Digital Native

As an elder millennial whose writing career coincided with the dominance of digital pubs, I’ve left a trail of copy scattered across multiple defunct websites. “Digital Native” is a collection of the pieces — about girlhood, pop culture, feminism + softness — that I’ve salvaged over the years.

Whitney Teal 8/21/25 Whitney Teal 8/21/25

It's Time to Take A Second Look at Peggy Hill

With a "King of the Hill" reboot on the way and a cultural re-imagining of the role of mothers buzzing in the zeitgeist, it's time to rethink Peggy Hill: substitute teacher, progressive mother and one of the more interesting portraits of White womanhood during the late nineties and early aughts. Here's why.

Whitney Teal 7/23/24 Whitney Teal 7/23/24

Pop Culture (Finally) Gets Serious About Female Friendship

Whether it's an emphatic Leslie Knope and her sweet Ann Perkins on “Parks and Recreation;” or it's Molly and Issa fighting to stay centered in each other's lives on “Insecure;” or it's recovering alcoholic Tuca and anxious survivor Bertie on Tuca & Bertie, pop culture is, finally, taking female friendship seriously.

Whitney Teal 5/19/10 Whitney Teal 5/19/10

How a Cartoon Character Became a Hero for Token Black Girls

With her perfect academic record and crazy number of extracurricular engagements, Jodie was the product of what middle-class black parents had pushed on their kids throughout the preceding decades.