This week, Isabelle Cossart writes about giving tours of neighborhoods in New Orleans that were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Read that and others from Broadly, The Toast, Ebony, and more.
"I Was the Face of Disaster Tourism in Post-Katrina New Orleans" — BuzzFeed Ideas
Isabelle Cossart runs Tours by Isabelle, the oldest locally owned tour company in New Orleans. Part of her job description includes giving tours of neighborhoods that have been destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. In the past, people have accused her of cashing in on others' misery, but what some don't realize is that it is a misery she has to bear too. Read an essay from Cossart at BuzzFeed Ideas.
Lee Celano / AFP / Getty Images
"Booking for Mr. Right: Is This Korean Dating Method Patriarchal or Practical?" — Broadly
Aside from Tinder and the plethora of dating apps out there, you can also try booking for the man or woman of your dreams. Phoenix Tso visited a popular booking club in Los Angeles' Koreatown, where waiters dragged her to the tables of different men. A seemingly sexist and torturous experience, it actually wasn't as uncomfortable as Tso had imagined. Read about her experience at Broadly.
Jesse Morrow / Stocksy United / Via broadly.vice.com
"Swimming Lessons for Black Girls" — The Toast
There's truth behind the stereotype that black people can't swim. But at age five, Christienna Fryar learned how to swim through lessons at local recreation centers and then swam competitively until she graduated high school. For The Toast, she reflects on her past, how swimming pools are a place of hostility for black people, and police brutality — specifically the way officers treated Dajerria Becton in McKinney, Texas. Read her essay at The Toast.
"Taylor Swift’s Evolution, As Seen Through Her Live Show" — BuzzFeed Music
Taylor Swift is hardly "the girl on the bleachers" that she still purports to be. After seeing the singer in concert, Doree Shafrir wrote about Swift's evolution from pop princess to It Girl. "The biggest difference between 2011 and 2015 Taylor seems like it’s in who she’s telling us she wants to be, what the fantasy is that she’s selling not just to her audience, but more crucially, to herself," she writes for BuzzFeed Music. Read the essay here.
Christopher Polk / Getty Images for TAS
