Latest Stories

Most recently published stories in Viva.

Not Rape
Do you even remember me? Remember the years ago when we first met? I'm not sure how we met... you would think I'd remember. However, it seems my memory from that entire school year is a little fuzzy.
By Liz B8 years ago in Viva
Afraid of Intimacy
His name was Jeremiah and I met him when I lived in Australia. He was the second of twelve children, 24-years-old, and born into a conservative family. I was close to his younger sisters, my brother was close to his younger brothers, my mom was close to his mom. We went to his house all the time. I was 13 and he was 24.
By Mathilda Burton8 years ago in Viva
What No One Tells You About Sexual Assault
I used to think sexual assault was something that happened to people at the hands of strangers and in violent attacks. As I got older and heard more about the issue, I realised I was wrong and that it's more likely to be from those that you actually know. But I never would have thought it would happen to me by someone I believed to be my best friend.
By charlie delaney8 years ago in Viva
PCOS: Cure or False Hope?
Like many others, I woke up on Tuesday to the news that not only had doctors discovered "the cause of PCOS" they had also discovered a "cure". The article was everywhere on social media, quoted from various trusted scientific institutions such as The New Scientist (1) and IFLScience (2).
By Rivka Spicer8 years ago in Viva
'But Boys Like Long Hair Better' and Why I Don't Care
I remember going to see the movie Tangled when it first came out. Being an avid fairy-tale and Disney lover I was so excited when my step-mother and grandmother took me to see it in theaters. Everyone knows Rapunzel by her signature never-ending blonde locks—she is seen as a beautiful princess. There was a scene in the movie though where Eugene, the "prince" of the story, takes a jagged shard of glass and chops off all of Rapunzel's beautiful hair, leaving her with a short brunette chin-length bob. It was at this point in the movie where two thoughts entered my mind.
By Patience Arianna8 years ago in Viva
Living With PCOS
Since I can remember, things were just different for me compared to other girls my age. Doctors would tell me: watch what you’re eating, exercise, drink water, etc. You know the normal things they tell people to lose weight. But it just wasn’t the working. I could eat the right things and still not lose the weight. I could exercise on a daily basis and only feel more depressed and see no results in the weight. At the age of 12, the beginning of womanhood, I wasn’t regular and I was diagnosed with PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome). At that age it was scary to hear I had something wrong, but I was sent to a specialist in which I was told to just take birth control and it would regulate everything. For the next ten years, this was what I continued to use. But, like mentioned above, it never helped with weight, hair, or your typical symptoms of PCOS. Finally, at the age of 24, single, educated, and working on my future, I decided to look into my diagnosis.
By Amber Nickol8 years ago in Viva
The Wage Gap
While discussing the newest Avengers movie, one of the actors came up, and a few of my friends laughed a little at Benedict Cumberbatch's statement of how he refuses to take a role if his female costars aren't paid the same. I was surprised to find out that one of my friends believed the wage gap to be a myth created by feminazis as propaganda.
By Maya Conroy8 years ago in Viva
Is There Something Wrong With My Body?
Approximately 91 percent of women have a negative body image. That is a staggering number. All the pictures portrayed of the stick-thin models in magazines and on Instagram are unrealistic. In fact, only 5 percent of the women in America actually possess the "ideal" body presented by the media. So what is the ideal body? The ideal body is when you are happy, love your body, and are healthy—not only physically but mentally. How you get there is up to you. If you simply struggle with how you think about your body, work on changing your mindset. If you want to physically change your body, find exercises and a routine that works for you. Finding your ideal is how you find confidence and self-love. Your ideal doesn't have to be looking like a supermodel. Maybe your ideal is finding something you like about your body and focusing on it. Maybe your ideal is showing your body off to build confidence. Maybe your ideal is telling yourself you are beautiful. Whatever your "Ideal" is, once you find it, you should be able to love your body. Loving yourself can do wonders for your mental health because you don't obsess over tiny flaws. If you radiate confidence, other people are attracted to that positive energy.
By Luna Teal8 years ago in Viva
Me Too. Still
Let's talk about men. Not all men (get it? It's funny because it's not funny), but definitely a significant number of them. How did a movement that is about empowering women get hijacked by men with victim complexes? How did men manage to make yet another thing that isn't theirs all about them? It was never about them or "men's rights" or "meninism" (I almost can't even type either phrase because they're so ridiculous), but they've made it about them, so let's talk about it. They asked for it.
By Stripes Joplin8 years ago in Viva
Living Uneasy
The Beginning A few days before my eighth-grade year started, my life changed drastically. Nobody ever believed me. Nobody ever listened. I was the kid who “asked for what I got” and was never helped.
By Courtney Quick8 years ago in Viva
Feminism Around the World
Every country is different, and that is a plain fact. With these differences comes different people, and they may be different, but many of them have something in common because every country has feminists. They may not be active necessarily, and if they are lucky they don't have to be, but whether they actively protest or they simply believe in equality, they are feminists. The only difference is that they may have a different idea of what being a feminist means.
By Maya Conroy8 years ago in Viva
Is Veganism a Feminist Issue?
There are many branches of feminism, but something that recurs across various feminist ideologies is the idea that consuming meat and dairy is anti-feminist. Women who identify as feminist but consume animal-derived products have been accused of speciesism, or only caring about the rights of human women. Of course, the issue gets more complex when considering something like race; women of color are still treated poorly, but the rights of female animals are now a top priority of certain feminists.
By Brittany Elaine8 years ago in Viva