21-year-old Seattle-based photographer and filmmaker Ashley Armitage's work is largely a tribute to female friendships and femininity. Her dreamy, nuanced photography lets viewers into the intimate, m...
The musical duo Harmony Trividad and Cleo Tucker, also known as "Girlpool," have a lot to say about the rigid expectations girls face growing up in America. Through unsettling harmonies and raw, cre...
I begin peeling off a layer of the mask that once covered my wounds. Starting with the
rehearsal smile hung high on my face
Revealing anger, torment, loneliness, vulnerability
I had to ignore the b...
I saw it in middle school, and later in high school: If the girls in my class didn’t excel in science, no body was surprised, since girls are never expected to excel in the subject. But if they receiv...
As anyone even mildly interested in pop culture likely knows, Rihanna recently dropped a new music video for her song Bitch Better Have My Money. I found the video itself interesting, but honestly fou...
Misty Copeland made history on June 30th when she was promoted within the American Ballet Theatre, becoming the first African American ballerina to reach the rank of Principal Dancer after being the ...
Much lip service has been paid to feminism's supposed comeback — especially in terms of more authentic representations of women in pop culture. Charlize Theron's recent portrayal of the badass protago...
As a film student and aspiring screenwriter, I understand that it is a comedian’s job to joke about current issues and events. But I believe there is a fine line between "art" and belittlement and tha...
Music festival season is just beginning, and with it comes yet another reminder that women still have a long way to go before we achieve equality. Although there are plenty of female acts to choose fr...
My prom dress was too big to fit into the car. I worked my hands around the silky tulle of the rhinestone-studded gown and gathered the fabric into my lap. But as the car picked up speed down the hill...
Our generation may not be too familiar with the haunting "Keane Eyes" which were ubiquitous in the 1950s and 60s. Those dark, doe-eyed figures found their way into print and media, living rooms and co...
I’m a huge fan of Harry Potter. I grew up reading the books, have seen each film countless times, and dressed up as Hermione for many Halloweens. But while I’ll always love the series, I also recogniz...
I am not just pretty.
I am Ethereal.
I am Lethal.
My Eyes are Sharp-Cut Stones
and
My Smile spreads like Hot Butter
I am
Everything
and
I am
Nothing
I have Galaxies of Freckles
that
would...
First I found myself through art. Then I found myself through feminism. Finally, I found myself through activism. I was confused but ambitious in high school and passionately tried to learn everything...
The curve of you,
where the cheek meets the thigh,
is sweeter than lips strawberry
in a tinted photo
which is not your own anymore.
Instead savor
the place of skin wrapped by summer
clothes str...
The first time I experienced harassment in a club, a man came up behind me and put his hand under my dress and in between my legs. I was horrified. I felt dirty, violated and mortified. As the night w...
Last night, students shuffled in and out of the audition room for a production I’m working on, frantically asking about pronunciation and deciding whether to use or ignore the chairs we’d provided the...
It may be 2015, but women's representation in the entertainment industry is still grim. According to the Women's Media Center, a recent San Diego State University report, for instance, found that wome...
I remember sitting in a circle of girls on the playground. One girl, I'll call her Sarah, showed us that she could fold her tongue. I didn’t know how to fold my tongue, but I lied and told m...
What are you women truly fighting for?
What rights don’t you women have?
Basic human rights.
My consent for you to approach me and get to know me
Is a basic human right
My body does not define me
My c...
When I was a little girl my grandma told me that there were princes. Sitting in our house in the Sunset, the N rumbling by, the sky grey and the ocean roaring, she’d tell me about them as I sipped my ...
It's no secret that the film industry is hardly hospitable to women. The Women's Media Center found that only six percent of the 100 top films of 2012 cast the sexes in equal numbers, and only 28.4...
If you can’t handle me,
If my girl-power, middle-finger, bra-burning bothers you
Then reevaluate
Because I am only gaining momentum
I am charging,
Ignited by the tide of my moon
Surrounded by my...
On December 19th, Nickelodeon released the final episode of the series The Legend of Korra, a fantastical animated series set in a world where four tribes, each of which is associated with an element ...
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 ...