Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Viva.
Owning The Space
A friend of mine just set out for a day’s shopping, but returned unexpectedly soon after having gotten splashed by a vehicle driving through a puddle. This has happened to me, and in similar circumstances. My friend saw the vehicle coming, and noticed how the driver sped up and swerved into the puddle. There was no doubt about it; this was a deliberate act.
By Katy Preen8 years ago in Viva
Sexual Harassment and the Male Gaze: How the Objectification of Women Obstruct Social Relations and How Women are Beginning to Challenge These Issues
In recent news and according to the New York Times article written by Jessica Bennett titled "The ‘Click’ Moment: How the Weinstien Scandal Unleashed a Tsunami," scandals of sexual harassment are becoming larger and frequent. This issue is not new and the outing of such experiences are also not recent. If our culture respected and integrated social laws that defended woman against social predators, this would not be accurate. Unfortunately, the hegemonic Euro-centric standard is what ultimately leads to a standard of beauty and allows women of color — specifically, darker skinned woman — to have less power and status to that of a lighter skinned woman, who faces her own prejudices. These standards are stereotypical of your Eurocentric features and lead to the obscurity of the relationships between men and women of color particularly of darker complexion.
By Traveling From Heavenly Places8 years ago in Viva
Baby Driver: Sensational, Superb, Sexist?
Spoilers Warning!!! With it’s explosive scenes, witty repartee, and revolutionary soundtrack, there’s no doubt that this new Edgar Wright flick is one of the best films released in theatres over the past few years. The movie centres around Baby (Ansel Elgort), a personal getaway driver for the Kingpin of the Atlanta underworld, Doc (Kevin Spacey), as he prepares for his ‘final job’ in order to keep his newfound love interest safe.
By Joe Jenkins8 years ago in Viva
Should Clothing Chains Charge More to Plus Size Consumers?
Already starting this week, there are shoppers out there that are complaining on social media along with their discovery that a well-known British retailer is deliberately charging higher prices for plus-size clothing items. It’s been found that there are two clothing items that are identical except for the fact that they are different sizes. The smaller one reflects one price and the other one that is plus-sized displays a price that is nearly doubled. Is it fair and legal for this company or any other clothing retailer to do this?
By Kathy Lester8 years ago in Viva
The Male Feminist
Feminism, by definition, is “the advocacy of women's rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes.” I recently read a few interesting articles which pointed out a series of rules and guidelines about being a male feminist, most of which made a lot of sense and can basically be summed up to, “don’t claim to be a male feminist to get girl’s attention, then turn around and act like a jerk towards them.” Pretty simple, basic, “be a decent human being” type of thing, if you ask my opinion.
By Pierre-Paul Couronne8 years ago in Viva
When Is Makeup Sexist?
I woke up this morning feeling today would be a makeup-free day. Days like these are not unusual for me, since I usually see makeup as an unnecessary task or a painfully boring chore with mediocre results. I am friends with people who do makeup professionally, they don’t share the same view of cosmetics as I do. This always felt natural to me; some people like makeup, some people do not. On one side of the spectrum, I recall remarks on how tired I must be, or how confident I must be, simply because I don’t wear makeup. On the other end, my friends who enjoy makeup can always recount a time when someone told them, “you don’t need to try so hard.” The distinction society makes between a “naked” face and a “done-up” face is, arguably, one of the most visible signs of sexism in our culture.
By Adriana Jurado8 years ago in Viva
The State
The irony was evident: head drowning in a toilet, the burning of acid made its way up my throat and crawled out of my mouth, its bitter kiss lingered on my tongue. Of course, I would've longed to stay in bed. My intervals of heavy heaving came and went in quick succession. There was no time for reflection as the acid creeped its way back up, this time, wrenching last night's dinner from its imprisonment and straight to freedom where it layed dormant, floating on the surface of toilet water.
By Tabitha Odutayo8 years ago in Viva
When Body Positivity Gets Ugly
I will start this piece in something of a matter-of-fact way. I am plus size. I always have been, and I likely always will be. This is not me resigning myself to some awful lifelong fate; this is me accepting my body for what it is – and loving it anyway. My height and my dress size have opened a lot of doors for me since I got on board the body positivity train when I was eighteen, including working with major plus size fashion retailers and model agencies. It hasn’t always been smooth sailing though, and despite my current dress size being a fairly consistent size 18, one phrase has stuck with me since I won the Simply Be Model Search in 2011.
By Abigail Hill8 years ago in Viva
Become Not What You Fight
Imagine something for a moment. Someone coming up to you, and saying they have been raped. What do you do?Seriously, think about it for a moment. Because the world is demanding you have an answer these days. Even though you weren't a party to this heinous act, you may very well be held accountable for your reaction. Especially if you are a man. You may have heard this reasoning quite often when women are asked about why they didn't do more, or why they didn't come forward. At some point, it seems to be one of the answers or reasons - other people didn't do enough. And it's a defense people will use quite often as well in discussions about destroying rape culture - other people have to do more. Do something. Do anything. So, what do you do? Or better yet - what CAN you do? Because that seems to be something nobody wants to bother answering, or addressing. It's simply a hive mind response much of the time - "Men should do more. Other people should do more. DO. MORE." As if the onus of bringing rapists to justice largely falls on the shoulders of anyone BUT the victim. Let me be clear here - rape is despicable. I personally believe that anyone who commits this act, should spend the rest of their days behind bars, because their victim is certainly going to have to live with the trauma of it until the day they die. But, and I know this is becoming rather a taboo thing to mention these days - the victim IS the one who has the most power to do something about it! And they SHOULD. Other people can certainly help, and they should too. But other people are limited in what we can do to actually help. We can't go to the police for you, we can't give statements on your behalf of what happened, we can't take rape kit tests for you, we can't go to trial on your behalf and stand up there and give your story to a jury. And ultimately - we cannot make you take back the power to be brave, and to stand up and say "I will NOT let this go."And most importantly - we cannot blindly believe you when you say someone has raped you, or sexually harassed you. I'm sorry, but we cannot. No more than we could blindly believe that someone robbed you, or stole your car, or took your lunch, or tripped you, or shoved you against a wall, or gave you a black eye, or shot you...literally ANYTHING that you could otherwise claim someone else did to you. This seems to be the crux of the problem - people seem to think we should believe accusers right off the bat, and condemn men accused because rape culture is a thing, and to hell with due process, fair trails, or a justice system. Because those have failed so many women in the past. So now you ABSOLUTELY must believe anyone who accuses someone of rape, sexual assault, harassment, and if you don't, you're part of the problem. This is asinine. Pure and simple. I agree, due process, trials, and the justice system, in general, has failed FAR too many women, and men, in the past when it comes to getting justice for their assaults, their rapes, their harassment. But we can't start lynching people for not "doing enough". You can't start blaming everyone else for what happened to you, or for the fact that you were too scared to come forward. If you weren't believed, you can't blame those who weren't part of whoever didn't believe you for that. And when I say believe, again, I do not mean they should automatically agree with you that what you say happened, happened. There has to be due process, there has to be fair trials. So...what can WE do, and what can YOU do if you've been a victim of rape?WE can be there to support you emotionally. WE can help your voice be heard if people refuse to take your allegations seriously. WE can demand answers for you if rape kits aren't being processed. WE can help you, if possible, gather evidence and build a case as best as possible. But please keep in mind we do not live in a fully fair and just world, I'm sorry to say. There are people who rob, cheat, steal, murder every day who get away with it. Many of them may ultimately be brought to justice, but that's not always the case. It may not be the case for you. But please - DO NOT let that stop you. YOU can report what has been done to you to proper authorities, YOU can hold them accountable if they refuse to listen to you or try and make it seem like it was your fault or that you didn't do enough, YOU can be brave, and stand up to someone who tried to take your life, your voice, your will away. It won't be easy. In fact, it will probably be hard, emotionally devastating, perhaps even soul-crushing. But if you don't do everything in your power, we can't help you. If you falter, everyone around you loses what power they have to assist you. Much of it is, unfortunately, on YOUR shoulders. Because YOU are the victim. And YOU are the one who has to take your life back. Take YOUR voice back. Take YOUR strength back. We can't believe you outright, but it doesn't mean we have to dismiss what you say either. It can, and SHOULD be taken seriously. But like any other accusation of crime, people are innocent until proven guilty. Please, PLEASE keep that in mind.
By Devin Cobalt8 years ago in Viva
