***TW: This post contains explicit language on topics of sexual violence, rape, gang rape, abuse.*** I am currently enrolled in a class that covers topics related to humanitarian aid and crises, including a history of international aid, natural disasters, epidemic diseases, and affects of war on civilians. Last week, we were covering the impact of […]
Read More A Letter to My Professor: Why You Need to Use Trigger Warnings.Last night, the JMU Feminist Collective hosted Project Condom (like Project Runway) at Grafton-Stovall Theatre. The event consisted of trivia, games, and a fashion show. The fashion show involved Madison Equality, REACH, and the Sociology Club in addition to the Feminist Collective displaying costumes they’d fashioned out of at least 80% condoms (donated by ONE Condoms). […]
Read More Why Events Like Project Condom are ImportantFeatured Photo Credit here I’m for all women feeling empowered in everything they do. I’m also all for women feeling absolutely empowered in what they wear. Why shouldn’t I? I’m a woman too. So when it comes to this fashion phenomenon, “butt cheek shorts”, i.e. butt-less shorts, I’m forced to question how this article of […]
Read More Empowering or Sexualization?I hope you had a chance to attend tonight’s Dominion Lecture. If you couldn’t be there, I hope you at least read along as I live-tweeted the event from the ShoutOut! JMU Twitter. If not–here’s what you missed: Dr. Sue Rankin gave an hour-long presentation on campus climate and the LGBT community titled, “The State […]
Read More A Recap of the Dominion LectureIf you think sex education is an unnecessary and unimportant topic of conversation, I recommend you spend an hour in your average, smelly, pubescent-ridden middle school or watch John Oliver’s special on the issue. I recently reached out to the very cool, very reality-driven sex ed specialist Laura Leischner who works with various high schools […]
Read More Sex Ed: How to be an Askable Adult, and Why It’s Vital You Do SoMeet self-proclaimed “Feminasty” Erin Gibson and “Homosensual” Bryan Safi, two comedians who take a “weekly look at all the issues important to ladies and gays…and treat them with much less respect than they deserve.” These are the hosts of the sarcasm-dripping, startling-laughter-in-public inducing feminist podcast Throwing Shade, a sometimes problematic, ranty, usually extremely relevant, sometimes […]
Read More Throwing Shade: A Feminasty Podcast ReviewBeing an advocate, or being a human, is no easy task. It can be demoralizing, anxiety-ridden, truly taxing work. As I set out on my journey/shimmy into self-care earlier this year, I was unclear as to what it looked like for me, or how incredibly vital it was to our work as feminists, and our […]
Read More Pt. 2: Seriously Radical Self-Care Practices by and for FeministsImagine. A fourteen year old girl. She’s been sick for weeks. Throwing up in the bathroom at school between morning classes. Forcing food into her stomach and wearing a fake smile because she knows. She knows she’s pregnant. And she’s scared. She can’t tell her parents, she can’t tell the person who got her pregnant, […]
Read More The Dangerous Reality of Crisis Pregnancy CentersWhat is most important to me must be spoken, made verbal and shared, even at the risk of having it bruised and misunderstood…the speaking profits me, beyond any other effect. –Audre Lorde About two or so years ago, I wrote my first spoken word. I had a rough winter break at home, things from my […]
Read More Words, Poetry, and Activists: Let’s Get InspiredA few of us headed out with a mission. A mission not really defined, but a general mission of spending the $5 dollars each of us was given by our professor on something for someone we did not know. With such little money, even if we combined all of our sums together, it still seemed […]
Read More Good Advocacy In Action: The Questions We Forget to Ask
ShoutOut! James Madison University 