If you haven't already heard of Laci Green, your life is about to change. The 25-year-old sex positivity educator and vlogger is the awesome, feminist big sister you’ve always wanted. And all of her c...
Sometimes I walk into my high school and realize that the young boys and girls who surround me will grow up and have children of their own. Just like we learn from our parents, so will our future chil...
It was a hot Los Angeles Saturday and I decided to walk my dog down my usually quiet residential street. I was sixteen at the time and wearing jeans and a T-shirt. Three men, probably in their late tw...
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...
It’s undeniable that the YouTube community is becoming a powerful and influential force in the entertainment industry. Vloggers appear on magazine covers (such as Seventeen and Fast Company), red carp...
We need feminism now more than ever for many reasons, but rampant internalized misogyny -- which often goes unnoticed and, in some situations, is even understood as social norms – is as good a reason ...
Last weekend I saw Beyoncé in concert. It was a tremendously epic and empowering evening and everything one would hope and expect seeing Beyoncé in the flesh would be.
But that’s not the point of thi...
When the case of a 23-year-old Indonesian domestic worker made international headlines, readers were shocked to hear of the physical abuse that left the once vibrant young woman nearly disabled. But just as shocking to the international community was the subsequent revelation that her employer—a 40-year-old mother of two—had been charged with the attacks.
I wouldn't say that I was ever fat. I was always just overweight enough that girls would tell me I looked "fine" and guys wouldn't tell me much of anything (because I guess my dazzling intellect and s...
In the midst of media-perpetuated victim-blaming surrounding the highly publicized sexual assaults and cyberbullying young women have suffered from Maryville to Steubenville, a group of New York City teens are using theatre to raise awareness and take a stand against slut-shaming in schools.
There are two major barriers to women’s full participation in the democratic process in the UK at the moment—the first relates to their taking part in the vital and shaping process of grassroots activism, and the second to their participation in more traditional political careers.
The tricky thing about friends with benefits is that the lines you painstakingly set up get blurred so quickly; before you know it, there are no longer any lines discerning black from white -- it is a...
The summer after my freshman year of high school, I was sexually abused, harassed and almost raped. I do not want to go into how -- it’s just not something I want to relive. I told my mom when I was a...
I've always hated the idea of dress codes. As a teen, I felt like it was an assault on my personal freedom. Unlike the rebellious stereotype however, I wore as many layers as I could. I frequently wor...
So, the other day, I was walking downtown on my own (or as I like to say, "independently"), and this guy in a truck hooted at me while I passed the Shell gas station. I shrunk a little, turned around,...
My senior year of college, two of my roommates and I watched Teen Mom CONSTANTLY. I liked to pretend I wasn’t watching it, but the conversation usually went something like this:
Becka (standing in ...
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...
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...
When I was at the 2012 NOW Conference in Baltimore, I had the privilege of hearing Eve Ensler, author of The Vagina Monologues and women’s rights activist, deliver the keynote address. She discussed O...
Today is National Girls & Women in Sports Day, which has people singing the praises of Title IX from soccer fields, softball diamonds, tracks, pools and countless other sporting venues – and for g...
It’s so damn hot out. I open the door to the oven outside, and the idea of walking to Safeway for a smoothie and some moisturizer seems like something worth procrastinating. I’d like to shut the door ...
This past summer, I wrote about street harassment and highlighted my own as well as my friends' experiences concerning this matter. Since then I have learned, grown and have more to say on this matter...
As our culture evolves, I find that one of the most important aspects of our evolution is technology. From the wheel to the internet, every invention has contributed to a change in the way we go about...
In September, I wrote a piece for WMC’s Women Under Siege about the hijab, or headscarf, and sexual assault against women in conservative Muslim societies. I chronicled the experiences of my sister Neelo, who experienced sharp harassment as a young girl while wearing a hijab in Pakistan. The premise of the piece was simple enough.
After-rape is to be consumed by emptiness, isolation, fear, shame, and anger.
And after-rape at college is to be confronted by my rapist every day—on the quad, in the library, at breakfast. It is to ...