A friend of mine has a young son. She recently asked me, and other men, to write a letter to our sons who exist or have yet to be born that she could show to her own child, someday. This is my letter....
In recent years, Disney has been toying around with their “Princess” brand, making their popular films and characters even more marketable to children–namely, to young girls. This isn’t really new: Di...
Let me ask you this:
What do we teach our daughters
When the bestselling doll on the market, Barbie,
Has a made-up face and mascara-ed eyes and lips as pink as grapefruit,
But not enough ambition or i...
I thought I would stop being defined by my weight after middle school. When it kept happening, I thought, Okay, maybe after high school people will leave me alone. Again, I haven't been so lucky and s...
I (reluctantly) admit it: I am one of the many women who teared up watching the new Dove Real Beauty campaign’s “Beauty Sketches” video:
As a 20-year-old college student who, like many (most? All?)...
My name is not Baby. I have not been an infant for about 17 years. I am not an immobile, helpless being incapable of taking care of myself, dependent on others to ensure that my basic needs are met. I...
My name is Michayla Owens. I’m sixteen years old, and I attend Columbia High School in Mississippi. I was fifteen when I was sexually assaulted by two boys at my high school.
The sexual assault took ...
*Trigger warning: This blog post is about intimate partner violence*
Over fall break, my mom made an unexpected visit from California to New York City, where I go to school. She had been called the n...
In a witty "Fighting Words" commentary just broadcast on Women's Media Center Live with Robin Morgan, the author helps men come to terms with gun control.
I recently got an email from Dylan Lambi-Raine, who wrote: "I'm a feminista, Genders Studies and Social Work student. I live in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and am interested in sharing a video that a grou...
There are so many awesome depictions of professionally ambitious ladies on TV right now. But after thinking about Equal Pay Day yesterday, and acknowledging that women still earn an average of only 77...
Over the past several months, two rape cases have received widespread media attention. While the media could have used these cases as an opportunity to educate people and condemn the crime of rape, th...
Melancholic, charismatic, inspiring, and sincere – Toronto-based Chloe Charles breaks black female vocalist stereotypes right away as she arrives on stage with her classical guitar, accompanied by vio...
Last night I attended the Spring Dance at my (catholic, all-girls) school. I went with a guy named Enrique Iglesias.* He is a very nice guy, and by that I mean he knows how to effectively interact wit...
I recently spent two weeks traveling with a group in Morocco and was fortunate enough to have the experience of going to a hammam. A hammam is a type of spa where women and men (separately) go once a ...
I would always hesitate before opening the door to St. Elizabeth’s Infant Hospital because once inside, the rest of the world would cease to exist. Nothing else could compete with the presence I met o...
“It’s a boy.” My soon-to-be father beamed.
“How do you know?” My young, twenty-two year old mother asked, rubbing her growing belly.
“I just know,” he stated so full of confidence in his twenty-thre...
I go to a public high school, and have recently expressed interest to the administration in starting a school roller derby team. However, I was first met with resistance and then refusal by the author...
As Feministing.com reported last summer, three members of the Russian punk rock collective Pussy Riot were convicted in August 2012 and sentenced to two years’ imprisonment for “hooliganism motivated ...
A woman is silhouetted against a blue backdrop. She is sitting down and we see her from the waist up. She is talking to someone sitting opposite her, smoking as she does. When she talks a cacophony of...
I recently saw a thought-provoking documentary about egg donation and its legal ramifications in Germany. The documentary followed several people: a couple that could not have their own children, a yo...