TASTEFUL RUDE
…a magazine that is typically tasteful. And a little bit rude.
The Latest
Perreo
Columnist Alejandro Herredia meditates on the democratic power of perreo.
About Tasteful Rude
Tasteful Rude’s editorial voice eschews politeness in favor of truth-seeking and fun. It is Tasteful Rude’s mission to abide by Edward’s Said’s commandment: "Criticism must think of itself as life-enhancing and constitutively opposed to every form of tyranny, domination, and abuse."
Black Candles for Bad Men
A supermarket worker turns to her ancestors for help stopping sexual harassment.
Infidelity for Beginners
A publicist engages in an activity she can tell no one about: an affair with her boss.
Priest of Snark: Why One Young Man Heeded the Call
Isabel Tehan profiles a young man who followed his vocation into a dying profession: the Catholic priesthood.
Homes and Haunts: Colson Whitehead’s The Colossus of New York
In Jonathan Russell Clark’s latest column, he writes about Colson Whitehead's The Colossus of New York and tries to summon some love for Colombus, Ohio.
So You’ve Decided to “Live Your Life” Now That You Think COVID is Over…
As the pandemic rages on, Anna Hamilton urges the continued use of Covid precautions: "On some level, I understand being 'tired' of the pandemic. I understand missing 'normalcy.' But for people who have debilitating chronic illness, chronic pain/fatigue, and/or long Covid, our normal sucks."
MOVED: On Speaking Spanish
Maria Bustillos and Myriam Gurba discuss growing up bilingual in a monolingual world.
Tamales Are For Eating, Not Walking
Of all the sounds you can wake up to in Mexico City, my favorite by far is the distant shout of the local vendor slowly approaching your street, yelling “tamales.” My partner was usually up before me and would let me know the vendor was getting close as he handed me my hot cup of […]
Ethiopian Food as Divine Blessing
Some people self-care with a massage or a spa day. Me? I find the nearest Ethiopian restaurant, even if it means traveling hours by car, bus, train, airplane, or all of the above. It may seem like extreme lengths to go for a family serving plate of injera, doro wot, lamb tibs, and shiro, but […]
Of Tacos y Heartbreak
Isabel Quintero and her ex-husband find the perfect tacos to eat at the end of their marriage.
We Watch the Galaxy from Our Porch: Dating While Trans
With sadness, humor, and wit, trans writer féi hernandez pens a love letter to herself.
No Princesses: Reflections on the Passing of Sacheen Littlefeather
Critic Myriam Gurba reflects on the passing of Sacheen Littlefeather and her attempted takedown by a notorious “pretendian” researcher.
Wonder Bread Visions and the Future of Western Civilization
Donald Earl Collins critiques Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, calling on producers and writers to deepen their apocalyptic imaginations by thinking racially.
Noncompliant Heart
Writer Wendy C. Ortiz traces the development of her rebellious spirit and schools us in fascism’s ties to the Pledge of Allegiance.
Learning to Throw Axes
Horrified by the overturning of Roe v Wade, a Latina consoles herself with a re-imagining of Medusa and axes.
Holding Life Lightly: Crybaby Will Dry Our Tears
Miah Jeffra reviews Cheryl Klein's fertility and cancer memoir "Crybaby", an exploration of cancer, fertility, eating disorder, queer desire, and the self.
Tenderness
Tenderness teaches us that if we consider softness with enough rigor, if we consider ourselves with enough softness, a wound is a portal, not an end.
Flan Desparramado
A battered woman makes a crucial deal with Dominican Jesus: if she could escape her abuser in order to spend time with her dying mother, she would learn to make flan.
Lady Mondegreen’s Jungle
In 1954 Sylvia Wright, an editor at Harper’s Magazine, wrote a piece for the magazine in which she recalls her childhood. Her mother would read the Scottish ballad “The Bonnie Earl o’ Moray” to her. Here is how young Wright heard the opening lyric: Ye Highlands and ye Lowlands, Oh, where hae ye been? They […]
Melodrama-Rama: Absorbing Delight
The Telugu film RRR is an incredible mixture of genres, influences, and ideas: a historical epic with obvious ahistorical qualities, a combat-heavy actioner with exuberant song-and-dance numbers, a homosocial friendship drama with recognizably romantic montages. Strong notes of melodrama accent its potent blend. These notes appear not just literally—in musical form—but also within the film’s […]
Company
I faked all of my book reports as a kid – I hated reading. I got good grades in my ESL classes only because of some natural ability with words. At least that’s what teachers said. Gifted. My ease with diction and syntax had less to do with natural ability and more to do with my growing ability to adapt. I was surviving.