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From Girl to "Princess": Experiencing Sexual Harassment for the First Time
It happened a couple of weeks after my 12th birthday. I hadn't entered high school, I didn't have my period or a crush on anyone. I was too young to experience the best, empowering parts of my sexuali...
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September 02, 2015 | Julie Zeilinger |
Feminism,
Media,
Misogyny,
Online harassment,
Violence against women
The Truth About Gamergate and Online Harassment
Despite composing the majority of video game players, women are frequently attacked within the gaming community. Though it has persisted for years, this horrifying treatment entered the public conscio...
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Why the Conversation About Domestic Violence Needs to Change
“Why does she stay?”
It's a question outsiders continue to ask about those in abusive relationships. The situation may seem black and white to many: If someone is assaulting you, then you should leav...
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What Justin Bieber's VMA Performance Can Teach Us About Modern Masculinity
At the end of his VMA performance on Sunday night, Justin Bieber began to cry. This image has already launched debates about his motivations and as someone who has spent the past 4 years imme...
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The Broken Concept of Virginity
Society obsesses over the concept of virginity. Young girls are taught that they must meet standards of “purity” and “cleanliness” — standards that are determined by whether or not we have had sex yet...
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On Male-Dominated Spaces and Internalized Sexism
The spring semester of my freshmen year of college, I took a class called "Intro to Political Theory." I was obsessed with the syllabus (Kant and Marx make my head hurt in all the right ways) and more...
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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...
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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...
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What You Need To Know About the Planned Parenthood Controversy
Planned Parenthood is a reproductive health care provider that is "dedicated to offering men, women, and teens high-quality, affordable medical care," according to its website. The organization also “...
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August 19, 2015 | Caroline B |
Arts and culture
Unmasked
I begin peeling off a layer of the mask that once covered my wounds. Starting with the
rehearsal smile hung high on my face
Revealing anger, torment, loneliness, vulnerability
I had to ignore the b...
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How I Took A Stand Against Catcalling
He whistles. "Hey beautiful, look at that ass. Damn, can't you at least smile?"
I have faced plenty of unfair, gender-based double standards in my life. I've been told from a young age to never be alo...
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How 'The Bachelorette' Proves Slut-Shaming Is Alive and Well
Ok, I’ll admit to watching an episode or two (or six) of The Bachelorette this season. For those who haven't watched, the show focuses on one woman's quest to find a perfect match among a group of mal...
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The Surprising Effect of Low Wage Work on Reproductive Rights and Health
Many people think a low-wage worker is a young adult making minimum wage to earn a bit of pocket money or save up for college. While these workers make up some of the low-wage workforce, the vast majo...
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August 12, 2015 Feminism
Struggling With My Dominican Identity
In September of 2013, a law was passed in the Dominican Republic that effectively caused mass deportation and displaced countless Haitians. The law ruled that children born in the DR to non-citizens d...
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Seriously, America? Donald Trump?
Megyn Kelly has been widely praised for her skillful moderation of last Thursday's GOP debate. Many noted that the Fox News host asked sharp yet substantial questions and took a no-nonsense approach t...
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It's 2015. Why Is Male Nudity Still Funny?
"There's a big problem in Hollywood today," Kevin Bacon says at the start of a recently released video. "In so many films and TV shows we see gratuitous female nudity, and that's not okay."
While rai...
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Why We Need To Be Careful About Emphasizing Women's Progress in STEM
I saw it in middle school, and later in high school: If the girls in my class didn’t excel in science, no body was surprised, since girls are never expected to excel in the subject. But if they receiv...
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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...
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It's Time To Stop Publicly Judging Women's Bodies
One evening last week, I stopped at home after work to change my clothes before dance class. It was a hot day and I wanted to shed my workplace-appropriate pants in favor of more comfortable attire be...
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Why I Stayed In an Abusive Relationship — and How I Finally Left
"Why doesn't she just leave her abusive partner?"
It seems like a simple question and it's one that's often posed when people learn others are experiencing abuse. Leaving seems like the most obvious ...
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Black Women and Violence in America: #SayHerName
In recent years, the media has arguably made the racial violence African Americans continue to experience in the post-Civil Rights era — especially at the hands of law enforcement — more v...
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Why The Most Important Part of College for Women May Happen Outside the Classroom
We're often taught that college is training for "real" life. The time we spend on campus and in class is supposed to prepare us for the rest of our lives. But I feel that my summer breaks have actuall...
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Stand Up. Speak Up. Rise Up: The #GirlsLead15 Girl Up Leadership Summit
A hush quickly fell over the crowd of girls surrounding me. While everyone was craning their necks for a better view, I had only one thought: “This is so. freaking. cool.” A second later, the group er...
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Rihanna’s 'BBHMM' Video and Our Resistance To Black Women's Subjectivity
As anyone even mildly interested in pop culture likely knows, Rihanna recently dropped a new music video for her song Bitch Better Have My Money. I found the video itself interesting, but honestly fou...
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July 22, 2015 | David Guirgis |
Feminism,
Gender-based violence,
International,
Violence against women
Why We Must Listen to Syrian Refugee Women
Since 2011, Syria has been embroiled in a civil war. Millions of people have been displaced — the majority of whom have fled to Jordan and Lebanon — and over 220,000 have been killed so far, according...