all of their posts are submissions from other users who have found a likeness in an unlikely place. The abundance and variety… Read more

Our own Callie Watts went looking for love on a bunch of new dating apps, and her adventures prove that truth is stranger than (erotic) fiction I’m a very social person. Usually, if I want to meet a stranger, I go to a bar alone, order a whiskey, and wait for someone to come talk to me. If I like his vibe, we’ll chat and see where it goes. And if I don’t, I’ll just rudely stare at my phone until he goes away. This old-school method still works pretty well. But I was curious about all the dating apps that had recently… Read more

Sluts: What are they? Who are they? And how do I know if I'm a slut? The world of sluttitude is nuanced, stigmatized, and complicated, BUT if you seek the answer to the latter question, you can trust that the Internet has the answer. Possibly several answers! Just Google "slut test" and you will find several in-depth quizzes that promise to tell you if you are a slut. Sound simple? Well, no: In most cases, the tests are unclear about what counts as a “sexual partner,” and which acts constitute “cheating.” This means… Read more

In the latest episode of Inside Amy Schumer, the show’s host and Jake Gyllenhaal team up for a hilarious paradoy of the hit MTV show, Catfish. Under the name “Katfish,” the spoof show’s two-man crew, including Paul Downs of Broad City, join Amy to bust Jake for “catfishing” her on a ferret fanatics chat room. Amy explains to the hosts of “Katfish,” that “Jake” introduced himself as the actor, Jake Gyllenhaal, and immediately told her she is “the most beautiful woman” he has ever seen. Fake-Nev Schulman looks intently… Read more

Jane Campion was the first woman to be awarded the Palme D’Or prize at Cannes Film Festival for The Piano, a film which also earned her a nomination for Best Director from the Academy, the only second woman to do so. Sadly, while she was experiencing career success, her personal life was suffering. The same year she won the Palme, she had just lost her son, Jasper, who died when he was 12 days old. “The full impact of my success never hit me. I was grieving, really, throughout that whole year. It was a very difficult… Read more

I actually wasn’t familiar with The Moth until Hannah Horvath, Lena Dunham’s character on the hit television series Girls, decided to take up writing again. The season 5 finale had Hannah performing at The Moth’s StorySLAM, where real people tell their true stories live without notes. These StorySLAMS are themed shows, and the theme of the evening was jealousy; Hannah chose to speak about her thoughts on Jessa and Adam's relationship. It turns out that The Moth and its StorySLAMS are a real thing, and nothing short of… Read more

They are all out there, right now. Women who face it, are facing it, day in and out. I have faced it too. And kept quiet about it, because that is what people tell you to do. Politely sweep it under the carpet, because as a woman, someone else’s crime is still your shame.It all starts very well, as always. Both seem to love each other deeply, truly and madly. Things seem to go great for a while: Steps are lighter, the heart pounds harder, and you want to smile without any reason.Intoxicating, his happiness starts to… Read more

Anna Ogier-Bloomer’s photography shows us the realities of motherhood and breastfeeding—and it’s intimate, sometimes exhausting and undeniably beautiful. Breastfeeding has become an extremely wide-spread and hotly debated topic. Everyone, men and women (though mostly men), seems to have something to say about whether or not a woman should breastfeed in public. This discussion generally tends to focus more on the breast and less on the woman. Anna Ogier-Bloomer reminds us that attached to that breast is a whole,… Read more

As a woman who has built her career on supporting young people, especially girls, I am ashamed that I hesitated for a moment to speak out against the selection of Woody Allen’s latest film, Café Society, to make its North American premiere as the Opening Night Film of our much beloved Seattle International Film Festival.I guess I didn’t want to offend the people I consider friends and colleagues at our hometown film festival. But then I realized that this very type of rationalizing is what helps fuel rape culture in… Read more