WMC FBomb
Single Sex Environments Matter — For Girls and Boys Alike.
I am the proud graduate of an all-girls high school. While some of my peers sought boys out, spending time at our brother school down the road, I ended up having limited contact with the opposite sex,...
WMC Women Under Siege
Pushed and pulled: What is the lure for Western women to join ISIS?
The British government is scrambling to find three of its female citizens traveling to join the ranks of foreign recruits to the Islamic State (IS or ISIS). These young women are not alone. According to one recent study, more than 500 women from Western countries have traveled to join the extremists in Iraq and Syria.
WMC FBomb
On "Just Wanting Attention," Slut Shaming, and Why We Shouldn't Apologize
I hear from a lot of girls who are struggling through the hell that is being labeled a “slut” in middle school or high school. Often, they just want to know that they’re not alone. Sometimes, they wan...
WMC FBomb
Being a Feminist in High School
Several weeks ago I overheard a conversation between two of my male peers. They were discussing what they felt was a grossly unequal method of teaching by one of our mutual teachers.
The teacher they...
WMC FBomb
Uncomfortable
In class my professor stated that being comfortable
is a key factor to a society evolving.
At the time, I took her word for it. But
that night as I tried to fall asleep, I couldn’t help but
think ...
WMC FBomb
On Growth Mindset: A Thank You Letter To The School That Got It Right
When Laurel School and I met for the first time, I was terrified. I was too shy to speak, too anxious to let go of my parents. I spent the summer before school began feeling worried. My parents, in tu...
WMC FBomb
Fraternities and Rape Culture
When my sister came home from college the first time, I had so many questions. How were the dorms? How were her friends? Had she met anybody special? She answered them all honestly and had mostly good...
WMC FBomb
Is This Barbie Alternative Really Progress?
Lammily, a crowdfunded plastic doll based on the proportions of an average 19-year-old girl (according to CDC data), has been named the new Barbie by dozens of top publications. Trading a tiny waist a...
WMC FBomb
Dear Dad: Let's Try This Again
This article is a response to Pippa Biddle’s call to action in her piece “Dear Sisters,” published last week on Ryot.com.
To whom it may concern (hey, Dad):
The summer after my freshman year at Exeter...
WMC FBomb
Can A High School Assembly Really Effect Change?
I’m a proud member of the Women’s Issues Club at my school (Horace Mann in New York City), which is dedicated to discussing gender equality. We recently helped organize a “Unity Assembly” for our peer...
WMC FBomb
Teen Social Media Stars and Sexism: When Will It End?
“Entertain me.”
“If you play too hard to get, then it’s just like, ‘Oh, she doesn’t even like me,’ but if you play easy, then it’s just like, ‘Oh, she’s a whore.’ Find a balance.”
“Wax, shave. It’s ...
WMC FBomb
October 12, 2014 | Martine K |
Education,
Feminism,
Girls,
International,
Politics,
Violence against women
Ileana Jiménez: Inspiring Feminism Locally and Globally
Social media as well as blogs and communities like the FBomb have played a key role for young people involved in the feminist movement by giving us a platform to share our thoughts and ideas and allow...
WMC Women Under Siege
Who killed the girls? In India, a forgotten crime
On May 28, 2014, most Indian newspapers ran front-page stories about two teenage girls, cousins, who had been hanged in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh after being allegedly gang-raped. Some papers also printed the disturbing image of the girls’ bodies hanging from a mango tree in their village. The public display of the young girls, wearing blood-stained clothes and riddled with thorns, caught India’s attention.
WMC FBomb
On Being Formerly Afraid of Feminism
I used to be scared I would be “brainwashed” into being a feminist. I never believed the stereotype that feminists are all lesbians who meet in dark places to discuss the abomination that is the male ...
WMC FBomb
On Young Women Traveling Alone
“Be careful, you’re just a girl!” I heard this phrase far too many times this summer as I prepared to leave for Brazil and Peru. Every Spring Break since I can remember I’ve traveled to Peru, and I’m ...
WMC FBomb
An Open Letter to Adults: What Young Activists Need From You
Dear Adult,
So, you have teens in your life that you want to support and encourage to be the best, bravest, raddest activists they can be. But teens are a little scary, confusing and intimidating. I ...
WMC FBomb
Why I Need Feminism: Overcoming My Self-Loathing
As a kid I was very chubby and sturdy, but that all changed once puberty kicked in. People wondered if I went on a diet to lose weight when I was younger, but my eating habits hadn’t changed. This com...
WMC FBomb
August 14, 2014 | Ines R |
Body image and body standards,
Education,
Feminism,
Girls,
Media,
Science and tech
Stop Tweeting That and Start Living It
It is almost impossible to deny that millennials are obsessed with documenting everything. We think that something funny we see at Target, or a friend’s drunken rant at a party, or just a quick selfie...
WMC FBomb
Talk the Talk: On Being A Role Model
Lately, I have been swept up in the flurry of beautiful videos detailing why what we say to young girls matters - videos from companies like Always and Verizon. Videos that remind me why I am thankful...
WMC FBomb
Why The Sexism at Texas Boys State 2014 Is Not Okay
What do astronaut Neil Armstrong, President Bill Clinton, basketball star Michael Jordan, and singer Bon Jovi all have in common? When they were juniors in high school, they all attended a prestigious...
WMC FBomb
Why We Need Women's Studies Classes in High School
For years I, like most of my peers, always struggled to answer the question "why do we still need feminism?" But ever since I took a class about feminism my Junior year of high school, I can't and won...
WMC FBomb
How I Lost My Voice
I went to a weird elementary school. It was a hybrid between co-educational and single sex classrooms. The idea was that as children grow older, the differences between the ways boys and girls learned...
WMC Women Under Siege
Abduction of schoolgirls highlights Nigeria’s booming sex trafficking industry
On April 14, nearly 300 Nigerian girls were abducted from their dormitories in a school in the northeastern town of Chibok. But this is hardly the first time Nigerian children have been kidnapped en masse for the purposes of sex—in fact, Nigeria is the birthplace of a sex-trafficking pipeline that leads directly to Italy.
WMC Women Under Siege
Exposing the secret of domestic abuse in Egypt
It wasn’t easy growing up as a teenage Muslim girl, with a father who thought he owned your body just because he put a roof over your head or food on the table. Not just that—this was a Muslim man who perverted the teachings of his own religion to justify the sexual abuse that he inflicted upon me, his own daughter.
WMC Women Under Siege
Siege talks to BBC about why sexualized violence against women is under-reported
With the story of more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped by an extremist group in Nigeria hot in the news, we spoke to the BBC about why coverage of such violence against women and girls in conflict is so sporadic—and what can be done to make a lasting difference once and for all in the media and in the lives of those affected around the world.