Sithara's Newslettara

Sithara's Newslettara

Essays

Fairies, witches, and the rules of being liked
Using Winx Club to understand why people are so mad at Chappell Roan
 • Sithara Ranasinghe
The 2010s owl necklace trend: a very deep dive
Where did it come from, where did it go? Where did it come from, Cotton Owl Joe
 • Sithara Ranasinghe
Fantasy writers are weird about Ireland
"Fantasy writers talk about Ireland the way straight dudes talk about Japan"
 • Sithara Ranasinghe
The thirst trap
“The whole complex issue of the role of the state in modern capitalism is contained in every bottle of water.” – Richard Wilk
 • Sithara Ranasinghe
The long, wild history of hot girls smoking
A cigarette in a woman’s hand will never just be a cigarette
 • Sithara Ranasinghe
What has the "Writer Aesthetic" cost us?
Or why I watched 47 Paris cafe videos instead of finishing my stupid little novel
 • Sithara Ranasinghe
Smelling like dessert in the age of skinny culture
You can have the cake. Just don’t eat it.
 • Sithara Ranasinghe
Nobody wants a monster girl
Why, even in our own fantasies, do we insist that only the male monsters get to f*ck?
 • Sithara Ranasinghe
Let’s Discuss Tavern Wenches
Princesses had to be virginal and sorceresses evil, so the tavern wench offered a loophole – a way to write very extensively about lawfully good boobs.
 • Sithara Ranasinghe
I have a theory about why there are so many shit bars now
This is pretty much the same process that happened to coffee shops in the 2010s
 • Sithara Ranasinghe
What Makes Perfume Smell "Sexy"?
A historical deep-dive into how we process certain smells as seductive
 • Sithara Ranasinghe
Why Everyone "Sweats Profusely" in Novels
"Does anyone do anything profusely except apologize? Sweat, I guess."
 • Sithara Ranasinghe
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