feminism
At its core, feminism is the simple conviction that women are equal to men in every regard, and should be treated as such.
Facebook, Trauma, and the 'Men Are Trash' Narrative
About a year ago, one of my favorite people blocked me on Facebook because I say “men are trash” a lot. This man—who is a friend of mine in real life, who gets it right like 90 percent of the time, who genuinely works hard to be a good man—just couldn’t handle seeing my constant critique of toxic masculinity.
By Cylest Nichole7 years ago in Viva
A Call to Action
In December of 2015, Sweden gave every sixteen year old in the country a copy of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's feminist manifesto, We Should All Be Feminists. Why? Because we should all be feminists, especially by the age of sixteen. Gender roles and social expectations of femininity and masculinity are ingrained in young people’s minds as soon as they are born. Not only does society normalize violence and disregard inequalities, but it also continues to encourage the continuation of the patriarchy through young people who just do not know any better. We should all be feminists in order to acquire a critical consciousness of the intersecting injustices of the world so that society can be changed for the better.
By Sarah Treaster7 years ago in Viva
Men Have Periods Too
Due to my previous job, I am in a lot of Facebook groups. So many Facebook groups, in fact, that it's easier just to let them fill up my Newsfeed rather than attempt the mammoth task of removing myself from them. Most of the groups are centred around environmentalism and the topic of periods, and the best way to reduce waste on your period comes up regularly. These posts are often accompanied by some quip warning men against reading it because it's a 'lady problem'. What might seem like a harmless yet deeply unfeminist comment is actually a real cause for concern. This sort of language needs to be examined closely and it's time we started realising that men can get periods too.
By Ziggy Moth7 years ago in Viva
Why We All Need Feminism
Feminism. A word that contrary to popular belief, does not signify a movement of man-hating, angry white women complaining about a lack of female traffic light signals. Instead, feminism has a rather simple meaning. In its truest sense, feminism is about the uplifting of all women, regardless of their race, sexuality, socio-economic background, or any other factor.
By Gabriel Oben7 years ago in Viva
Forgiveness During the #MeToo Movement
Over the past ten months, I have watched countless women come forward and tell their truths about sexual assault and harassment. From celebrities to laywomen around the world, the #MeToo Movement has never failed to inspire me. I, too, am a survivor. I am approximately one month away from marking five years of a rape that I still don’t know how to process, and this global coming together has often been painful as it has revealed festering wounds that I had once thought were scabbed over. But, it has been therapeutic. To have a world full of women come together, in a sisterhood that none of us wanted, and lift each other up and say, “I see you,” is far more beneficial than I could have ever imagined.
By Angel Morton7 years ago in Viva
The Argument Against Girl Boss
My husband and I decided to spend a weekend afternoon strolling a quaint shopping district in our city. It’s a small street lined with mom-and-pop boutiques that offer high-end home furnishings and vintage clothing mixed with a few neighborhood bars and hipster eateries. After having a refreshing beverage by the river, we decided to make our way back to our car which was parked outside of a women’s clothing shop. Proudly displayed in its window was a simple white t-shirt with the words “Girl Boss” emblazoned across the front. I instantly cringed. I’ve raged against that phrase for some time, but on this occasion my husband decided to ask why I’d be opposed to something meant to empower women. Simply put, because it doesn’t.
By Angel Morton7 years ago in Viva
Keeping My Legs Closed for Jesus
At one point in my life, I was a church member… one of those “good girl” church members. I was one of those good girls who went to church and strived/tried to be wholesome and pure. I can remember my grandmother (who was one of the saintly church Mother’s) saying to me, “Good church girls keep their legs closed.” When I heard this, I didn’t really understand just why I needed to, “keep my legs closed,” but as I got older, it became more apparent to me that it meant a variety of things… and they all centered around my pussy (OOPS!), I mean vagina.
By Reaux Tinkleflower7 years ago in Viva
How to Build Up Your Confidence
We've all been there. "This dress makes me look fat," "this skirt makes me look like I'm seeking attention," etc. We are all ruled by social norms and by the "what will they think of me?" stigma. I think it's time we change all that. I've always been insecure (I made a post about my EDs already if you want to check it out). Always preoccupied with my body because I thought that my physical appearance is all that matters and that nobody pays attention to your inner self.
By Eugenia Moreno7 years ago in Viva
Accept or Reject: The Truth About Consent
“Stupid bitch!” It’s a phrase that more than one man has screamed at a woman who has turned down his advances. If they are in a group of buddies, they will sometimes mutter something like, “She must be a dyke. Why wouldn’t she want this?” To which the group will mostly cheer and try to rally the fallen one. It’s a gross miscarriage of what actually happened and needs to stop. There are a couple of memes going around social media that should help clear up the confusion that seems to happen.
By Edward Anderson8 years ago in Viva
Toxic Masculinity Is for Women Too
I know it has the word "masculinity," but don’t let that trick you like it has so many other people on the huge impact it has on women and girls. I grew up restricting my own self expression because I was afraid of being "too girly" and having my friends and classmates think differently of me, think less of me just because I was wearing pink. I never wore pink, save for a few extremely pale, almost white pieces that I hardly ever wore. Even if I liked some clothes, I told myself I didn’t because I didn’t like the colour when I really just didn’t want to be associated with it. When getting toys and other things with colour options, I always chose anything other than pink. Purple I could accept, as long as it wasn’t too bright or too girly. The same went for glitter—I avoided it like the plague and couldn’t bear to have anything with glittery writing, and even when I started wearing makeup, a very stereotypically girly thing, I still avoided any glitter in that. The thing is, I’m not special. There are so many other girls (probably almost every girl) that went through this too. My sister was so much worse. She hated anything pink and refused to be in any way associated with it. Both of us had the issue of “I don’t wanna be like other girls.” I don’t know if I ever thought that explicitly and directly, but that’s definitely how I was acting. I wanted to be different, to be a "tomboy" because I didn’t want to be associated with girly stereotypes and immediately written off by both boys and girls because of it.
By Maddie Green8 years ago in Viva
