The other day I was sitting at the table talking with my younger sister (age 14) and my little cousin (age 11). After recently aiding in the start of a feminist group at my high school I am often subj...
I am sitting in a gynecologist’s waiting room next to my mother. It’s the first time I’ve ever been to one, and I don’t feel very welcome. Pregnant women and other patients all sit quietly, reading th...
The media would like you to believe that every time you log on to Facebook or – god forbid – the evil black hole of narcissism that is Twitter, another nail is inserted into the coffin of your general...
Sex education is an experience that brings two memories to mind- the first of walking, red faced and weak kneed, to the desk in front of the class room, on which a monstrous, purple, shiny, plastic pe...
A few weeks ago, I met Selena Torrado, a teen living in New York who started her own high school feminist club called Femtastic! I was ecstatic to see that someone shared my passion for reaching out t...
Peggy Orenstein’s “The Way We Live Now” piece in New York Times Magazine a couple months ago explores what she calls the “empowerment mystique,” or using themes of girl power to sell products that hav...
This past week my boyfriend dumped me. Now, under normal circumstances, recovery would have been simple. At first, I'd turn the radio randomly to any given pop song where a lyric about "looking into e...
The age old joke along the lines of ‘woman, get back to the kitchen,’ is pretty much thrown about on the internet and in real life. As a seventeen year old girl, I’ve come into contact with boys who t...
I'm sure a lot of you have seen at least one "It Gets Better" video. If you haven't, it's basically a project initiated to show LGBT youth that are struggling with their sexuality, and can't imagine...
In the past few weeks leading up to election day, I’ve found it impossible to turn on the T.V. and not find myself face to face with an incredibly unflattering photo of a political candidate, with a v...
I know it’s been said before but, as a teenage girl with friends of both genders, double standards are a massive issue for me. It’s come to a head recently, because of two entirely unrelated events.
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There isn't exactly a "name" for this topic so, here, i'll try to spell it out for you. It's a topic that affects me personally and deeply, but also something that is very rarely talked about in the e...
My name is Lexi St. John and I am currently a senior in high school. I have been an environmental activist throughout my high school career. I am the co-founder and president (with my twin sister Liza...
I'm basically still in awe of the pure eloquence of Melissa Harris Lacewell. I want to hear much, much more from her. Her commentary starts at about 8:30 minutes in, but the whole video is well worth ...
At some point in recent history the stance of “I Hate My Body” became a public statement encompassing an entire gender rather than a private thought held by few on particularly bad days. Somewhere alo...
Life has those funny ways of kicking you when you’re finally getting somewhere and helping you out when you’re ready to give up. Somewhere between nursing our constantly sore backsides and finding the...
Whether we were actually at the party where it went down or heard about it at school the Monday after, we've all witnessed it. Two people hook up. As they walk into school, the rumor spreads with thei...
I go to a fairly progressive co-ed school in Northeast Ohio. We just implemented this new crazy schedule where no period is less than sixty minutes long, and there is going to be a three week period w...
This past week, my school’s website posted a link to my blog. This resulted in many of my peers who to my knowledge had generally thought of me as the random girl who sits in the corner (or hadn’t tho...
I’d be surprised if this is your first time hearing about
Purity Balls. The issue has been beaten to death - both by Christian conservatives who think they’re the keenest thing since toilet paper, an...
Crank and Glass, both written by Ellen Hopkins, follow Kristina Snow, a high achieving 17 year old, as she nose dives into a meth addiction, with details on her subsequent rape, unwanted pregnancy and...
I remember one day in 5th grade during P.E. class, a particularly douchey male classmate of mine turned to me completely unsolicited and said, "Boys are better than girls at sports, you know." Now, if...