It has been a little over a week since the decision to not indict Darren Wilson in the shooting of Michael Brown was announced, and this week has been filled with riots, blog posts, news articles, and heated conversation. I have heard people question the facts of the incident, the grand jury process, and if […]
Read More What Now?: How to Discuss Ferguson and Systematic RacismMy heart has been hurting this past month. Every headline, from 16+ victims coming forward saying that Bill Cosby sexual assaulted them to the UVA gang rape featured in Rolling Stone to Darren Wilson’s non-indictment, seems to give me less and less faith in humanity. While seemingly unrelated, the three stories have one major theme […]
Read More Conversations about Power and the Power of ConversationTaylor Swift fans, rejoice! T.Swift’s new music video for “Blank Space,” a popular song off of her new album 1989, has been released! Fans of feminism, rejoice as well: this music video takes the judgmental stereotypes that society places on women and twists them around to make a hilarious, powerful satire. A few weeks ago, […]
Read More Feminist Taylor Swift Part 2: The Empire Strikes BackBeing labeled as “politically correct” is something that I’ve always felt uncomfortable about. When someone says something that I feel is inappropriate/marginalizing, I’ll say something, usually along the lines of “Hey, that’s not cool.” And I am consistently confronted with the response: “Oh come on, don’t be so PC.” Oftentimes, people will qualify what they […]
Read More PC: Political Correctness or Personal Compassion?It’s no secret that for the past year or so, Amanda Bynes has been tweeting some pretty erratic things. She’s also been doing some pretty erratic things. But that’s not what I want to talk about. I want to talk about how we as a society are REACTING to these incidences. Amanda Bynes is in […]
Read More Amanda Bynes is Sooo Crazy…Right?Here are some ADORABLE and awesome costumes that rep some famous feminists! Here are some favorites: http://www.buzzfeed.com/morganshanahan/awesome-feminist-costume-ideas-for-little-grrrrrls
Read More QUICK HIT: Badass Halloween Costumes for Little FeministsBystander: someone who is aware of or sees a potential dangerous situation occurring and can do something to stop it. Most of us have heard this phrase, and if you’re a freshman or a sophomore at JMU, you’ve sat through a whole program on the subject during Orientation. But what does being a bystander mean? […]
Read More It’s Not MY Problem: Bystander Intervention and Why It Matters“We often think of gender violence as women’s issues that some good men help out with.” This is one of the opening lines of a TED talk given by Jackson Katz, an awesome feminist educator and activist, regarding our society’s thought process on the issue of gender violence. October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and […]
Read More Gender Violence: A Human IssueAnna at Hobart and William Smith Colleges. Emma Sulkowicz at Columbia University. Sarah Butters at James Madison University. In the past year, several survivors of sexual assault have come forward and spoken about the mishandling of their complaints by their respective universities. In particular, Emma Sulkowicz gained a lot of media attention earlier this school […]
Read More Carry That Weight: An Open Letter Demanding Change*trigger warning: discussion of stalking and sexual violence* Every time I turn on my radio to the latest top 40 station, I feel like I hear the same songs over and over again. Recently, “Animals” by Maroon 5 has been added to that overplayed list. When I first heard the song, I loved it. So […]
Read More Baby I’m Preying On You Tonight