After Afghanistan fell under Taliban rule on August 15, 2021, women hid in their homes, fearing for their lives. The educated burned their diplomas, struck with the memories of the Taliban’s last takeover in 1996 when nearly all education was banned for women, enforced through obscene, fatal measures. Women were killed for attending co-education classes […]
Read More The Taliban’s “Gentle” Approach to Women’s Rightshow sorority recruitment limits women’s uniqueness I am a woman in a sorority and i’ll be the first to say that contrary to popular belief, social sororities have more benefits than they do detriments (that is, in my experience). However, when the familiar recruitment season comes around, it seems as if sororities are less about […]
Read More Individuality in a sea of “basic”Moving through the world as a queer human being has it’s struggles. I would like to shine some light on what I and many others deal with every damn day of our lives, and hopeful show people that it’s more than just rainbows and sunshine. One of those struggles that absolutely drives me crazy is […]
Read More Situations queer people deal with everydayThis post will talk about why intersectionality is important and show you a recent event that relates to it. Growing up in a relatively diverse area I knew there was some existing prejudice against the minorities but I never experienced it. The area was somewhat of a bubble that hid me from the outside world. […]
Read More Stop asian hate #intersectionalityAs each semester passes there are always certain lessons in each of my classes that strike a chord for me. Last semester in my SCOM 240 class my professor used breast cancer awareness marketing as an example for one of our lessons and ever since then it has been stuck in the back of my […]
Read More Marketing culture of breast cancer awarenessLocal News: In late May 2021, Cadet First Captain Kacey G. Meredith became the first female regimental commander at Virginia Military Institute. After her appointment was announced Kacey received a tremendous amount of hate. Especially on the social media platform, Jodel, an anonymous app similar to Yik Yak. In response, law firm Barnest and Thornburg […]
Read More Newsroom roundup 9/13This blog is about why everyone should read the book Untamed by Glennon Doyle. A quick background on the book: This book is written by Glennon Doyle and tells her story on how she “untamed” herself from the cages she remained in for the majority of her life that society puts women in. Her story […]
Read More Untamed: A must readIf you’re a college aged student, I’m sure you have heard of the popular podcast, “Call Her Daddy”. If you’re not familiar, it is a podcast that is an affiliate of “Barstool Sports” and has accumulated a huge cult following over the past two years. The 27-year-old host, Alexandra Cooper uses the platform to share explicit and raunchy hookup stories, along with […]
Read More Why popular podcast “call her daddy” is toxicThe healthcare system has neglected the fact that women need help, need someone to hear them, listen to them, support them, and provide effective treatment for their pain.
Read More HASHIMOTO’S DISEASE: HOW I REALIZED THERE IS A MASSIVE GAP IN THE HEALTH SYSTEMWhat is Feminism? What is a Feminist? Four weeks ago, if you would have asked me “What is feminism?” or “What is a feminst?” I wouldn’t have had an answer, or if I did manage to give you an answer, it sadly would have been an ignorant one. Before taking this feminist blogging course, I […]
Read More My Feminist Journey begins hereI had never conducted an interview before in my life. But for ShoutOut!, I decided that I wanted to showcase local feminist and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS) professor Dr. Sharon Mazzarella, who has been teaching for 13 years at James Madison University. In this interview, we discuss her research in young girlhood, her […]
Read More Interview with JMU Professor Dr. MazzarellaAs we all know, COVID has impacted all of our lives in one way or another and even though we have the vaccine, there are still problems every single day that we have to face. People have lost loved ones, had to distance themselves from family, and gotten sick for days on end all because […]
Read More Covid-19 and the problems that americans still face“We are either going to have a future where women lead the way to make peace with the Earth or we are not going to have a human future at all.” —Vandana Shiva As an inspiring environmentalist and a self-proclaimed feminist, the concept of eco-feminism as always piqued my interest. The relation of nature and […]
Read More Is Eco-feminism a Justified Branch of Feminism?We are @stillstanding99, @imabadwitch, and @thefeministsunflower, and this is your newsroom roundup of the week! Local News: After a townhall meeting and advice from legal counsel, Rockingham County Public Schools (RCPS) has made the decision to not adopt new inclusivity policies proposed by the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE). These policies were proposed in response […]
Read More Newsroom RoundupToday is World Suicide Prevention Day and I wanted to make this post to raise awareness. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for people between the ages ten and thirty-four[1], the impacts are wide reaching and yet this is hardly talked about. For these reasons, I believe it is extra important that we try to better understand underlying issues and work to destigmatize the topic. Furthermore, it is […]
Read More World suicide prevention DayWhy sorority culture is toxic From a former sorority girl For most girls, trying to fit in at college seems like a huge obstacle to overcome. Many women in college decide to rush sororities, greek organizations, in order to make new friends and bond with those of similar interests. Although being in a sorority may […]
Read More sorority= ToxicityThe long list of people failed by the American government continues to grow even as we approach 2022. Refugees, African Americans, and women are a few out of the bunch. Although the first two listed deserve their own blog post; Texas has made the conversation impossible to ignore. Texas and its undying efforts to turn […]
Read More America, who do you care about?MOVIE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE GIRLS: Bridesmaids, Legally Blonde, The Devil Wears Prada, Confessions of a Shopaholic, or any movie that has a majority female cast! And remember, NO BOYS ALLOWED! Men LOVE to fantasize about what they imagine to be a girls night in: red wine, silk pajamas, pillow fights, and, of course, chick flicks. […]
Read More Real men watch chick flicks“Republicans are calling women’s bodies ‘Host bodies,’” New York Times author Don Wilson wrote in a tweet on September 3, 2021. For real though, what in the Handmaid’s Tale is going on? On September 1st, 2021, the Texas Abortion Act went into effect banning women in the state from getting an abortion after 6 weeks […]
Read More The Gov’t Doesn’t Care About Your Rights… But Bumble doesAs a female, I have experienced my fair share of misogyny. From a young age I have been advised to live my life a certain way, whether that be how I talk, act, or dress, and whenever I questioned this advice, the answer always had something to do with how men would perceive me. Throughout […]
Read More Do Institutions of Higher Education Prepare Females for Success?Yesterday women in Afghanistan’s capital city of Kabul, rallied together outside of the Presidential Palace and demanded that their rights be respected. It has been twenty years since the Taliban has last been in power and these protestors want to ensure that the progress they have made is recognized and that Afghanistan does not revert […]
Read More The Hypocrites of AmericaSame ShoutOut! JMU mission. Same ShoutOut! JMU vibes. A whole lotta’ new bloggers! Without further ado, let’s jump in and meet the new crew of bloggers who will be embracing intersectionality, fighting the patriarchy, and speaking truth to power! Drumroll please… @SinningAndWinning: Long-term feminist, short-term blogger. As a college student on a track towards law […]
Read More We’re Back!In this blog post I will be discussing something that hits very close to home with me when it comes to gendered and sexualized healthcare. This topic is ADHD and ADD diagnosis in women and girls. This past summer at the age of 19 I was diagnosed with ADHD after years of silently struggling. I […]
Read More My Silent Struggles With ADHD as a Woman.You may be hip to the notorious Tiktok trend, “Tell me you have pretty privilege…without telling me you have pretty privilege.” To which the prompt is stitched with a pretty face who boastfully tells a tale to a camera about how their attractiveness benefited them in a particular circumstance. I angrily reacted to how this […]
Read More Pretty Privilege vs. Beauty PenaltyIn the upcoming week of April 18-24, there was a lot of stir and discussion within the TikTok community within the United States. For the US, April is sexual assault awareness month, where there is a lot of discussion to aid those who have been impacted by any form of SA and bring awareness to […]
Read More April 24thHave young women today inherited a rape culture that is still ingrained? When will we as a society come to reject this legacy and what will it take? Glistening luxury pools and fountains, hand carved sculptures (not to call out any cover models), polished marble floors, chandeliers hanging from tall ceilings that cost more than […]
Read More Playboy Bunnies and the Chamber of SecretsThroughout this semester, the ShoutOut! cohort has discussed a multitude of topics; ranging from gun violence to sexual assault to white patriarchy and racism in feminist circles. When I first joined the ShoutOut cohort, I didn’t know what to expect. My first assumptions were “A feminism class? At a PWI (Predominately White Institution)? It’s giving […]
Read More Reflections of a Born-Again FeministLocal In Harrisonburg this past week, a virtual conference was held to promote the growing concern of gun violence in the country. The presenters in the conference are people whose lives have been directly impacted by gun violence. One of the main takeaways of this conference is encouraging people to speak up and voice their concerns […]
Read More Newsroom Roundup!Disclaimer: I am a current tour guide here at JMU. I have spent the past two years trying to make our training more inclusive for our guides after reflecting on the centrality of privileged identities in our tours. But even after an overhaul, there is still work to be done. It’s a sunny afternoon, the […]
Read More A Campus Tour Through a Queer LensI think a lot of us are guilty of shopping on fast-fashion sites, and if we aren’t, I’m sure some of our friends are. Sites like Boohoo, Romwe, Zaful, Fashion Nova, etc, operate on business models that offer insanely cheap trendy items, and turn over new items extremely fast. Fashion Nova has said they offer […]
Read More FAST FASHION: A FEMINIST ISSUEJust last week I ran into a problem that was a first for me. I was driving down the street in Harrisonburg and my “check engine” light came on which could mean anything! Nobody enjoys a trip to the mechanic, but it is especially hard for women. The thing is, this minor car issue […]
Read More One Second… Let Me Call My DadMental health is something that we all struggle with, and it is something that, as a society, we need to discuss. Particularly, we need to discuss mental health disparities among minorities. Racial/ethnic, sexual, and gender minorities often suffer from poor mental health outcomes due to many reasons, including, discrimination, harmful stigmas, and overall lack of […]
Read More Mental Health DisparitiesThe medical community knows that women are living in constant pain. Women are more prone to having serious complications in their health that men sometimes do not have to face. There are ten chronic pain conditions that predominantly affect women, all having remarkably similar symptoms. Once a person has one, they are more likely to […]
Read More Imagine not being able to wear a tamponThis Wednesday the JMU’s D.E.E.P Impact organization gave an informative presentation to educate on the history of oppression and violence Indigenous people in the United States have faced and still face today. The presentation covered many different topics including the history of Indigenous people in the U.S and the oppression and barriers they still face today. […]
Read More The ongoing battle for Indigenous peopleI have always been a little suspicious of religion, specifically Christianity/Catholicism. Not that I don’t respect those who follow religion (as long as they don’t use it to hurt others). In fact, I was raised Catholic, attend church occasionally, and live with three women who define themselves by their faith. As a member of the […]
Read More Can You Be a Faithful Feminist?Abolition is a movement to end systemic violence, including the interpersonal vulnerability and displacements that keep the system going…the goal is to change how we interact with each other and the planet by putting people over profits, welfare over warfare, and life over death. – Ruth Wilson Gilmore
Read More Abolish the PoliceOne in four women are victims of domestic violence. Domestic violence can include physical, sexual, social, emotional, verbal, spiritual, and economic abuse where one partner tries to exert power and/or control over the other. Domestic violence can take many forms, including stalking, physical violence, sexual violence, and emotional abuse. To put this into perspective, nearly […]
Read More America’s Domestic Violence CrisisThis week has been incredibly busy when it comes to how the police handle traffic stops with African American men. This week alone two major incidents have been brought to the attention of the media and the people of the United States and let me just say, the people are not pleased; so let’s get […]
Read More This Week in: A Country Rooted in RacismAfter ordering graduation announcements a few days ago, my mom hops on a call with me and exclaims, “you think these cards were made out of gold!” This got me thinking – to participate in graduation, a student must shovel out even more cash to the university to engage in ‘graduation culture.’ Let’s take a […]
Read More The Pitfalls of Graduation CultureWith the current climate of racism today, and the recent deaths of Daunte Wright and George Floyd, it’s great to see our favorite sports teams stand in solidarity with us to fight against racism and police brutality. Whether it’s wearing a new game day uniform with “Black Lives Matter” stitched on the back or writing […]
Read More Racism Within Our Favorite Sports TeamsThroughout my journey through feminism, I have heard about many different countries and how feminist in that country are handling the situations that have been thrown at them. However, interestingly enough, I have never (to the best of my memory) heard about feminism in Sudan. My best friend is from Sudan so the fact that […]
Read More Justice for Sudanese WomenLet us talk about the wide spectrum regarding marginalized health care in the United States. I feel like most people can find their gynecologist a comforting, sacred place in which they can confide most of their personal physical and emotional pains with. The first time I visited my gynecologist, the same lady who birthed me, made […]
Read More Not all Gynos Can Be TrustedThe 3 letter word no one wants to talk about but everyone wants to be good…SEX. Why is it important to have better sex ed?…For better sex of course!
Read More Let’s Talk About Sex BabySince the 2016 election, there has been this narrative constructed that Black women “save” elections and therefore “save” our country from tyranny and ruin. Even though the Democratic nominee did not win in the 2016 presidential election, we saw Black women turn-out in record numbers with over 90% of us voting for the Democratic candidate. […]
Read More Why Black Women Can’t Always Save You: The Dangers of Georgia’s Voter Suppression LawsLocal news: For local news Staunton is the first in the state of Virginia to have the latest 911 technology. With a faster and more efficient system, its the extra seconds that could save a person’s life. The system is called next gen 911, they traded in their outdated system for a quicker,high tech system […]
Read More Newsroom roundupAfter last week’s discussion in class about white conservative feminists and how they use their power in politics to protect the patriarchy, I wanted to talk more about how this has affected the civic engagement of women of color and other marginalized groups. To further explain the point I am trying to make; I want […]
Read More The Current fight for equal Voting rightsDuring Trumps time in office, there were some rules put in place that banned transgender people from serving in the Military. As of recent, the Pentagon announced a new policy to undo the rules under the Trump administration. The new policies will now provide service members a process in which they may transition gender while […]
Read More New Policies Granting the Transgender community to serve in the MilitaryBeing someone who has always identified as a woman I was raised to be hyper-aware of my surroundings when going out, especially at night and once I got my driver’s license. Constantly looking behind my back as I am walking to and from my car, looking under my car as I walk up to it […]
Read More Women’s Safety in Public, Why it’s an Issue.Menstruation is a biological process that has been stigmatized for centuries. A taboo in most cultures, periods are something people prefer not to talk about, and are encouraged to keep quiet about. My mother had her period, hell, I’m on mine now, and I’m sure my grandmother’s grandmother’s grandmother had her period too. Almost all […]
Read More TALKIN BOUT TAMPONS
