activism
Feminist activists are not deterred by the daunting statistics so much as they're fueled by them.
No Means No
In early 2011, I was raped. Not by one person but by two people. Gang members in fact. It was on that night that my world came shattering down around me that I realized I was in fact not as strong as I once thought I was. Little did I know at the time the burden that I was about to have to bear.
By Alyssa Horn7 years ago in Viva
What is Rape Culture?
I first want to address that this could be triggering for some individuals, please take care of yourself and your needs while reading (or choosing not to). Secondly, I want to address that this shows rape culture as a fairly privileged, cisgendered, and straight women experience. I do not want to claim to be speaking for all people of all identities. Alright, read on!
By purple and blue7 years ago in Viva
10 Organizations That Help Women Around the World
Fighting for gender equality is an ongoing process, one which only seems to get increasingly complex. It would seem simple enough: Appreciate and respect people for their actions, and judge them based off the tangible contributions they make to society rather than their chromosome set. Unfortunately though, this is not always the case. Due to outdated beliefs and stigma, we continue to struggle with harmful stereotypes and gender bias.
By Jovelle Avancena7 years ago in Viva
Stop Perpetuating Rape Culture
I think back to when I was younger and I remember a phrase a teacher would always tell me in school, “Calladita, te ves más bonita.” Literally translated to, “You look prettier when you shut up.” Even more disturbing than the meaning of the phrase is when she would say it to me. Every time I tried to tell her about the times this boy in my class would hit me or throw things at me, she would repeat it or would tell me that was his way of showing affection. I eventually left that school but never really thought about telling anyone else because it seemed normal that a boy would do that.
By Rossana Sandoval8 years ago in Viva
Conversations I Wish I Had (#1)
Before starting this letter, I want to put a disclaimer here. This is... not an easy read for some people. Some of you may have experienced sexual trauma yourself and this story may bring back unwanted feelings and memories. If you start to have trouble, I encourage you to put the story away and reach out to a safe person to talk to. Myself included. I have my Instagram profiles up in my bio on Vocal. So you can always reach out to me if you feel like you can’t speak to anyone else.
By Rowan Flores8 years ago in Viva
Asifa: 5 Months on
Ah, the hashtag. It has many uses: be it for expressing your views on the latest series of a TV show such as #loveisland (still have no clue what it's about), to complaining about your broken phone charger before realising it is a #firstworldproblem; and of course, there are its more serious uses. #NotOurPresident. #Metoo. And in India, 3 months after 8-year-old Asifa Bano was found dead after an 8 day gang-rape, she too got a hashtag: #JusticeforAsifa.
By Vaishnavi Ramu8 years ago in Viva
Zero Tolerance
I was a late bloomer. This meant that while other girls were getting their periods, going on dates and talking with their friends about babies and sex, I was playing Legos with my younger cousins. I didn’t even get my period until I was 16-years-old, and though I had sex-ed many years before, in sixth grade, my memory of the things we talked about were hazy at best. I understood that babies came from sex, but I didn’t know the first thing about arousal, or masturbation, or sexual harassment.
By Eugena Lewis8 years ago in Viva
Me Too
Honestly, I’m not sure how this is going to go. Yet, I know I need to get this out and keep moving forward. It was July 2016. My boyfriend of two weeks was coming over again and couldn't wait. I was 20 years old and I finally had my first boyfriend. I thought I was with someone who really cared for me. I still lived with my parents and that just made things awkward. He finally showed up and we decided to hop in the pool. It was a gorgeous day and there was no way I wasn't going to get my pool time in. My mom was coming and going from the backyard while doing yard work. She didn't like the guy at all and she made it very well known. I'm going to give this guy a different name just to play it safe. Roy was kissing me, totally awesome and I didn't see a problem. Eventually, my mom was out of the backyard for awhile and we were all alone. He kept forcing me to touch him even though I kept pulling away, afraid I was going to get caught. He then pinned me against the pool wall with me facing west, towards him. He began touching me and kissing my neck. On the inside, I was yelling and trying to break free. But on the outside, I was frozen as if I was a photograph. I only remember seeing the evergreen tree in front of me. He began grinding on me, causing large waves in the index quick set up pool. I remember trying to stop him from pushing aside my bikini bottom. He came closer to me and grabbed ahold of himself through this bottoms and teased until I felt him getting closer and closer to the opening. He began taking himself out when he heard my mom returning and quickly backed away from me.
By Stephanie Adolphi8 years ago in Viva
How I Became a "Woke" Black Girl and the Journey I'm Still On...
Summer 2009, my estranged mother and I began speaking again for the first time in about eight years. That same summer I was whisked away, involuntarily, to Virginia to live with her. Up until this point in my life, I grew up in Louisiana, surrounded by lots of family and even more mosquitoes. Now that all that was gone, it was up to me to adjust to my new surroundings. My new life came with a new White stepfather, two little dogs, and two new White step-siblings. A bit much for a girl who was used to being an only child living with her grandparents. Nonetheless, I made the best of my situation. I kept my head low, never acted out of character, and got decent grades for a someone who had to get over a hell of a learning curve. I finished my first year of middle school relatively okay considering the changes. Then in seventh grade, things began to shift when I developed my first crush and I started to notice some things...
By Raven Bickham8 years ago in Viva
We Are Diana Prince
A person connects with a character, storyline, or even a community for a number of reasons. My current icons are Wonder Woman and Jessica Jones. I didn't find them in the comic book store or, in the case of Wonder Woman, on reruns on TNT. I found my love of them when they hit the screen in the last few years. The idea that a woman could save the day when her male counterparts didn't think she could made my little feminist heart sing. And with the state of the world as it is right now, we need all the heroes that we can get. And the amazing thing about Wonder Woman is that she's not just Diana Prince. She's all of us. Diana Prince is white, black, indigenous, Middle Eastern, LGBTQIA+, Trans+, Nonbinary and Genderqueer.
By Katie Kirby8 years ago in Viva
