fall 2024 table of contents

from the editors

in brief:

• “Parenting Gender, From Left to Right,” by Elena G. Van Stee.
• “Crossing the Cultural Line,” by Parker Muzzerall.
• “Rural Rainbows,” by Sophie X. Liu.
• “Shedding the Wealth,” by Colter J. Uscola.
• “A Woman Walks into a Brothel,” by Parker Muzzerall.
• “Whose Parents Are Paying,” by Elena G. Van Stee.
• “Status Consistency Wanted,” by Sophie X. Liu.
• “23 and We,” by Parker Muzzerall.
• “The Wages of Digital Emotional Labor,” by Sophie X. Liu.
• “Intergenerational Costs,” by Colter J. Uscola.

q&a:

• “The Importance of Contexts.” Amin Ghaziani, Seth Abrutyn, and Letta Page speak with Contexts graduate editorial board members about their experiences working on the magazine and their visions for its future.

features:

• “Voice, Protest, and Democracy,” by Aidan McGarry. To be visible and recognized in public life, marginalized groups must speak up and speak out. As they articulate a collective voice through protest, these groups lay claim to belonging and enrich democracy, an institution that frequently excludes them. The case of LGBTIQ activism in India demonstrates that protest is the realization of political agency.
• “Daring To Feel Joy,” by Celeste Vaughan Curington. Intersectional oppression, or the combined effects of various kinds of discrimination and exclusion, is a fact of life for Cabo Verdean service and care workers in Lisbon, Portugal. But so, too, is joy. By cultivating Black joy within counterspaces of belonging, these women reveal a kaleidoscope of futures worth fighting for.
• “To the Moon: Hype and Start-Up Work,” by Patrick Sheehan. When every day on the job is do-or-die, employees are left gasping for air. If they catch a breath, they are revived with the potent oxygen that fuels start-ups: hype. Go inside Silicon Valley’s Brainshare, where the young men who pile in are not far-out believers but children of the upper middle classes with outsized expectations for work.
• “The Failure To Regulate Airbnb,” by Sarah Warren. The rapid global explosion in short-term rentals has left cities, armed only with policies related to hotels and permanent housing, scrambling. An analysis of Airbnb’s data-hoarding practices helps identify the mechanisms underlying more and less effective regulatory responses in two American cities.

in pictures:

• “Public Pinball.” Ryan Banfi on the enduring appeals of the humble pinball machine.

culture:

• “Water, Water, Everywhere… But for Whom?” Bandana Purkayastha and Rianka Roy on scarcity and supply in a thirsty world.
• “Wakanda Forever: Afrofuturism, Healing, and Creating a New Diaspora.” Myron T. Strong, Jennifer Lê, Kyle Clark Echeverria, Zaynab Daughtery, Ayanna Hasselberger, Francis Phillip, Calise Harper, and Yakhare Gueye on an Afrofuturistic vision of vulnerability and resilience.

trends:

• “Job Preferences, Motherhood, and the Gender Pay Gap.” Lawrence M. Eppard, Annie Linker, Madison Laughman, and Katie Bonomo on global pay gaps.
• “Considering Small-City Gentrification,” Zhe Zhang, Shelley M. Kimelberg, and Robert M. Adelman on underexamined urban change.
• “Who Should Provide Health-Related Services?” Julia Kay Wolf and Lynne S. Cossman on local preferences.

books:

• “Social Capital Is Not Enough: How Adults Exacerbate Teen Troubles When They Think They Are Solving Them.” Allison J. Pugh on Life Under Pressure and Nice Is Not Enough.

policy brief:

• “A Face-to-Face Approach to Preventing Campus Sexual Assault.” Laura Beth Nielsen on balancing response with prevention efforts.
• “Complicating Clery.” Ashley C. Rondini on the complexities of campus sexual assault data.

one thing i know:

• “Everyday Status Really Does Matter.” Cecilia L. Ridgeway on identity, status, and social inequalities.