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#DearBetsy: Protect Title IX
Betsy DeVos’s appointment as the United States Secretary of Education is monumentally problematic. DeVos has no background in education: in fact, her appointment will be her first job held in the fiel...
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This Eating Disorder Survivor Is Making A Difference
“There’s beauty in everything and everyone, and that shouldn’t be decided by the media or anyone,” Dayna Altman — a 24-year-old eating disorder survivor, graduate student, and mental health activist from the National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA) — told me in a recent interview.
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A Mother-Daughter Outing
I came out to my family at 25 years old. It was 2014, and while the country had made great progress in acceptance in terms of recognizing civil unions, putting more LGBTQ figures on television, and passing pro-gay laws, coming out was still a weighty experience.
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February 15, 2017 | Kayleigh Bolingbroke |
Feminism,
Media,
Misogyny,
Politics,
Violence against women
What Does #FreeMelania Really Mean?
By now, you have probably seen the infamous clip of Trump and Melania on Inauguration Day. To recap for those who haven’t, the footage shows Trump turning to Melania, who is courtly, beaming. As soon as Trump turns his back, her smile turns swiftly into what can only be described as a grave scowl.
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I Am Not A 'Phase'
I was standing on the top floor of a fraternity house in the early days of my sophomore year of college. Across the room, I saw an upperclasswoman I had heard about through the grapevine. She was well...
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Birth Control Is Not A Niche Issue
Imagine a girl who, of course, bears no resemblance to the author other than their shared gender identity. I use the word “girl” here very deliberately, because although she is in college, her m...
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Bridging The Divide
I dressed up as Donald Trump for Halloween in 2015. My costume was inspired by my disbelief that a “sexy Donald Trump” costume was being sold on the Internet. Instead of supporting the company that had (seemingly earnestly) created that costume, I decided to parody the idea by making my own.
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How Young People Can Best Fight For Reproductive Justice
Post-Women's March, I've noticed that many of my friends feel like they're fumbling around for activist motivation. They're trying to find a way to keep the momentum going, but are failing to find way...
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It's Time My Male Peers And I Hold Ourselves Accountable For Rape Culture
I was once sitting at lunch with several of my guy friends when a girl in our class walked by. When she was too far away to hear us, one of my friends asked if we thought she was hot. Another friend i...
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Moving Forward After An Abusive Relationship
When I started putting together a book proposal for a collection of personal essays on domestic abuse in relationships, I knew I had to write about Tom,* my first boyfriend and first love. We were onl...
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We Have To Remain Vigilant About Global Reproductive Justice
Those who bear the brunt of childbirth should not have their bodies continually and unreasonably regulated by those who will never have their ankles suspended in stirrups, nor their reproductive well-...
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7 Things To Rally Around To Support Feminism In 2017
2016 was a year of political turmoil, heartbreaking losses, and global discord. 2017 is poised to be another year of great change — in fact, plenty of damage has already been done: Trump ad...
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After Marching
I said I wouldn’t march. In fact, I promised myself I had gotten all the marching out of my system. The day after the election, I protested Donald Trump’s presidency — protests that turned to riots. I...
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What I Witnessed At The Women's March
Janelle Monáe took the Women’s March on Washington stage with a box office hit under her belt, hope for unity among the hundreds of thousands of women before her in her heart, and what should have bee...
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Why I March
I remember the first time I was called a fag.
It was on a crisp fall day. I was walking to class. A man passed by me. It was casual, almost off-hand, like a bigoted stutter. It wasn’t the first time ...
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Why I Organized A Walkout At My High School
Donald Trump announced the launch of his presidential campaign two years ago. At the time, many Americans laughed at the idea that a reality TV star and multi-billionaire businessman with no political...
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Remembering George Michael, A Role Model For Healthy Masculinity
To say 2016 was a depressing year is a total understatement. Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election, an astonishing number of abortion bans were passed, and the deaths of celebrities and ever...
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How This Historic Icon Influenced Feminist Writers Today
When I came across the history podcast Footnoting History, I knew I found my niche. I listened to everything from an analysis of Jane Austen’s novels to the Victorians’ chilling Christmas traditions, ...
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January 10, 2017 | Micaela Elizabeth Canales |
Feminism
After A Year of Anti-Choice Attacks, This Young Texas Latina Is Fighting Back
I don’t actually remember what happened to the condom—just that it was on one minute and then not on the next. Afterward, when my boyfriend and I realized what had happened, we sat on the edge of his ...
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January 08, 2017 | Faatimah Solomon |
Body image and body standards,
Feminism,
Race/Ethnicity,
Religion
What A Hijabi Beauty Contestant Means To Hijabi Teens
Ever since reading the work of authors such as bell hooks, Simone de Beauvoir, and Naomi Wolf, I have dismissed the concept of physical beauty as a trivial social construct. The mainstream narrative o...
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January 05, 2017 | Sara Surface |
Education,
Feminism,
Gender-based violence,
Violence against women
A New Avenue to End Sexual Violence on Campus
Sexual assault has been an issue about which I have been deeply concerned for the last four years. I’ve been professionally and personally involved in a variety of efforts to tackle this rampant and c...
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On the Ground: An Interview With The Founders of Columbia University's First South Asian Feminism(s) Alliance
In the fall semester of 2015, the first ever South Asian Feminism(s) Alliance (SAFA) was introduced to Columbia University. SAFA founders and Barnard alumnae Sarika Kumar, Mallika Walia, and Kaavya Ma...
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Xenophobia and the American Identity
“Xenophobia,” which, according to, Dictionary.com is a “fear or hatred of foreigners, people from different cultures, or strangers” was Dictionary.com’s 2016 word of the year. The word can also refer ...
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The Underlying Sexism of Playing An Instrument
I was the textbook definition of an awkward twelve-year-old. I had braces, wild frizzy hair, and tended to match my eyeshadow to the color of any one my assorted array of graphic tees. This was only m...
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I Fall In Love With One's Soul, Not Their Gender
When I looked into the eyes of the first woman I ever liked — loved, even — I felt like I finally understood the famous words attributed to Edgar Allan Poe: “the eyes are the window to the soul.” I di...