This is my thought process before leaving the house: I want to look nice and appreciate fashion, but also know that if I’m going to be on public transport or walking down the street, I must actively c...
Misty Copeland made history on June 30th when she was promoted within the American Ballet Theatre, becoming the first African American ballerina to reach the rank of Principal Dancer after being the ...
In the wake of the historic Supreme Court decision to universally legalize same-sex marriage, 26 million Facebook users demonstrated their support by superimposing a rainbow-tinted flag over their pro...
I have a mole on my right cheek. As a child, it was the physical feature about which I felt the most insecure. For years, however, my mother insisted that what I considered a flaw was actually a "beau...
You may be familiar with HelloFlo from their viral videos that buck period-related stigmas and feature boisterous young girls celebrating their time of month. But this company is much more than these ...
When I was sixteen my parents and I packed up and moved from Australia to New York. I left behind my school, the place I grew up, some friends, and many family members. It was a big change, but one th...
I remember watching my mother get ready for work in the mornings as a little girl. Every day she went through the careful, time-consuming process of doing her makeup and selecting a button down shirt ...
NBC recently dropped the Miss USA Pageant, but the pageant quickly found a new home with cable network REELZ. However, it seems like this could have been a good time to stop televising the pageant alt...
*Trigger warning*
I have been sexually assaulted twice, although I didn't recognize either event as such at the time.
The first time, I was 18, asleep next to my boyfriend. I had passed out almost i...
It’s clear that women are severely underrepresented in U.S. politics: Currently, only 20% of the seats in Congress, and 25% of the seats in state legislators are held by women. The fact that Hillary C...
It’s hard being alone after having been with someone for a long time. It’s hard to detach from your first love, to not have that person on whom you can rely for comfort, happiness and safety. You miss...
Much lip service has been paid to feminism's supposed comeback — especially in terms of more authentic representations of women in pop culture. Charlize Theron's recent portrayal of the badass protago...
“Two of us were sexually assaulted before class even started,” activist Annie Clark says in the recently released documentary The Hunting Ground. “I thought if I told [administrators] they would take ...
Like many other privileged American kids, my biggest concerns at ten years old were whether or not I could finish my homework before soccer practice or if my dad was going to buy me the new marine bio...
Hot Girls Wanted — a new documentary produced by actress Rashida Jones — follows five amateur porn actresses between the ages of 18 to 25 and details their experiences filming porn and living togethe...
I was a teen in the '90s, and heavily influenced by Riot Grrrl feminism. Everything was DIY, dress how you want, and live with a militant independence. My feminism was raw, precocious, and wild. Now t...
Although we have made a lot of progress towards achieving gender equality, there is still much work to be done. One still-pervasive form of sexism women face is being subjected to sexist comments whil...
In 2008, 17-year-old Samantha Elauf was denied a job at a Tulsa, Oklahoma Abercrombie Kids store. Why? The retailer believed her hijab did not comply with their “look policy.” Her headscarf was appare...
Think you know the clitoris? Brooklyn-based artist Sophia Wallace wants you to think again. In fact, she's showing the world just how much they don't know about this powerful organ through her multime...
As the end of my senior year of high school drew to a close, my life began to change — not because I was starting a new chapter in my life, but because I was beginning a two-year struggle with what I ...
In her 2014 TED Talk, Khadija Gbla expresses the cultural friction she felt between two very different definitions of what it means to be “empowered.” Gbla recounts her experience growing up in Sierra...
As a film student and aspiring screenwriter, I understand that it is a comedian’s job to joke about current issues and events. But I believe there is a fine line between "art" and belittlement and tha...
Music festival season is just beginning, and with it comes yet another reminder that women still have a long way to go before we achieve equality. Although there are plenty of female acts to choose fr...
Many people probably think France is a feminist-friendly country. My experience as an activist with the international feminist organization Femen has taught me that this is not the case. I've found th...
Growing up, I was neither educated nor had positive conversations about sex. It was a taboo topic in my family. My mother especially refused to discuss it (even when I brought it up) and my father com...