“We need to change the culture.” So begins the prevailing script for political reflection and criticism of almost every sort today. Is the problem homophobia? We need to change the culture of masculinity. Is it financial malfeasance? We need to change the culture of Wall Street—or greed, or neoliberalism, or capitalism. Is it militarism? We […]

The standard story, now being recycled in the media, has two symmetrical sides. On the one hand, someone breaks through a barrier, setting an example and inspiring others to follow. We can all recite examples of the first woman this, or the first African-American that, or the first openly gay, Jewish, Muslim, or whatever something […]