The mainstream media has been fascinated with (especially female) college students’ sexuality for years. Rather than reflect the nuanced reality of their lives, however, women have largely been reduce...
Trigger Warning: Mention of sexual assault.
Out of every 6 American women, at least 1 will be the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime. This horrifying yet all too common experien...
The Hunting Ground is an unabashed and damning portrayal of the still crucial and widespread problem of rape culture on college campuses. In fact, an estimated 20 to 25% of women in higher educational...
A few weeks ago, I took my seat in the huge auditorium of my East Coast college preparatory boarding school for Proctor Training. The week-long event involved a series of workshops and lectures that t...
“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...
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...
"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 ...
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...
*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...
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...
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...
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...
On April 22nd, after nearly six weeks of delay, the Senate finally passed the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act. This bill will provide harsher penalties for perpetrators of trafficking, hold pat...
Trigger Warning: In this post, I will be writing about rape and sexual assault, particularly in the case of female survivors and male aggressors. As a heterosexual, cisgender female, this is the dynam...
I’ve always thought of myself as a very strong, independent, and at times, outspoken young woman. I was confident in my voice and in myself, certain that I would never find myself in a situation with ...
My parents grew up in Delhi and the city is like a second home to us. In addition to my cultural roots and personal connection to the country, I also have a deep, personal interest in Indian society, ...
The first time I experienced harassment in a club, a man came up behind me and put his hand under my dress and in between my legs. I was horrified. I felt dirty, violated and mortified. As the night w...
To say sexism and gender-based discrimination don’t exist would be like claiming oceans aren’t wet. There are, in fact, many issues facing women of the present, and they need to be addressed. So thank...
My right to safety and bodily integrity were robbed the night I was drugged. I, as well as three other female students at my law school, were drugged at three different house parties. No one attempted...
Over the past six months, we have certainly seen positive change when it comes to feminist progress. For example, in September of last year, the California State Senate unanimously voted to enact 'Yes...
I first heard about Fifty Shades of Grey on NPR when I was 15. It was the tail end of the story, and all that I could glean was the name, that it was an immensely popular work of fiction, and that it...
Hi, my name is Kathy and I’m a Pinterest-aholic. I love to pin recipes that make me hungry, workouts I’ll never do and, most of all, quotes. Maybe it’s the writer in me, but there’s nothing I love mor...
It was recently reported that Misty Upham, an actress best known for her work in Frozen River and August Osage County, was found dead in a ravine. It was later revealed that her death was caused by bl...