WMC FBomb
What Are You Teaching Your Children?
Sometimes I walk into my high school and realize that the young boys and girls who surround me will grow up and have children of their own. Just like we learn from our parents, so will our future chil...
WMC FBomb
The Problem With Gender Psychology
Before I took a gender psychology class, I assumed that the field was pro-feminist. I was not so pleasantly surprised to learn how little the field has done to promote gender equality. For example, th...
WMC FBomb
TIME Magazine Suggests "Feminist" Should Be Banned In 2015
On November 12, 2014, TIME magazine published an article called Which Word Should Be Banned in 2015? Previously, they “banned” words like “twerk,” “YOLO,” and “OMG,” because they thought it would make...
WMC FBomb
HeForShe or SheForHe?
On September 20th, 2014, Emma Watson made a now viral speech at the UN HeForShe event. The HeForShe campaign was set up by UN Women to activate and emphasize the importance of male involvement in the...
WMC FBomb
An Open Letter To Urban Outfitters
Dear Urban Outfitters,
My thirteen-year-old self thanks you for having provided trendy, vintage looking clothing at an affordable price. You are cheaper than Aritzia, edgier than American Apparel, an...
WMC FBomb
October 30, 2014 | Carolina G |
Body image and body standards,
Economy,
Media,
Misogyny,
Race/Ethnicity
Subway: Please Don't Use Halloween To Make Women Feel Fat
Whether it’s the annoyingly catchy five-dollar footlong jingle or Jared Fogle’s promise that you will lose weight by eating sandwiches, Subway commercials are abundantly recognizable in our culture. T...
WMC FBomb
Teen Social Media Stars and Sexism: When Will It End?
“Entertain me.”
“If you play too hard to get, then it’s just like, ‘Oh, she doesn’t even like me,’ but if you play easy, then it’s just like, ‘Oh, she’s a whore.’ Find a balance.”
“Wax, shave. It’s ...
WMC FBomb
Meghan Trainor’s “All About That Bass” Is No Feminist Anthem
Listening to (and belting out) Top 40 songs in the car is non-negotiable if you’re riding along with me. I love the bubble-gum-for-your-brain songs and gush over new pop tunes. However, I also identif...
WMC FBomb
Embracing Taylor Swift's Feminist Awakening
It’s that time again. Every two years (like clockwork) we get a brand new Taylor Swift as the young starlet reinvents herself with each new album release, the fifth of which will be released in just a...
WMC FBomb
Egg Freezing: Is This Silicon Valley Perk Really Empowering?
Last week, it was announced that Silicon Valley tech giants Facebook and Apple are offering coverage of egg freezing as part of female employees’ health benefits. A huge step, news outlets cried, towa...
WMC FBomb
October 14, 2014 | Atiya I-M |
Arts and culture,
Media
My Problem With The "Powerful Bitch" Trope
Lately I’ve noticed a trend in some of my favorite shows that makes me uncomfortable on a number of levels. From Blair Waldorf on “Gossip Girl” to Sadie on “Awkward” it appears that if you are a femal...
WMC FBomb
How To Deal With Insults About Your Body
I must say for a teenage girl I have always been pretty confident about my body. I have never been a twig but am also not overweight and have never felt bothered by my appearance. Every year, I fly to...
WMC FBomb
October 07, 2014 | Vicki Soogrim |
Body image and body standards,
Feminism,
Media,
Misogyny,
Race/Ethnicity
Are "Empowered" Pop Stars Claiming Sexuality or Giving Into the Patriarchy?
Typically, the heterosexual male gaze controls the depiction of women’s bodies and sexuality in pop culture. Music videos especially tend to enforce the idea that female sexuality is defined by what i...
WMC FBomb
The Naked Celebrity Photos Aren't A "Scandal" -- They're A Crime
When I first read that 100 celebrity women were hacked and their private photos stolen then distributed online, the incident was framed as a scandal. The first article I read ridiculed the women whose...
WMC FBomb
Every Girl Needs A Gay Best Friend (Or Not)
Every woman needs a designer handbag, a little black dress, a pair of killer heels, and a gay best friend. The ideal gay best friend is impeccably dressed and overflowing with gossip. He is ready at a...
WMC FBomb
YouTube Star Sam Pepper's "Prank" Video Is Sexual Harassment
It’s undeniable that the YouTube community is becoming a powerful and influential force in the entertainment industry. Vloggers appear on magazine covers (such as Seventeen and Fast Company), red carp...
WMC FBomb
On Being Formerly Afraid of Feminism
I used to be scared I would be “brainwashed” into being a feminist. I never believed the stereotype that feminists are all lesbians who meet in dark places to discuss the abomination that is the male ...
WMC FBomb
The Freedom of Topless Beaches
In popular culture, women’s breasts are often seen as the ultimate symbol of sex. Women are bombarded with a variety of consumeristic options to “improve” our breasts: we can buy numerous types of bra...
WMC FBomb
September 14, 2014 | Trip E |
Feminism,
Gender-based violence,
Media,
Misogyny,
Sports,
Violence against women
#WhyIStayed: Understanding Domestic Violence
On March 27th, 2014, former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice was arrested and indicted for third-degree aggravated assault. He had punched his fiancee, Janay Palmer, in the face, knocking her un...
WMC FBomb
The Problem With "Likes"
So many of my peers have an unhealthy obsession with how many "likes" their pictures (especially selfies) receive on Instagram. Many of my friends seem to give a simple "like" so much more weight than...
WMC FBomb
Defrosting the Women: For All the Ladies Who Deserved Better
After having spent the summer watching a lot of TV, I want to talk about women in refrigerators.
First, a brief explanation for those who are unfamiliar with the term "women in refrigerators": th...
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‘Do My Boobs Make Me Look Slutty?’ And Other Busty Girl Problems
We must, we must, we must increase our bust. The bigger, the better, the tighter the sweater, the boys will like us.
This is the jingle my friends taught me in the gym locker room in the fifth grade....
WMC FBomb
August 21, 2014 | Chloe P |
Education,
Feminism,
Gender-based violence,
Media,
Misogyny,
Violence against women
The Dangers of Internalized Misogyny
We need feminism now more than ever for many reasons, but rampant internalized misogyny -- which often goes unnoticed and, in some situations, is even understood as social norms – is as good a reason ...
WMC FBomb
Why I Need Feminism: Overcoming My Self-Loathing
As a kid I was very chubby and sturdy, but that all changed once puberty kicked in. People wondered if I went on a diet to lose weight when I was younger, but my eating habits hadn’t changed. This com...
WMC FBomb
August 14, 2014 | Ines R |
Body image and body standards,
Education,
Feminism,
Girls,
Media,
Science and tech
Stop Tweeting That and Start Living It
It is almost impossible to deny that millennials are obsessed with documenting everything. We think that something funny we see at Target, or a friend’s drunken rant at a party, or just a quick selfie...