Who says feminist activism is dead? If you haven't heard of La Barbe - a group of French feminists who fight inequality with sarcastic humor and fake beards - you're missing out.
About La Barbe (in F...
Next Fall, I’ll be enrolling in my first year of college. I'll be a freshman - a concept that's giving me pause not just because I'm questioning the existentialist quality of being a freshman, but bec...
I recently got out for summer break from my local high school, and I really only had one thing that bothered me this year. It wasn’t any sort of drama, nor was it an event. My main source of irritatio...
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,...
[TRIGGER WARNING: VIOLENT IMAGES]
According to Stop Acid Attacks, acid attacks are "a prevalent way for a man to inflict revenge on a woman, who has either turned down his interest or insulted him so...
Over the past few weeks, my schedule has been jammed with a clusterfuck of doctor’s appointments in an attempt to solve a stomach issue I’ve been dealing with for more than three years. I don’t typica...
With the passing of Margaret Thatcher in recent months, her achievements and contributions have been much analyzed. Thatcher has been described as “the most influential politician of her generation” a...
About a week ago, I was talking with one of my co-workers and she told me that students at her teenage daughter’s high school made a Facebook page dedicated to the school “sluts.” She proceeded to tel...
I recently read an article posted on Yahoo News about prostitution during World War II in Japan. Prostitution is a difficult and controversial subject for feminists, but what most can agree on is tha...
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 ...
I would jump at any opportunity to participate in another workshop with Rachel Simmons, who is someone I've admired since her first book, Odd Girl Out, came out back in 2002. I got the opportunity to ...
A friend of mine has a young son. She recently asked me, and other men, to write a letter to our sons who exist or have yet to be born that she could show to her own child, someday. This is my letter....
In recent years, Disney has been toying around with their “Princess” brand, making their popular films and characters even more marketable to children–namely, to young girls. This isn’t really new: Di...
Let me ask you this:
What do we teach our daughters
When the bestselling doll on the market, Barbie,
Has a made-up face and mascara-ed eyes and lips as pink as grapefruit,
But not enough ambition or i...
I thought I would stop being defined by my weight after middle school. When it kept happening, I thought, Okay, maybe after high school people will leave me alone. Again, I haven't been so lucky and s...
I (reluctantly) admit it: I am one of the many women who teared up watching the new Dove Real Beauty campaign’s “Beauty Sketches” video:
As a 20-year-old college student who, like many (most? All?)...
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...
My name is Michayla Owens. I’m sixteen years old, and I attend Columbia High School in Mississippi. I was fifteen when I was sexually assaulted by two boys at my high school.
The sexual assault took ...
*Trigger warning: This blog post is about intimate partner violence*
Over fall break, my mom made an unexpected visit from California to New York City, where I go to school. She had been called the n...
I recently got an email from Dylan Lambi-Raine, who wrote: "I'm a feminista, Genders Studies and Social Work student. I live in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and am interested in sharing a video that a grou...
There are so many awesome depictions of professionally ambitious ladies on TV right now. But after thinking about Equal Pay Day yesterday, and acknowledging that women still earn an average of only 77...
Over the past several months, two rape cases have received widespread media attention. While the media could have used these cases as an opportunity to educate people and condemn the crime of rape, th...
Melancholic, charismatic, inspiring, and sincere – Toronto-based Chloe Charles breaks black female vocalist stereotypes right away as she arrives on stage with her classical guitar, accompanied by vio...
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...
I recently spent two weeks traveling with a group in Morocco and was fortunate enough to have the experience of going to a hammam. A hammam is a type of spa where women and men (separately) go once a ...