Category: Culture Reviews

Celebrate the HoliGays with Cafe Cà Phê’s Inaugural Holiday Event

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By Nicole Mitchell

Cafe Cà Phê, Kansas City’s first Vietnamese coffee shop, is hosting its first inaugural HoliGays Party and Vendor Fair this weekend, December 3 from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Proceeds of the event will benefit Umeshiso Coffee Supply, a queer Asian-owned small business in KC.

The event will feature pop-ups by many queer-owned local businesses, including Massage Collective KC, MackBecks, Raspberry Studios, and more. Attendees will also have the opportunity to enter a raffle with multiple high-value prizes, participate in an open mic, receive free education from local LGBTQ+ orgs, and interact with local queer and trans community members through fun activities. Cafe Cà Phê will be serving a glittery specialty beverage called The Gaysian for the day, with 100% of the proceeds benefiting Umeshiso.

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Feminist-friendly frights: Horror movies worth a watch

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By Sophia-Joelle Oswald

For a movie to pass the Bechdel Test it must have at least two named women who talk to each other about something other than a man. Which is, quite frankly, the bare minimum. Thousands of movies have been tested for the Bechdel Test, but less than 57% of the films in the database meet all three of these criteria. 

Horror is the only film genre where women speak as often as men. Shocking, right? (Ha, see what we did there.)

Many horror movies put women at the center, giving them a chance to tell their own stories and share their points of view. 

As with all genres, there was a time when horror movies constantly portrayed female characters in an unempowering light. The final girl trope is the perfect example of this. The final girl is the last woman left alive at the end of a horror or slasher film. She alone is still standing, left to either defeat the killer or describe the series of events to the authorities. The final girl is a major part of many successful horror movies like Scream, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Halloween. 

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Midnights: Swapping Stories at Swift’s Sleepover

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By Hanna Ellington

A master of reinvention, Taylor Swift pivots toward reflection with her latest release, Midnights. 

The album in its entirety feels similar to being at a long-awaited sleepover, where the brazen story-swapping continues long after the lights are turned out. Her 10th studio album serves as a formal departure from the imaginative stories of folklore and evermore, capturing an honest exploration of personal faults and private vulnerabilities. Accented by the return of her ever-catchy pop sound, Midnights illuminates the subtle intricacies of late-night talking and restless ponderings through its substance under the moody, synth-pop surface.

Midnights toys with what keeps you up at night, with subjects ranging from self-examination, karmic revenge, and notches in the bedpost. Combining elements of candid, late-night musings with polished and dreamy synthesized backings, Swift’s personal examination fuses her past personas and experiences to create a matured, subdued, and introspective package. Defined by her color-coded and recognizable eras, Midnights analyzes “13 sleepless nights scattered through my life,” according to her August 29 Instagram announcement, giving an intimate perspective on the inner workings of her mind and life in the spotlight.

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Catcall-Approved Foreplay Toys

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By Nicole Mitchell & Kelcie McKenney

In our experience, we’ve found that the best sex includes a little bit of magic in the mix. Sometimes that’s because you’ve had the hottest date with your partner or you’ve been reading smut all damn day or you bought a new lingerie set that has you feeling fantastic. And sometimes that magic came from being in juuuussst the right mood. And what better to set the mood than a solid sesh of foreplay. You heard it babes, this Catcall-approved list covers some of our favorite foreplay toys, games, and accessories to help you mix up the mood-making. As always, we try our best to recommend ethical stores that embrace and empower sexuaity in a healthy way. Let us know your faves! Sharing is caring.

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Why you need to follow fat influencers

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By Nicole Mitchell

As a Gen Z individual, I’ve spent most of my life on the internet. (I had my first Facebook account when I was only 10). That being said, I’ve followed a ton of people throughout my online life—finding out what I liked and disliked as my tastes changed as I grew up. And, sadly, it wasn’t until recently that I finally realized that something was missing. I wasn’t following any fat influencers.

I had been skinny my whole life. I knew what looked good on me and what didn’t. It wasn’t until I gained weight that I realized that my entire Instagram feed looked the same—they all looked like me, 60 pounds ago. I would look at the women I followed for fashion inspiration but felt like nothing I tried looked the same on me. I was bigger than them. Whether I like to admit it or not, it affected me.

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