BDCWire Staff

Christine Varriale Correspondent

Christine Varriale is a self-proclaimed androfeminivegan Allston music rat. Her passions include but are not limited to: baking, animals, photography, dumplings, and Ryan Gosling. She probably hates your favorite band but maybe you can convert her after a burrito. She also writes for Allston Pudding and previously for The Next Great Generation.

Stories by Christine Varriale

Theater/Performance Art
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New ‘MOM BABY GOD’ production flips the pro-life movement on its head
Theater/Performance Art
Christine Varriale

Madeline Burrows is the strong force at the front of Boston’s punk outfit Tomboy, and she is taking her first step into full-length solo theater with “MOM BABY GOD,” a play based on undercover research on the youth anti-choice and abstinence-only movements. “MOM BABY GOD” is coming to Davis Square Theatre (not to be confused with the Somerville Theatre down the street) this weekend with performances April 5-7. The three nights are co-presented by Boston Doula Project, Brandeis Women’s and Gender Studies Department, and Boston Hassle. We spoke with Madeline about the show, where her inspiration came from, and how the world at large has reacted to it. More

BDCWire
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7 bands not to miss at Smash it Dead Fest 2014
BDCWire
Christine Varriale

Smash it Dead Fest is an annual event to benefit the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center. 30+ bands are playing this year over the three days in Cambridge (Friday at the YMCA, Saturday and Sunday at the Democracy Center). The themes brought to SID from both its music and its workshops are largely about how to combat sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, or otherwise oppressive behavior in the punk scene and beyond. You shouldn’t miss anything this weekend (including a vegan brunch potluck Saturday morning, yum), but if you’re looking for the best bands to check out, look no further (psych, you have to read this to find out). More

Music
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Van diaries: tour chat with Swearin’ and Potty Mouth
Music
Christine Varriale

How does a band keep its own identity when every media outlet pushes them as a comparison to their surroundings? For Philadelphia band Swearin’, it’s comparisons to Waxahatchee, which shares both members and bloodlines. For Potty Mouth, it is riot grrrl, “all chick bands,” and the exploding Western Massachusetts music scene. How is a band to set itself apart from these factors while remaining unscathed and unshaped by the press? I discussed these topics and more with Allison and Jeff from Swearin’, Abby and Ally from Potty Mouth, and Potty Mouth’s tour friend Sam, on Saturday evening at their show at Great Scott. More

Theater/Performance Art
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V-Day Somerville’s ‘Vagina Monologues’ brings together feminist community
Theater/Performance Art
Christine Varriale

Whitney Henderson has been involved with V-Day, an annual movement near Valentine’s Day to end violence against women and girls around the globe, since her first semester of college in 2005. A staple of V-Day is “The Vagina Monologues,” and this year, Henderson, Asha Chana, and Karen Durham will be putting on a production in Somerville for the second time. Last year, they raised $1,100 each for three local beneficiaries. We spoke to Whitney Henderson about this year’s performances on Feb. 28 and March 1. More

twitter chatter
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Beyoncé’s right: More men need to be outspoken feminists
twitter chatter
Christine Varriale

Beyoncé has been criticized lately for her ideas on feminism, both positively and negatively. She quotes Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s TED talk about feminism in the track “Flawless” off her new self-titled album. In her latest endeavor on her journey to becoming the face of another feminist wave, Beyoncé has written an essay entitled “Gender Equality Is a Myth!” for Maria Shriver’s new ebook “The Shriver Report: A Woman’s Nation Pushes Back from the Brink,” which can be downloaded for free on Amazon. Her essay is short and to the point. More

Music
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Ladies won punk this year? What about women of color in punk?
Music
Christine Varriale

Earlier this month, Dan Ozzi of Vice’s music blog Noisey wrote a piece entitled, “Sorry, Dudes. The Ladies Won Punk This Year.” Although I appreciate the sentiment as a woman who loves punk, Ozzi made one of the biggest mistakes. He forgot all the bands featuring women of color. Punk is built on the uprising of marginalized people. To help right this wrong, here are some awesome punk bands with women of color. More

News
Tom Daley: Something I want to say...
Queer celebrities find new ways of coming out to the public
News
Christine Varriale

Throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s, LGBTQ celebrities came out to the public through cover stories in magazines. These publications reached the widest audience at the time, but now with blogs and social media, a celebrity doesn’t need that middleman and can communicate directly with their fans if they wish to come out. Sure, we all know this. But recently, a few celebrities have taken an even newer, different approach, coming out as people with fluid sexualities that can’t and shouldn’t be defined. More