S Nicole Lane

It felt like a typical trip to a music venue; there was even a line down the street. Public Works Gallery had reached capacity and the room was packed. It's pretty unheard of for an art show to reach its limit, but for a show like this, it makes sense.

Patient Stories
At 23 years old, Sadie* had a copper IUD implanted without any warning about risk factors beyond cramps and bleeding. She experienced adverse mental health conditions in the months that followed, and a year later, in 2017, after being prescribed the highest dose of antidepressants, she decided to have the device removed.
The Copper IUD (intrauterine device) was first marketed to women in the early 1970s and has since been the contraceptive choice for 150 million women worldwid...

“Intimate Justice” looks at the intersection of art and sex and how these actions intertwine to serve as a form of resistance, activism, and dialogue in the Chicago community. For this installment, we met with Clitora Leigh in Andersonville to talk about strip clubs in Chicago, coming out as a sex worker, and being a sexy clown.
S. Nicole: I saw you perform at Reunion and was like—oh my gosh—I have to talk to this person! It was amazing. Are you from Chicago? If you’re not, what brought you h...

Artist Brendan Fernandes has been having conversations about ballet and mastery within his work for years. The call and response interaction focuses on the idea that ballet is tied to the process of perfection. It can be difficult for ballet dancers to let go and let loose. It's endurance, labor, and an intense effort for the body to stretch, hold, and pose. The body is challenged to push through any sort of pain to gain a reward. Ballet demands the body to do more, to be better. Fernandes fi...

In the past two weeks alone, I've found myself at Wrightwood 659, the Renaissance Society, the Leather Archives & Museum, and the Smart Museum. All varying in public prominence, I feel lucky to know these spaces, to really get inside of them, to see show after show come in and out. And these are just a few of the hundreds of impressive DIY spaces, commercial galleries, and large museums that we have in this City of the Big Shoulders.
This year in particular hasn't been that easy for me. Think...

Are you ever minding your own business when suddenly you're annoyed with a persistent ringing in your ear? Eventually it dissipates, but what causes this strange occurrence to pop up in our auditory system? Some people think that when your ears ring, it means someone is talking about you, while others think it means change is going to happen soon (via Ryan Hart).
However, like most things with our body, if something is bothering you or behaving differently, there may be an actual physical rea...

Glycerin on your face? It actually sounds like a weird chemical that should be kept far, far away from your skin. However, glycerin is found in all sorts of everyday products, including in many skincare products, due to its ability to provide moisture. Glycerin is a natural, odorless, colorless product that is found in all vegetable and animal matter (via 18c).
The main use of glycerin is to prevent dry skin and repair irritations like diaper rash or burns (via WebMD). Since it is a humectant...

Sapioseuxals are people who are attracted to someone's intelligence. Sure, everyone's attracted to someone being smart, but sapiosexuals put looks and personality on the back burner and prioritize knowledge. Diana Rabb, a PhD in transpersonal psychology, wrote on Psychology Today, "Those who admit to being sapiosexual will say that they are turned on by the brain and tend to be teased and excited by the insights of another person. This means the person whom you are attracted to might have a t...

Darling Shear is a mover and shaker—literally. The Chicago-born choreographer produces movement-oriented pieces that are closely tied to healing from trauma. Trained in ballet, modern, jazz, and African dance, Shear ties in styles of burlesque and contemporary movement that includes intense emotion, bare feet, and crossing the barrier between audience and dancer. In the piece Querida, first performed at Links Hall in November 2018, the artist opens up about personal experiences and how moveme...

As I walk to Wrightwood 659 in the early afternoon, I hear the sound of recess coming from the school to my left, but I don’t see the students. I just see the brick building where they spend most of their day. After a few moments I realize that they are on the roof of the school, where a tall wrought iron fence wraps around where they spend recess. Their voices bounce off buildings that are a barrier on either side. I imagine their sneakers pounding the artificial grass where the brick and ir...

These days there's no shortage of people making art in response to Trump's xenophobic America and his violent impact on immigrants, but it is rarely the undocumented immigrants themselves whose work is on museum walls. For example, the 2013 exhibition "State of Exception" at the University of Michigan Institute of Humanities Gallery was inspired by anthropologist Jason De Leóns's "Undocumented Migration Project," a study of the violent effects of crossing the border. However, it was the work ...

Illustrations by Sabrina Bezerra. Sabrina is a designer and illustrator at @second.marriage, a Brooklyn-based brand, illustration, and design studio.
Written by Nicole Lane. Nicole is a freelance sex and women's health journalist, follow her at @snicolelane.
This article was fact-checked by Daye's female health specialist Dr. Harry Baxter.

Walking into the space of Untitled (red flame) at the Logan Center Exhibitions takes a bit of courage. Ahead of me is a dark sea with a glimmer of red and an echoing sound. The projection of sound and the gallery space taunt me as I brace myself and slowly tiptoe into the gallery. Every movement is followed by a pause before I take another step. I inch closer and closer toward the red glowing light. I wait for my eyes to adjust. A piercing sound fills the space.
A red spotlight from the floor...

Nicole Lane discusses feeling mis-identified, judged, and alienated because of her sexuality
A few years ago I was seated amongst a few queer coworkers when one chirped, “Nicole is my token straight friend!” with a giddiness in her voice that resulted in me clenching my jaw. She was wrong, of course, as I identify as bisexual. But how, in this moment, was I supposed to express my orientation safely and bravely? I knew that if I said, “Um, hi, I’m bi,” it wouldn’t be valid enough so instead, I...