Mother Tongue - Issue 10

Mother Tongue is a biannual magazine that interrogates (and celebrates) modern motherhood through inclusive stories about art, sex, pop culture, politics, food, and a few things in between. It’s not about kids or how to parent them: it’s about the nuanced lives we are living—as mothers, and much more.

Issue 10 of Mother Tongue is an action-packed adventure into the pungent world of weed nuns; a swift yet thoughtful exploration of the political battleground that is American motherhood; an artful view of what it looks like when the fountain of female pleasure is quite literally put under the microscope! Across 128 jam-packed pages, we find ourselves painting with Lucy Liu, bowling with Jenny Slate and getting into bed with Tracey Emin, as you do. Separately, we learn about the clitoris in all its (surprisingly large!) glory, get a vocabulary lesson from Kathryn Grody, and see what happens when Jane Goodall tells you to have one or two children. Cigarettes are fetishized, spliffs donated to worthy causes, and horror movies devoured, as we then dive into the cruelty of menstrual inequity in the US carceral system and confront the dualities of being Iranian-American in this moment of global tumult. We are reminded that endings can be beginnings in disguise, that justice is a lifelong pursuit, and that ignoring pain is not the same thing as healing. We also learn that the fight for a more stable, more decent world is just a continued (uphill!) battle, not something that can be won once and for all (according to Amber Tamblyn); contemplate the rollercoaster ride of ambition in midlife; assess the reliability of gossip; and turn to Erykah Badu for advice about baby daddies and the illusion of having it all.

Featuring words and work by: Erykah Badu, Kate Branch, Ej Dickson, Rachel Elam, Cory Feder, Ellen Fedors, Andi Gáldi Vinkó, Christine Garvey, Abigail Glasgow, Natacha Gorwitz, Kathryn Grody, Poppy Harlow, Victoria Hely-Hutchinson, Barbara Henri, Mara Hoffman, Hettie Judah, Hillary Kelly, Thessaly La Force, Janet Manley, Annie Marie Musselman, Nicole Najafi, Mary Overton, Neha Ruch, Reshma Saujani, Baran Shafiey, Lauren Tamaki, Amber Tamblyn, Jerrine Tan, Shana Jade Trajanoska, Anna Malaika Tubbs, Kristina Tzekova, Cassandra Welchlin, Stephanie Wittels Wachs, Shawna X, and Christina Zimpel.