Latest Stories

Most recently published stories in Viva.

Stretch Marks and Stigma
Body positivity: A foreign concept to most. Looking in the mirror and analysing every feature of your body, reciting words of others repeatedly around in your head until they eventually become a part of you, chipping away at your mind. It's a sad fact that anxiety surrounding body image has significantly increased in the 21st century, with social media constantly defining beauty standards.
By Katie 8 years ago in Viva
Servant Savant
“158,” Professor Mukund told the room with a smile. “Are you sure? I still can’t believe Nandini can have such a high IQ. I’m just an average call centre worker and Anjali is a housewife that’s never been to school; how can our daughter be like this?” Rajesh was desperate for some sort of verification.
By Toorjo Mishra8 years ago in Viva
Fat Girl Vs. Beautiful Girl
Being fat — No... having fat makes you "fat" and therefore I am a "fat girl" and have been all my life — or so I was told. It's not as much fun being the "big girl" as it is being the "big guy," for one is a compliment while to the other is considered "polite." This is a prose poem about Fat Girl.
By Jennifer R8 years ago in Viva
Anne Frank
The Diary of Anne Frank is a very popular, number-1 selling book in the whole wide world. Before the diary became popular, the beautiful young writer Anne Frank was born Annelies Marie Frank on June 12, 1929 in Frankfurt, Germany. She lived with her parents Otto Frank and Edith Frank-Holländer and older sister Margot Frank. Anne was born in a time where there was a lot of political chaos in Germany. Her family decided to move to Amsterdam when Adolf Hitler won the election. It was there where she attended school at Montessori. She was a very friendly, talkative, and outstanding young girl. She loved to read and do a lot of writing and journalism a lot. Even though she was very talkative, she was also secretive. She wouldn't even share with her best friends at school.
By Shante Hernandez8 years ago in Viva
Should You Get a Breast Reduction?
For years I suffered from horrible upper back pain and lower back pain as well. My breast reduction was the best choice I have ever made in my life.
By Annisa Love8 years ago in Viva
A Final Notice from Your Ovaries
We hate to be the bearer of bad news, but let’s face it, at least someone around here is bearing something. Sadly, after 35 years, that someone still isn't you—and it is for this very reason we have decided to write this letter. After extensive discussion with the fallopian tubes and your biological clock, and on behalf of your entire reproductive system, we have decided to retire from ovulating.
By Erika Potap8 years ago in Viva
Everything Wrong with the Statement, "God Told Me You're Supposed to Be My Wife"
Going to school to be a preacher is quite the experience. Going into my fourth year marks me a senior. Since my first days of my freshman year till my dog days as a junior, there's one situation that never gets old. I never stop seeing it or hearing about it. A theology major creeps out an individual by dropping potentially the most theologically damaging, spiritually confusing, and controversial line in the realm of romance, "God told me that you were going to be my wife."
By Become. selfless8 years ago in Viva
Queen Elizabeth II's Most Badass Moments
No matter where you live, the words "the Queen" almost certainly conjure up one world-famous monarch: Queen Elizabeth II, of the UK (and Canada, and Australia, and so on). In addition to being the longest-reigning and oldest living British monarch, she is also the grandmother of the ever-popular young Royal generation, Princes William and Harry (whose recent engagement to Suits actress Meghan Markle recently took the world by storm). But the 91-year-old Queen Elizabeth, or Lilibet, as her family calls her, is not all tea and crumpets and "my-husband-and-I"s.
By Em DiMonaco8 years ago in Viva
Why Shouldn't I Be Confident?
Being a woman is hard. They want us to be thin, then they want us to be thick. And sometimes, both at the same time. This is an everyday struggle that we all face.
By Mikaela Ball8 years ago in Viva
Snip, Snip, Snip
After leaving a mentally and physically abusive husband, after years of feeling like a constant piece of ass, and a sexual assault later... I got the grand idea to donate all my hair to charity, thinking that it would make men stop staring at me every where I go as if I was a vulnerable gazelle in the wild.
By Alicia Lynne8 years ago in Viva
Wearing the Pants
Who wears the pants in your relationship? It's one of those questions that people always tend to ask couples and it's one of those things that has always gotten to me.
By Samantha Reid8 years ago in Viva
The Betrayal of Myself—My Miscarriage Experience
Can you be betrayed by your own body, if it is an intrinsic part of you? Can you personify a part of you to the point of alienation, enough so that it can endure your suffering for you? Suffering so deep to justify the segregation?
By EP Jenkins8 years ago in Viva