WMC FBomb
Are Diverse Barbies Really Progress?
I played with Barbies a lot as a little girl. I remember looking at the nude body of one plastic, blonde doll and marveling at her wrinkle-free knees, being baffled by her hard breasts, and wishing my...
WMC FBomb
February 06, 2016 | Siena R |
Body image and body standards,
Disability,
Feminism,
Health,
WMC Loreen Arbus Journalism Program
This Is What It's Really Like To Recover From An Eating Disorder
I have anorexia. My first instinct was to at least shield you, random stranger on the Internet, from that truth, to ease you in. But there's no way to put that gently. That's not my reality. My realit...
WMC FBomb
The Hypersexualization of Female News Broadcasters Proves Sexism Is Alive and Well
If you google “Fox News female anchors,” the first few results that pop up include, "Top Ten Hottest Fox News Girls," "Sexy Fox News Anchor Suffers HUMILIATING Wardrobe Malfunction," "19 Sexiest Women...
WMC FBomb
How To Put Your Resolution of Self-Love Into Action in the New Year
I have always struggled with New Year's resolutions because they so often revolve around losing weight — to look “good” in that bikini this summer and to achieve that “perfect body.” I am no stranger ...
WMC FBomb
How I Discovered The Power Of Black Womanhood
After spending the last school year immersed in political turmoil and tension on my college campus, I decided this past summer that it was time to actively choose to either eject or change the things ...
WMC FBomb
Are You Beach Body Ready?
The words claw at my brain
digging between the intricate folds of my unconscious
the instant I step onto the crowded subway.
My legs move to a seat as if they had brains of their own
because my ey...
WMC FBomb
What I Learned When I Refused To Shave
I recently decided to conduct an experiment. I decided to stop shaving my armpits to see if the seemingly insignificant factor of visible body hair would cause people to treat me differently — especia...
WMC FBomb
Should We 'Drop The Plus'?
When I recently opened the September issue of Vogue, I was (for once) surprised by what I found. Hidden in the midst of 832 pages of fashion coverage was a 2-page ad featuring plus-size models dramati...
WMC FBomb
Why 'Free The Nipple' Is An Important Feminist Movement
“It’s just an excuse for sluts to be naked all the time.”
This was my mother's response to my attempt to explain the importance of the Free the Nipple movement. Although I disagree, I also know that ...
WMC FBomb
Are "No Makeup" Campaigns Really Empowering?
Though it appeared in Vanity Fair last year, a photo for which Kate Winslet posed sans makeup recently inspired a social media-based no-makeup selfie campaign. Fans were encouraged to post their own n...
WMC FBomb
August 25, 2015 | Saskia G |
Body image and body standards,
Education,
Feminism,
Misogyny,
Race/Ethnicity
On Women's Equality Day, Let's Talk About White Feminism
I used to be a White Feminist. As a white woman, I thought it was my only option. But, as a video produced by the Huffington Post and a thoughtful post by the young star Rowan Blanchard both explai...
WMC FBomb
August 24, 2015 | Kinder L |
Body image and body standards,
Media
How Television Continues to Normalize Eating Disorders
“Please don’t hurl too much, because if you get any thinner I’m gonna start looking fat,” Brooke, the head cheerleader in the show One Tree Hill, nonchalantly says to her best friend in an early episo...
WMC FBomb
We Need To Stop Trying to Convince Girls They're Beautiful
I was lucky enough to have a healthy body image for most of my childhood. I consistently played on various soccer and basketball teams, and between going to practice and scrambling to finish my homewo...
WMC FBomb
What Misty Copeland's Success Reveals About Race In The Arts
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 ...
WMC FBomb
How One Anti-Body Shaming Campaign Actually Reinforced Beauty Standards
I have a mole on my right cheek. As a child, it was the physical feature about which I felt the most insecure. For years, however, my mother insisted that what I considered a flaw was actually a "beau...
WMC FBomb
'Miss USA' Switched Networks, But Should It Be Retired Altogether?
NBC recently dropped the Miss USA Pageant, but the pageant quickly found a new home with cable network REELZ. However, it seems like this could have been a good time to stop televising the pageant alt...
WMC FBomb
We Need To Talk About The True Definition of Sexual Assault
*Trigger warning*
I have been sexually assaulted twice, although I didn't recognize either event as such at the time.
The first time, I was 18, asleep next to my boyfriend. I had passed out almost i...
WMC FBomb
June 24, 2015 | Alexis T |
Body image and body standards,
Education,
Feminism,
Violence against women
10 Lessons For Young Feminists
I was a teen in the '90s, and heavily influenced by Riot Grrrl feminism. Everything was DIY, dress how you want, and live with a militant independence. My feminism was raw, precocious, and wild. Now t...
WMC FBomb
Why Sexist Dress Codes Have Got To Go
Shopping for school clothes was a nightmare in high school. Attending a private Christian school with a strict dress code, I had a lot of rules to follow: No jeans, sweat pants, yoga pants, or anythin...
WMC FBomb
The Problem With 'Strong Is The New Skinny'
The “ideal figure” of a woman has changed a lot over the years. But beauty has undeniably always been determined in relation to patriarchal standards.
During the Italian Renaissance, fuller figures w...
WMC FBomb
April 26, 2015 | Marina Arcuschin de Oliveira |
Body image and body standards,
Economy,
Feminism,
Media,
Misogyny,
Science and tech
#SpreadFeminisim: Should Feminism Go Viral?
A friend of mine recently shared #SpreadFeminism, a challenge campaign encouraging fellow feminists to post a video, picture, poem, or anything else related to feminism on their Facebook page for five...
WMC FBomb
April 12, 2015 | Sharmee S |
Body image and body standards,
Feminism,
Media,
Misogyny,
Race/Ethnicity
Why I Bought Skin Lightening Cream At 11 Years Old
I was 11 years old when I succumbed to buying my first tube of "fairness" cream. It was right after a popular boy teased me by calling out "Weh blackie" to me.
Before he teased me, I internalized mos...
WMC FBomb
Lena Dunham, Mindy Kaling and the Importance of Live Panels
I'm a fan of both Lena Dunham and Mindy Kaling. Yet I found myself somewhat surprised by just how impressive I found both women while recently watching their contributions to a Sundance live panel mod...
WMC FBomb
How Weightlifting Helped One College Student Overcome Her Eating Disorder
When Nika Shelby, a student at Union College, started weightlifting it wasn’t to get fit. She was fighting to save her life.
In high school, her friends knew her as a powerhouse. She was the stronges...
WMC FBomb
March 15, 2015 | Carolina G |
Body image and body standards,
Feminism,
Media,
Misogyny,
Race/Ethnicity
If You're Latina, Then Why Are You White?
A few weeks ago, I was at a party with a few of my friends. I had been casually using a new dating app and had been talking to a guy that seemed pretty nice. He mentioned that he happened to be out in...