Latest Stories

Most recently published stories in Viva.

What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger
I don't talk to people much about social issues. I don't think I should have to explain why everyone should receive basic human rights. The right to be in a country founded on immigrants. The right to choose what you do with your body. The right to proper health care and mental treatment. These are all things that every person on the planet should rightfully have, these among others. I shouldn't have to spell this out.
By Sam Kissiar8 years ago in Viva
Raising Trees Not Weeds
I love the idea of “empowering girls!” I’m a girl: A daughter, A sister, A wife and A mother! I love teaching my daughter that she can choose to be Cinderella or Merida or both!
By Maryam Sanaei8 years ago in Viva
I Tried a Menstrual Cup
I had been toying with the idea of trying out a menstrual cup for a while, but honestly, I was a little bit skeeved out by the whole idea—and it is quite a steep initial investment, usually around $35 rather than the $6-7 I was paying for a box of tampons. Of course, every month when I realized that I was out of tampons, or had forgotten to bring tampons with me and started unexpectedly at work, or the store didn't have my tampons, I was definitely intrigued with the concept of having something that would never run out and that I didn't have to purchase each month. I had watched a few videos about people's menstrual cup experiences and was definitely becoming more comfortable with the idea when, suddenly, a Facebook ad popped up, offering a free menstrual cup if I paid for shipping. I definitely am a sucker for something that is free. I was slightly scared about what kind of random mystery product I would be receiving and whether or not it was a good or safe choice, but I went through with it anyway because at least it let me play around and see what they were like.
By Alice Griffin8 years ago in Viva
Defining Solidarity
For years I have wanted to start the conversation about how women can be more supportive of each other. I have wanted to build communication among sisters. How often have women been able to get to a point in life that they can sit back and reflect, and say, "Because of (this woman), I have gotten to this point of my career."
By Regina Stone-Grover8 years ago in Viva
Not Living Up to Someone Else's Ideal of Beauty...
For too many years I have attempted to live up to someone else's ideals of what I should look like. "But Tiffany, you look better slim."
By Tiffany Allen8 years ago in Viva
Grateful for the Pain
Sometimes being protected is the very thing that gets us hurt. I grew up in a rather strict and devoutly religious home. We still acted like normal people, watching movies and spraying whipped cream into our mouths, but a few key things were different. I didn't have a curfew because I had to have permission to leave the house in the first place, and breaking a rule felt like breaking a law. My parents gave me or my two older sisters "the talk," because they thought that something that wouldn't happen had no reason to be talked about. All you needed to know was "no," and the rest would come at marriage.
By Mikaela Merritt8 years ago in Viva
Can Discussion of Domestic Abuse Be “Sexist?”
Last week, I wrote an article about how abusive fathers are using the family courts to continue to abuse and control their victims. The courts award them custody and contact with their children and accuse the mothers of coaching the children to lie about the abuse. The point of the article was to show how the family courts minimise domestic abuse and that abusive fathers are rewarded rather than mothers and their children being protected.
By Clare Scanlan8 years ago in Viva
The 'Feminist Agenda' in the Modern World
It has become important to dissociate the word feminine with feminism. Over the years, feminism has been given a negative connotation by society. It has been misinterpreted as a fight for a civilization where women dominate men. However, it is important to think logically and realize that this is not the case. Feminism simply means political, economic, social, and cultural equality amongst both men and women. Radical feminism is, a lot of the time, used as a representation of the feminist movement. However, this is fallacious thinking in the sense that we cannot allow unfortunate occurrences to represent a whole movement of individuals, each with their own different interpretation of what this movement means to them while sharing the common idea of equality. Women fear to associate themselves with the term because of the trail of negativity that comes along with it. Modern feminism is complex in every sense of intersectionality. I will admit, I too have thought about the negative implication that comes with the label of a feminist, and have asked myself if that is the message I want to send, and it is. It is because I do not allow popular opinion and ignorance to influence my beliefs in something that is greater than one individual’s perception. Unfortunately, there are several isolated matters that, one could argue, have faulty reasoning and rationale. This does not necessarily mean that all feminists agree, or even tolerate the issue, and that is what is being overlooked. Do not let poor judgment of a situation overcome one's logic and common sense.
By Vanessa Cid8 years ago in Viva
Screw Your Timeline
The other day, I was sitting on my front porch talking with my best friend, when she brought up the subject of the life timeline. You know, the timeline for when society thinks people should accomplish goals, hit life milestones, stuff like that, and in her case that means when she and her boyfriend are going to get married.
By Shana Nizeul8 years ago in Viva
Body Positive?
I like to think of myself as outwardly accepting of others, regardless of my thoughts and feelings on their behaviors, beliefs, and beings. But there are three things that truly dishearten me about humans, myself included, I hasten to add and they’ve slotted themselves nicely into the unique-little-snowflake culture that has engulfed us millennials. They call themselves, in the style of a generation raised on spasmodic adspeak “body positive,” “you do you,” and “intellectual differences.” I’ve talked about the second and third before and intend to do so again in the near future but, for now, I’m going to focus on the first one.
By Avi Sato8 years ago in Viva
I'm a 27-Year-Old White Male and I've Never Sexually Harassed a Woman
Sexual harassment lately has been overwhelmingly a part of our daily reads, and has made headlines across media sources across the nation. The #MeToo movement will accordingly go down in history as one of the most eye opening civil movements in my generation's days of yore, and rightfully so. Many women across the country finally must no longer be afraid to step forward about the abuse and bedevilment they have experienced from men that they work alongside, live with, or encounter in day to day activities. From politicians, to an overabundance of male Hollywood celebrities, to Olympic trainers; it finally seems as if men of high profile can no longer get a way with petty actions of sexual objectification and perversion, which we should all applaud!
By J.D. stroud8 years ago in Viva
Yes, #MeToo
Will I give out names in this story? No. Nor will I allude to any places or milestones that could be traced back to its characters. That’s not why I’m choosing to write this. I’m not a victim, I’m not a survivor. I’m just a writer, and this is just another one of my stories.
By something wilde8 years ago in Viva