Lifestyle
For the lives that we love, and everything that comes with it.
Parenting Without Using Physical Punishment
As promised in my last article, I’d like to share some ways of parenting children without using physical punishment that I learned both as a parent and a grandparent. This article is not designed to change your beliefs about smacking children: if you believe physical punishment works, then my goal is not to change your opinion, because as I stated in my first article I too used to hit my children. However, I do believe there are many parents out there who are looking for an alternative way of raising their kids. This one is for you!
By Mari-Louise Speirs8 years ago in Families
An Open Letter to Drugs
I remember sitting in a freezing car in the middle of Los Angeles, looking out of the car window at the homeless people that passed. Many of them walked by without a second glance, but a couple of them made direct eye contact and stared. Eventually they moved along, but my heart raced as I waited for my father to return to the car. As every homeless person passed, I imaged my dad in their torn clothes, begging people for money on the streets. To this day, I'm not sure why my young mind had placed him there, maybe it was just one of my worst fears playing tricks on me.
By Kasey Lomax8 years ago in Families
Transmisogynists Have Trans Women's Blood On Their Hands
Transmisogyny is growing like a cancer (and as someone who has had cancer, I’m allowed to say that). Everywhere on the internet and in the “real world,” I see transmisogynists undermining my trans sisters’ humanity and basic rights.
By Kimia Etemadi8 years ago in Viva
Gallantry and Gumption: Scarlett O’Hara
Gone with the Wind is a film many know of but few have seen. Its running time of just under four hours discourages many, as does the controversial setting of a pre-Emancipation Proclamation United States, and the fact that it is now over seven decades old. But if one overlooks these perceived flaws and sets aside 238 minutes of their time to watch Victor Fleming’s masterpiece, they will find an epic story of love, loss, passion, pride, and — above all else — resilience. This theme of resilience finds its home in the character of Scarlett O’Hara, the narrative’s protagonist and possibly one of the most iconic characters in American cinema.
By Fern Wigfield8 years ago in Viva
Mother Games.
“Tell me about your mother.” My relationship with my mother is an interesting one in the fact that it doesn’t really exist. And for everything one would assume couldn’t be said about the estrangement, there’s actually more than I like to admit. People are always saying I look exactly like her, and I never know what to do with that because they say it as if our comparable appearance is enough to constitute a relationship, or worse, as if I should somehow feel privileged. I guess it’s supposed to be a compliment; what girl wouldn’t want to be compared to her beautiful mother? I however find that looking at my mother is a little like looking at a reflection that moves when you do not. Rather than having some deep-rooted knowledge that allows us to know the other’s movements, there is an empty abyss leaving us completely disconnected. I realize that at some point I dwelled within her, everywhere she went and consuming every corner of her mind. Breathing her air and existing within her existence. But on that fateful day we were to separate she let go of me completely. A division that left a cavern somewhere in the center of my chest.
By Kim Gaines8 years ago in Families
Androgyny Within the Media
Androgyny has always been a female-centred word. Despite its definition being a mixture of the two stereotypical gender norms, dressing in an androgynous fashion always seems to be centred around women donning a tuxedo, or cutting their hair in a style fashionable for men. It is not until now the dictionary definition of the word is being portrayed within society. Hegemonic masculinity is heralded as the epitome of the male, and it seems that until recently anyone that escapes this binary is shunned or outlawed. More so now than ever, these previous ‘outsiders’; the men embracing the fluidity of fashion and culture are rising. ‘Its boring to make clothes marketed to one group of people’ Patric DiCaprio of Vaquera New York believes, unusually, all his designs are unisex, placing him on a pedestal as one of the pioneers of the androgynous movement, saying no to the restricting stereotypes of societal norms when it comes to gender, that can often have traumatising effects on people struggling with their gender identity. Yet, things seem to be moving forward in the case of ‘androgyny’ or gender fluidity being a male and female inclusive word; the first male ‘CoverGirl’ (whose name seems ironic or contradictory given the circumstances, as ‘girl’ suggests this is a female-exclusive brand) James Charles is seventeen from New York and runs a youtube channel focussed on makeup and other typically ‘feminine’ habits, but this does not mean he identifies as anything other than male, as does Jaden Smith who regularly is snapped by the paparazzi wearing skirts, which is seen as ‘unusual’ by many mainstream press houses, despite them often placing women in suits or with pixie cuts as centre pieces in fashion articles.
By Daisy Gaunt8 years ago in Viva
