Bedugul Coffee: The beautiful diversity of redheads of color

The Huffington Post

Culture Shift is a weekly newsletter curated by the HuffPost Culture writers and editors.

This week we're talking about Jonathan Franzen's new book, the performance artist challenging sex ed norms in America, the beautiful diversity of redheads of color, Sylvia Plath's legacy and the power of love spells.

Performance Artist Uses A Mobile Doctor's Office To Challenge Sex Ed Norms

"Basically, [Poussy] Draama set up a mobile doctor's office in the back of an old fire truck and is driving her magic school bus through the French countryside, stopping at gatherings, high schools and small towns along the way. The truck also contains a small greenhouse for witchy remedies, a mobile cinema and a feminist library. Anyone is free to engage Draama in a 'doctor's appointment' -- a conversation meant to broach sexuality's most shameful and unspoken details." (Read more here)

So, Should You Read Jonathan Franzen's New Book, 'Purity'?

"Franzen's books are hailed as among the best crafted by living writers. But themes within his novels, as well as comments made in essays and interviews by the author, have raised valid questions about whether he has a bias against women -- feminists in particular. So, as two young women who enjoy beautiful sentences but prefer not to be discriminated against by great modern thinkers, we set out with (mostly) open minds to read Purity. Here's what happened." (Read more here)

Photographer Explores The Beautiful Diversity Of Redheads Of Color

"I want to stir the perception that most of us have of a 'ginger' as a white caucasian individual, potentially of Celtic descent ... As we struggle with issues of immigration, discrimination and racial prejudice, Mother Nature, meanwhile, follows its own course, embracing society's plurality and, in the process, shaking up our perceptions about origins, ethnicity and identity." (Read more here)

The Hilarious Book Every 'Broad City' Fan Will Adore

"A funny, fast-paced story that follows the post-college life of a drifting, obsessive friendship, Paulina & Fran will appeal to everyone from fans of 'Broad City' to Elena Ferrante devotees. " (Read more here)

A Tiger Posed In An Abandoned Factory, Or When Ruin Photography Becomes Exploitation

"A viral story about a tiger getting loose during a photo shoot in an abandoned Detroit factory was untrue and overblown, photographer David Yarrow said, but the incident has still sparked criticism in the local art world." (Read more here)

Syliva Plath Comes Back To Life In Two Plays

"At this year's New York Fringe Festival, there was not one, but two plays including fictionalized Sylvia Plaths: 'Musas' featured the poet alongside a Frida Kahlo with distractingly well-groomed eyebrows, and 'Plath,' a hokey musical centered around her turbulent higher education." (Read more here)

12 Contemporary African Artists You Should Know

"'Guess Who's Coming To Dinner' [is] a group show that recently closed at Richard Taittinger Gallery in New York City. The exhibition, curated by Ugochukwu-Smooth C. Nzewi, celebrated 12 contemporary artists from Africa who have carved out success in the often too-exclusive world of mainstream art." (Read more here)

Can A Magic Spell Really Help Your Love Life?

"Some call it chemistry, some call it luck, some call it fate or serendipity -- but whichever word you choose to employ, one thing is certain: while science can give us a lot of the answers about why people are drawn to each other, there remains an unquantified, unqualified x-factor. " (Read more here)

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