Dining

Aunt Flow’s Kitchen Disrupts the Flow of Menstrual Stigma

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Growing up with gut-twisting menstrual cramps, Armita Jamshidi ‘25 (majoring in Computer Science and College Scholar, focusing on the intersection between entrepreneurship and women’s health) knew one thing: she didn’t deserve to suffer through her pain. Uncomfortable with the possible long-term consequences of traditional pain medication, Jamshidi instead relied on her grandma’s soothing Middle-Eastern recipes. Inspired by these recipes, she launched her small business in 2022 as She Balls. Now known as Aunt Flow’s Kitchen, her company is dedicated to helping menstruators mitigate period cramps with grandma-approved “Cramp Bites.”

Coming to Cornell, Jamshidi was unable to replicate her comfort foods due to there being no Middle Eastern grocery stores in a local radius. As her cramps worsened, she ended up in the E.R. and struggled to get through daily life.

Arts & Culture

Social Commentary Doesn’t ‘Ruin’ Fiction

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Works of fiction are inseparable from the climate they emerge into, whether that be political, social, economic or any combination of these. Recognizing how popular media play into their environments doesn’t seek to limit the audience’s enjoyment of that media, but rather highlights how the feelings of the audience have been represented through different works of fiction.

Columns

MORADI | Justice, Justice, Justice

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“My mother taught me this trick. If you repeat something over and over again, it loses its meaning. For example, homework. Homework, homework, homework, homework, homework, homework, homework, homework…See? Nothing.” — Phil Kaye, “Repetition”

After a comedy show, my friend tells me which jokes were “problematic.” Problematic.

Blogs

BLOGGIN’ IN ALL CAPS | Your #MCM Thinks This is Deep

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We all have at least one friend – usually from high school – who thinks they are “deep” for posting pictures of maudlin statements like, “sleep doesn’t help if it’s your soul that’s tired,” in Helvetica on a white background with the Valencia filter on Instagram or Twenty-One Pilots lyrics on FaceBook. The people who typically pull this kind of shit are the ones that tell you that they are “different” from other guys or the girls that are constantly reminding you that they are “like, super weird.” Characterized by technological literacy, pessimism and melodrama, they are the archetypal members of what Noreena Hertz calls Generation K.

What does the K stand for? Katniss – yes, as in Katniss Everdeen from the The Hunger Games. Demographic cohorts are named after the defining event of the generation. The Baby-boomers are defined by the profound impact of being the first generation to come of age in a world post-World War II, and the Millennials are distinguished as the first generation to come of age in the new millennium.

animation

Disney’s Zootopia: Stunning Animation with Social Commentary

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It’d be hard to imagine anyone hasn’t heard the hype around Walt Disney’s 55th entry into their animated canon. The film has dominated the box office for the past three weekends — even overshadowing the release of Allegiant — and it’s not hard to see why. Zootopia, directed by Byron Howard, Rich Moore and Jared Bush, combines wit, charm and fun with sharp social commentary, creating an experience that is truly unforgettable. The story revolves around a rabbit named Judy Hopps, voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin, who — true to Disney standards — is a bright-eyed dreamer who wants to make the world a better place. She feels that the best way to do this is to become a police officer, but faces obstruction from people around her who point out that there’s never been a rabbit police officer before.