HELLO, Dames Nationals!
Hello, only dance Dame M. will ever do from this day forward.
Please join us in saluting Queen Allison, who this morning delighted us, her loyal subjects, by taking over the White House press briefing as C.J. Cregg, her objectively perfect character from The West Wing. We are basically taking this as an opportunity to share videos of her doing made-up dances based on occupations and “The Jackal” on various late night TV programs, and also to troll Hottie Christina with the following gifs, because Thirst Trolling is one of our Love Languages.
Kamille, BE HONEST. Did you start this rumor juuust to fuck with CT?
Christina, it's like she heard your "If Allison Janney Was Your Girlfriend" plea, and is talking RIGHT TO YOU.
Black Women Respond to Beyoncé’s Lemonade
This section comes to us courtesy of Ally & Amy, who run Girl Gang, and who graciously gave us permission to run their master list of black women’s responses to Beyoncé’s masterful visual album Lemonade in this issue. As they said, all four of us love Lemonade, but as white women, our affection for it is beside the point-- Beyoncé did not make this album for us. So we wanted to join them in highlighting these pieces from Bey's most important, and most centrally engaged audience: black women. Our big thanks to them for compiling all of these responses, to the women who wrote them, and to The Queen for her latest masterpiece. Long may She reign.
"6 Black Girl Magic Moments You Missed In Beyonce’s 'Lemonade’, Because Focusing On Gossip & Infidelity Misses The Message” by Char Adams (Bustle)
“Beyoncé's ‘Lemonade’ is Sweet Tea” by Luvvie Ajayi (Awesomely Luvvie)
“Focusing on Rachel Roy Diminishes The Power Of 'Lemonade'” by Zeba Blay (HuffPost Women)
“I Got 'Lemonade’' All On My Lips” by Flose Boursiquot (Blavity)
“Close To Home: A Conversation About Beyoncé's 'Lemonade” by Regina Bradley and Dream Hampton (NPR)
"Savage 'Lemonade' from a Savant” by Ayana Malaika Crichlow (HuffPost Black Voices)
“Beyoncé's 'Lemonade' Is Defiant In The Midst Of Upheaval” by Kiana Fitzgerald (NPR)
“The Most Powerful Words from 'Lemonade' Aren’t Beyonce's” by Lisa Respers France (CNN)
“Beyonce's 'Lemonade' Might Not Be About Her Life, But It's A Lesson For All Of Us” by Kadeen Griffiths (Bustle)
“How Beyoncé Mixed Traditionalism With Radicalism to Make ‘Lemonade’” by Aisha Harris (Slate)
“A Call and Response with Melissa Harris-Perry: The Pain and the Power of ‘Lemonade’”, discussion led and edited by Melissa Harris-Perry (Elle)
“‘Lemonade’ Is Beyoncé's Body and Blood” by Clover Hope (Jezebel)
“Beyoncé's 'Lemonade' Doesn't Have to Mean Everything to Everyone” by Imani Jackson (Teen Vogue)
“'Lemonade' Is About Black Women Healing Themselves and Each Other” by Morgan Jerkins (Elle)
“Beyonce’s ‘Lemonade’ is What Happens When Black Women Control Their Art” by Jamilah King (Mic)
“4 Things 'LEMONADE' Teaches Us About Black Womanhood” by Courtney Hall Lee (Sojourners)
“Sipping Beyonce's Lemonade” by Ronda Lee (HuffPost Black Voices)
“Beyoncé's ‘Lemonade’ Isn't Just About Cheating, It's About Black Sisterhood” by Treva Lindsey (Cosmopolitan)
“Everything You Need to Know About Beyoncé’s New Visual Album, ‘Lemonade’” by Dee Lockett (Vulture)
“Roundtable: Beyoncé’s ‘Lemonade’ and the Undeniable Power of a Black Woman’s Vulnerability” by Dee Lockett, Ashley Weatherford, and Lindsay Peoples (Vulture)
“Beyoncé’s ‘Lemonade’: an Ode to Black Formation in Any Shade” by Shannon Luders-Manuel (Guerrilla Feminism)
“What ‘Lemonade’ Says To Me About Relationships” by Brittany Luse (Refinery29)
“6 black women Beyoncé channels in ‘Lemonade’ — from Warsan Shire to Zora Neale Hurston” by Victoria M. Massie (Vox)
“Why ‘Lemonade’ Is For Black Women” by Dominique Matti (Medium)
“Beyoncé's ‘Lemonade’ is #blackgirlmagic at its most potent” by Syreeta McFadden (The Guardian)
“'Lemonade' Is Beyoncé's Testimony of Being Black, Beautiful & Burdened” by Janet Mock
"'Lemonade'" The Black Woman's Guide to Understanding What You Saw" by Negra With Tumbao
“‘Lemonade’ Was The Most Beautiful Thing You’ll Ever See In Your Life” by Sylvia Obell (BuzzFeed)
”Beyoncé's Lemonade is about much more than Jay Z and infidelity” by Ijeoma Oluo (The Guardian)
“What to Read After Watching Beyoncé’s 'Lemonade'” by Nichole Perkins (Fusion)
“Beyoncé’s ‘Lemonade’ isn’t a breakup album, it’s a black album” by Ashley Ray-Harris (The AV Club)
“9 Things You Definitely Didn't Know About Beyonce's ‘Lemonade’" by Ashley Reese (gurl)
“How Beyonce's 'Lemonade' Exposes Inner Lives of Black Women” by Zandria F. Robinson (Rolling Stone)
“Beyonce's ‘Lemonade’: A Candid Analysis Of Why We Must Continue to Love that Cool, Refreshing Drink!” by Patti R. Rose (HuffPost Black Voices)
"Beyonce didn’t make Lemonade about white people or black men - and no you don’t have the right to be included" by Kuba Shand-Baptiste (The Independent)
“How Beyonce's 'Lemonade' Reclaims Rock's Black Female Legacy” by Brittany Spanos (Rolling Stone)
“Beyoncé’s ‘Lemonade’ is the Love Letter to Black Women We’ve Been Thirsting For” by Blue Telumsa (The Grio)
“Beyoncé’s ‘Lemonade’ Is Black Woman Magic” by Omise’eke Natasha Tinsley (Time)
“Beyonce's 'Lemonade' Makes Me Want to Be a Better Black Woman” by Ezinne Ukoha (HuffPost Black Voices)
“Beyoncé's 'Lemonade' Is A Powerful Ode To Black Women Everywhere” by Lilly Workneh (HuffPost Black Voices)
"A Complete Breakdown of Beyoncé’s Hair Looks From 'Lemonade'" by Patrice Grell Yurski (Elle)
If you have a favorite piece that did not make this comprehensive list, send a link to@jointhegirlgang on Twitter, or message them on Tumblr, as Ally & Amy will be updating their post as new pieces come in.
Dame Sophie’s Picks of the Week
Oh, hey, it’s Angel’s house from Buffy The Vampire Slayer!
Nearly every day, I find reason to bless the shining heads of archivists everywhere for preserving and sharing widely treasures that would otherwise be subject to decay and oblivion. This week, my admiration is aimed at the hardworking smarties at the University of Southern California, who have seen fit to digitize 1300 photographs of regional midcentury modern architectural perfection. If you need me, I’m going to be imagining myself swanning around a pool in Rancho Palos Verdes, caftan billowing in the breeze, for the next week.
File Under: Girls Subverting The Dominant Paradigm Is My Favorite & My Best: Bangladeshi surfer girls finding their power on the waves. Relatedly, I know we have a small but fierce contingent of mermaid fans in Dames Nation, who may well wish to know that this fellow spends his free time as a merman and runs a very successful business, making high-quality custom mer-tails for famous people & regular people with lots of discretionary income, too.
Have you ever wondered, “say, is it true that everything great about American culture is basically stolen from people of color & immigrant groups we don’t consider totally white?” Friends, yes. Listen to this episode of Latino USA, all about the unjustly under-famous Latino heroes of rock & roll, and share it with all your friends. If you don’t have an hour to devote to the full show, the producers have helpfully created a starter playlist right there in the show notes!
As a Philadelphia girl, I’m a little baffled by the notion that our hometown heroes Hall & Oates would be considered anything other than pop geniuses, and I’m so sorry that Nicholas Pell feels that his love of H&O is an Unpopular Opinion. Look at these Top 10 hits! Pure, silky fire! I recommend that Mr. Pell begin listening daily to 102.9 WMGK (Philadelphia’s Classic Rock!) via the radio app of his choice to commune with his musical people more regularly. Any duo who could inspire Vinny Van Lowe this wayhas to be on my musical heroes list.
Finally, a little shop talk on how Marvel’s well-oiled production machine has helped usher in a newfangled studio picture era, where the auteurs have gone to TV and the highly competent journeymen are now making blockbusters. (I just realized I have been reading & admiring Adam Sternbergh’s entertainment business smarts for 16 years that have gone by in the blink of an eye. Dang.)
That’s why it’s hotter under the water!
Dame Margaret’s Etsy Thirst Trap Edition: Twee Movie Merchandise Edition!
Just caaaaaasually destroying your bank accounts here!
Every once in a while, instead of reading the Internet like the engaged, intelligent person I am, I receive a particularly effective marketing email from the monsters at Etsy, and instead spend 7-13 days window shopping in an absurdly narrow category like “vintage cocktail glasses” or “artsy posters for Wes Anderson movies.” PREVIOUSLY, I have just drunk this poison myself, and let my bank account bear the brunt of my taste alone. BUT NO MORE! This week, I am dragging ALL OF DAMES NATION down with me. So, without further ado, here is my first Etsy Thrist Trap, focused on Twee! Movie! Merchandise!
Pretty much everything Lost Plots' sells is exactly to my taste, but I am especially charmed by her series of Wes Anderson film posters designed to look like vintage paperback novels: she’s done Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The Darjeeling Limited,Moonrise Kingdom, and The Grand Budapest Hotel. What’s especially vicious about these is how great they all look together. Owning only ONE just seems like it’d lessen their impact. Warning: she also has a series of posters dedicated to Morrissey, Kate Bush, Fleetwood Mac, and DAVID FUCKING BOWIE. As Sophie said "Bowie by morning, wallets take warning. Morrissey by night, DUCATS TAKE FLIGHT!"
Luckily, I also found quite a few stand alone Wes Anderson posters of note because WOULD YOU EVER HAVE GUESSED but there is a major overlap in the Venn Diagram of Etsy shoppers, Etsy artists, and Wes Anderson enthusiasts. Here’s:
Maira Kalman-esque character chart for The Grand Budapest Hotel
Suzy Bishop’s suitcase from Moonrise Kingdom rendered as a brooch
An embroidery hoop commemorating the time you/Max Fisher saved Latin
And-- most important-- a picture of 111 Archer Avenue with the reminder: “Family isn’t a word. It’s a sentence.”
If Wes Anderson is not your cup of tea, perhaps you’ll want to direct your attention to Jordan Bolton Design’s Significant Movie Objects Organized Neatly posters for Amelie, Amadeus, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, or Vertigo.
OR, perhaps, you could commit an act of senseless emotional terrorism by sending one of Cinema Studio’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind postcards to your least (or most) favorite ex! Choose from the classic “Meet Me in Montauk” or the Pure Heart in a Blender of “Please Let Me Keep This Memory… Just This One.”
Love Audrey Hepburn, but hate Mickey Rooney in yellowface? Well then HOW ABOUT this beautiful, midcentury modern tribute to Hepburn’s Hollywood debut: Roman Holiday from CONCEPCIONSTUDIOS? For all y’all nerds out there, they also sell Warhol-inspired Han Solo prints, and a trio of Star Wars posters rendering the original trilogy into (say it with me now...) vintage paperback covers.
As we all, as a Nation, plunge into wedding season, permit me to highlightBag-Apart’s really adorable coffee mug sets featuring classic movie couples like Rick & Ilsa…. and Thelma & Louise. Just great enough to be worth going off-registry to buy!
AND, last but not least! Welcome to NOBILITY DOGS, an incredible Etsy shop that lightly edits posters from movies of WILDLY VARYING quality to feature in a leading role a picture of the dog breed of your choice. Merry every future Christmas and happy all remaining birthdays, friends! I hope you like this shop because it is the only place I am ever buying a gift from for the rest of my life!
What's great about this poster is the way it assumes that NOT ONLY are there passionate 3:10 to Yuma fans out there, but that those fans ALSO love their basset hounds enough to need them inserted, too.
Also this store has made 1,923 sales. Just F.Y.I.
This Week in Hamilton
America’s highest-wattage smile.
Daveed Diggs was on Another Round, yaaaaay! He talked about a bunch of things, including being Black and Jewish, his work outside of Hamilton, and how much he loves attending Carnival in Trinidad. Also in this episode: Dame Sophie’s favorite segment, Stacy’s Career Corner, with Stacy-Marie Ishmael!
Wow wow wowwwww, this opening number homage/mash-up of “Alexander Hamilton” and the opening number to Sweeney Todd is so impressive and fun and GOOD. Is there anything this cast can’t do?
Lin is the smartest person you wish you knew, and he proved it all over again with a 2-minute rap on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, which covered the urgent & terrifying debt crisis in Puerto Rico.
We all know & love the iconic gold star Hamilton poster, but what about designs that didn’t make the cut? Turns out, there were a bunch of different visions for the show’s promotional materials.
Meryl Streep wrote a letter to the women of the cast of Hamilton, singling out their “guts and glory”.
True service journalism alert! Here’s a complete chronological list of all the #Ham4Ham shows!