Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Viva.
Your Period is a Curse
History is not kind to women. Eve and the Fall of Man. Jealous, vengeful goddesses. Evil queens. The most famous of them are beautiful seductresses and thus must "get around"––whether Creatrix, goddess, or queen–– because who else will there be to tell their story but the men they loved, crossed or manipulated. They don't get a voice. They only leave an impression.
By Hope Ashby5 years ago in Viva
Success is about Execution, not Likability. Kate Monroe is the living example of that rule.
We live in a society that tells young girls to smile and “just be nice” — because that will get them everything they want, right? No. It is a system that forces us to swallow our potential and ignore our drive. Because it isn’t “womanly” to want power and ambition. These are traditionally in the purview of men.
By Victoria Kennedy5 years ago in Viva
Dear Me
Dear Me, We are writing to inform you of your nomination for acceptance into the Strong Women Club. We understand your reluctance to accept this nomination, so before you reject it out of hand, please take the time to peruse our reasoning, as laid out below.
By Maria Shimizu Christensen5 years ago in Viva
Dear Victoria
Dear Victoria, Life must seem pretty good for you now. You’re almost 10! That is a big number for you. I know most of your friends have already reached those double digits but you are almost there! Does it seem like those friends are starting to meet other people and spend more of their time with them instead of you? Are they moving away and mom has to drive you to see them?
By Vicky DiMichele5 years ago in Viva
Dream On
Sophie swore to herself that she'd never go back to online dating. She had amassed enough tragic stories of dates gone so badly that people raised an eyebrow of doubt anytime she recounted them. They were so horrific that she figured there couldn't possibly be many people who had suffered worse dating tragedies. Yet, here she was again putting on a pretty dress and perfecting her makeup in nervous anticipation. Her cab was outside, waiting to deliver her to yet another online dating adventure, or disaster. Whatever the case may be, it was too late to bail without ghosting the poor guy.
By Wendy Sanders5 years ago in Viva
Shifting the Narrative on Sexual Violence
CW Sexual Violence, Sexual Harassment I remember sitting in my kitchen at the age of nine or ten, the evening news on in the background. One story involved the sexual assault of a young woman. The focus of the report was not the attack itself, but comments made in court by the defendant’s lawyer.
By Hannah Jackson 5 years ago in Viva
Mata Hari
One solemn truth of human history is the presence of millions of stories that have all gone untold. Even if all the dead were remembered by the living, there wouldn’t be enough paper in the world to chronicle all their lives. There wouldn’t be enough time to relay every story by word of mouth. Millions of lives have been lived in hiding from the eyes of history, leaving marks on the world in ways the living will never quite remember or understand; then, teetering over the edge of an abyss are a few stories on the verge of being forgotten, like the story of a woman who was executed by the French government during World War I, which was the culmination of 41 years of a life that perfectly illustrated the need for women’s liberation. In the end, her only crime was her determination to provide for herself and to survive.
By Natale Felix5 years ago in Viva
The story of Secretary Frances Perkins, the first woman to hold a Cabinet position
Recently there has been a lot of attention being paid to barriers being shattered by women and minorities (as well as to the various barriers that remain standing that need to be shattered). In light of this, and of the fact that it is currently Women’s History Month, let us reflect on a somewhat lesser known example, the life and career of Frances Perkins.
By Austin Blessing-Nelson (Blessing)5 years ago in Viva
