90s hip hop and feminism have quite the sordid history, with Kanye West himself acknowledging that “I definitely think generally rap is pretty misogynistic.” Nonetheless, there has indeed been moments of intersection between feminism and hip-hop in the past whereby brutal honesty is mixed in with the need to genuinely lift each other up, particularly […]
Read More Exploring feminism in 90s Hip HopTW: brief mentions of sexual assault/rape “So,” she said with a heavy sigh, “do we want to talk about it?” It was the day after the election, and my normally lively class was silent. As a political science minor, this election was fascinating to me on an academic level. Nobody saw this coming – not […]
Read More “Trump Won. Get Over it.”Secretary Clinton, In the aftermath of a shifting reality that I can no longer make sense of, I have found myself in a strange place of speechlessness while at the same time, needing more than ever, the words to express my deep devastation over the results of last night’s election. I come to you from […]
Read More I’m Still With HerSong of Solomon might be the most accurate, intimate and harrowing account of boyhood I have ever read. And it was written by Toni Morrison, a woman; someone not usually associated with having such vast knowledge about growing up masculine. Yet Morrison’s ability to critically analyze the role of gender and race in 1930 […]
Read More What Toni Morrison taught me about masculinityThere are moments in life where we read about institutionalized prejudices and then there are moments when we find ourselves in the middle of experiencing them. Recently, while working on a film set, I found myself wide-eyed and furious at the situation I was involved in. While I had voiced my desire to be the […]
Read More I’m Here to Give Direction, Not Take ItI recently read a piece by a fellow feminist that got me thinking about the different ways different individuals feel empowered. And, in turn, whether or not certain people view those differences in a positive or negative light. I’m taking this opportunity to further the discourse surrounding the topic of “appropriate clothing” and emphasize that […]
Read More Stop Sexualizing My Body: A Response to “Empowering or Sexualization?”Image Source: Flickr Creative Commons TW: brief mentions of rape, sexual assault For the past several months, I’ve been seeing an article floating around my Facebook feed – one disturbingly titled, “I am a Female and I am So Over Feminists.” While I’ve been forced to read this line many times from all the “shares” it’s been […]
Read More A Feminist Response to: “I Am A Female And I Am So Over Feminists”Image credit I heard a story of a young, Black, transgender women who was brutally murdered, just last month in fact, in Maryland. Crystal Edmonds was only 32 years old. Black transgender/gender non-conforming persons are at higher risk of violence (from anti-LGBTQ+ persons) than any other group. In general, there has been a long history of […]
Read More Heterosexual Support for the LGBTQ+ Community“Woooah there, little missy! I could see that beautiful smile of yours from a mile away!” If you’ve ever worked in the service industry and you identify as a woman, this type of comment may seem all too familiar to you. “Ah, Stanley,” you say, masking your responsive cringe behind wide eyes and a vibrant […]
Read More “I’ll have the Broccoli, Fried Okra and a side of women empowerment, please.”Hey there feminist friends! As the school year kicks off to a great start, I am incredibly stoked to be returning to the ShoutOut crew for another semester of thoughtful and moving feminist discourse. Before diving into anything super serious (like Lady Gaga’s newest single “Perfect Illusion”? Check it out) I’d like dedicate this post […]
Read More Lucille is on the ball: The Plan for this Fall
ShoutOut! James Madison University 