Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Viva.
The 'F' Word
It is the dreaded 'F' word; the title people scared their sons, and daughters, and wives, and husbands, and friends into staying away from. It seems to be more socially acceptable in this world to tell someone to "F**k Off" rather than someone "I am a Feminist."
By Bethany Hutson8 years ago in Viva
Thank You, Sir
I watched an interview on the morning news today. The subject of the interview was a “friend” of mine. He’s not someone I’d ever meet to catch up over coffee but he would offer me something to drink if we happened to be somewhere at the same time. And he would absolutely saddle up to rescue me from a creeper if the need arose.
By D. Gabrielle Jensen8 years ago in Viva
Unhealthy Kinda Love
It's always a really hard thing, talking about abusive relationships. A lot of people try to hide it and just push it to the side. I know what it's like when you first meet your partner and you fall in love because of how amazing, funny, cute, and exploring they are. It's funny how they like to trap you in a box because you have that hope that, one day, they can actually change.
By Marlyn Torres8 years ago in Viva
How to Be a Baddie: Series 3
Baddies are royalty and that means they have to dress the part. Not literally though. You don’t need to purchase a crazy expensive tiara or super elegant ball gown. However, they are always put together and fashionable. They are very trendy, but also very unique. Take notes, queens, because I’m gonna share with you what it takes to dress like a baddie!
By Sanaa Dowd8 years ago in Viva
How to Be a Lazy Feminist
I would like to start this off by saying that I use the words feminine, female, and woman as ways to express these abstract life areas that are more nurturing and “earthy” by nature, and in no way do I intend to place people in boxes or claim to have any kind of superior knowledge of anyone else’s process of what or who they identify with. I use these terms not to be gender specific or to classify people—instead I use them because, at this point in time, I have no other way to explain the concepts I am about to talk about without turning this into a thousand page essay. I am open to ideas and suggestions on how to approach these subjects in a more enlightened way if anyone has anything they would like to contribute. I am aware of the unfairness that is associated with society putting labels on people and making them choose a specific identity. I am also aware this is shifting and I am on the path of learning more—please help me learn!
By Morgan Leigh Callison8 years ago in Viva
Just Another Monday
It is just another Monday in Mrs. Smith’s class. I sit, three desks from the left in the farthest back row, spinning my dull ring around my finger in a sort of habitual motion. I like to sit in the back. I don’t like it because I can goof off like the other kids, but because I can’t stand the idea of someone constantly watching me. I don’t want my back to be on display to those behind me. I don’t want to worry if I’m sitting up straight or if my hair looks okay. I don’t want anyone to notice what I’m wearing or even have a thought about what I’m doing. I want to just sit in peace, and do my work. In the back, it’s almost as if I’m not there. I go unnoticed. High school is not how I expected it to be. I always imagined a place of freedom and of higher intelligence that encouraged free thought and individuality. Now, sitting in the back observing the classmates around me, I know I was wrong. The girls in the front of the room are passing notes and laughing, their low cut shirts falling lower with each giggle, each of them modeled in the image of their favorite celebrities. Each one trying harder and harder to be someone else. The boys to my right are throwing balled up paper at each other and the kid to my left is asleep. It seems as if I am the only one paying attention. Here, it seems less like a school and more like a prison. We can’t speak our minds or use creative thought, but instead are taught to be more like the standard, turning each of us into boring and lifeless replicas of the system. Instead of being known by our names or hobbies, we are labeled by numbers: our test scores, our class rank, our GPA. They police how we dress, how we talk, how we sit, how we think, and even when we pee, yet tell us to act more mature. Every day is a sick repetition of the day before until summer, which only leads us to another year of this lifeless facilitated learning. My eyes draw to the faded diamonds on my ring. There was a time when this ring wasn’t so dull. When my mom first gave it to me, it was beautiful and sparkling. Throughout the years it seemed to grow with me, becoming older as I did, and losing some of its shine as a result of the usual wear and tear. Now it just seemed to be a depressing reminder of what once was.
By Scarlett Elizabeth8 years ago in Viva
He Never Laid a Finger on Me
Glen and I were high school sweethearts. I loved him and thought he was the best thing since sliced bread. I looked at him and often wondered how somebody like him could want to be with someone like me. I was this chubby, short, unpopular girl and to me, he was this slightly older, much cooler Adonis. Glen was very spoiled. If he wanted something specific for dinner, he'd get it. If he wanted a certain game system, even if they didn't have the money, he'd still have it. New guitar? Sure. Lessons to go with it? You betcha. His mom even did his laundry for him. He was very fortunate even though his family was NOT very well off. As you can imagine, he was used to getting his way and I fed into that immediately upon dating him.
By Moogle Macabre8 years ago in Viva
Copper IUDs: The Good, the Bad, the Uncomfortable
Getting an IUD is one of those things. You've been flip-flopping on the idea for a long time and one of the main factors keeping you from doing it is the initial pain of the procedure. I get it, I was going back and forth in my head for years trying to justify putting my head down and getting it done. Obviously there are an overwhelming amount of positives, my favorite and main reason for having it being the non-hormonal (copper) option. As a lady who has been on a plethora of different hormonal birth control options (the patch, estrogen pill, low dose estrogen and testosterone, progesterone only) I can honestly tell you that while some people may not experience many side effects, I had experienced plenty—everything from UTIs, low sex drive, high blood pressure, cystic acne (hoo man, a lot of it) on my face and also in other strange and terrible places, leg cramps (from the progesterone only pill), and heightened anxiety. All of these options, while viable because they all technically did their job and kept a child from existing inside of me, never really seemed ideal because I felt like I was changing my biology a little in order to accommodate them. Not to mention, it was causing problems in my relationships and making me more insecure in my appearance (my face had the texture of a balloon filled with rocks for a while). Long story short (–ish), when I heard about an implant that was non-hormonal and would last between 5-10 years, I was sold.
By Carly Anne 8 years ago in Viva
Sexism
I am a sexist man! Society views the word sexist as unappealing. Yet, society also views men as prideful, insensitive, strong, overpowering, and privileged. Which for the most part, is true. Sexism is not a women’s issue, it is a men’s issue because of the obtuseness of men. Not obtuseness as an infant, yet as a blindfold to 1), women’s creativity, 2) their valuable nature, and 3) the strength of women.
By Alexis puente8 years ago in Viva
