“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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
"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...
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...
"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 ...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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 ...
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...
Academics, parenting blogs, and activists have protested the media's inappropriate and gross hypersexualization of girls. Nearly every TV commercial I watch or department store I visit reminds me of t...
Women are disrespected far too often. They're frequently interrupted, talked over, or directly insulted. So, it is particularly satisfying — even cathartic — when a woman publicly takes a stand agains...
I wasn’t introduced to the notion of feminism, the discussion of equal rights or the culture of slut shaming until recently. I’ve never had a classroom debate about whether or not men should be called...
Shopping for school clothes was a nightmare in high school. Attending a private Christian school with a strict dress code, I had a lot of rules to follow: No jeans, sweat pants, yoga pants, or anythin...
Our generation may not be too familiar with the haunting "Keane Eyes" which were ubiquitous in the 1950s and 60s. Those dark, doe-eyed figures found their way into print and media, living rooms and co...
The “ideal figure” of a woman has changed a lot over the years. But beauty has undeniably always been determined in relation to patriarchal standards.
During the Italian Renaissance, fuller figures w...
The Internet is incredible. Our generation has seemingly limitless access to information and can connect with people anywhere in the world in an unprecedented way. It has given people the opportunity ...
When exactly do you become a woman? I've received a few different answers to this question that I think are worth exploring.
My elementary school nurse told me in fifth grade I would become a woman w...