Latest Stories

Most recently published stories in Viva.

Famous Feminist Writers of the 20th Century
Feminism has always been a movement that inspired via the arts. In its most early stages, feminists were women who used the art of speaking, fine literature, and yes, even dance, to promote the idea of equality and a more open-to-sexuality world.
By Mackenzie Z. Kennedy8 years ago in Viva
Fact or Fiction: The Art of Feminist Marketing
In today’s world there is no shortage of feminist-slanted marketing initiatives. Huge companies promise to “help women break the glass ceiling” with emotional campaigns that tug at the heart strings.
By Swaay8 years ago in Viva
This Chilean-Born Entrepreneur Is Creating A Network For Change
Though many people feel outraged by current events taking place on American soil and abroad, the hurdle between anger and action often seems too broad to jump. Though many are armed with information (and more than enough articles to fuel their fire), figuring out how to actually make a difference isn’t only a tricky situation for individuals to figure out, but companies as well. And knowing which cause to focus on, when there are so many worthy reasons to give back? That’s a whole other ballpark.
By Swaay8 years ago in Viva
7 Genius Female Inventions You Use Every Day Without Realizing
Where would we be without the inventions of the great men of the world? Apple – Steve Jobs, the telephone – Alexander Graham Bell, the atomic bomb – Albert Einstein, the gun – Richard Gatling. Nowhere – right? But what about those more practical inventions, the ones that are necessity – those that you use unthinkingly every day? Below are inventions by women that you could not live without – whether for sanity or vanity, everything below – from the dishwasher to the hairbrush, was invented by women for practicality and advantageous purposes. They go largely unrecognized now, because they are mostly objects or entities we take for granted, but SWAAY has decided to pause amidst the roaring tide of products and inventions that we could live without in 2017, to languish in the glory of those that we really couldn’t survive without.
By Swaay8 years ago in Viva
5 Unsung Female War Heroes
It’s not often you hear tales of female war heroes. And why? Because women were only allowed into combat in very recent history. The first female U.S participants in war (officially) was in the last years of World War I when 33,000 women were commissioned as nurses and support staff for the male soldiers. In 1948 there came into effect the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act of 1948, that excluded women from any and all combat positions in wars henceforth. The act has been lifted to varying degrees in 1993 and 2001, to let women engage in combat through some areas of the military. In 2013 it was completely lifted to allow female participation in all aspects of the U.S military including the Navy and the Marines.
By Swaay8 years ago in Viva
The Key to Gender Equality:Women Empowering Women
As a Vietnamese immigrant growing up in the 80s and 90s in America, I didn’t see many women running companies and definitely didn’t see any female Vietnamese immigrants leading businesses in America. But I was very fortunate enough to see a strong female, my mom, work hard to make a living and learn English, so her children could live the American dream.
By Swaay8 years ago in Viva
The SWAAY Story: “I Am An Immigrant”
I am an Irish immigrant. SWAAY’s Founder is a Muslim who emigrated here from Morocco, and our Managing Editor is a first generation Cuban whose grandparents arrived on JFK’s Freedom flights. Our stories are as diverse as they come, our backgrounds worlds apart and yet we have all ended up here in New York at the same time. There is no cosmic cause that explains why we have all met each other – there is simply the fact that this country has welcomed immigrants since its birth, and here we are, three immigrants of some variation, legally living in this country. And yet for the past week we have been questioning our very status because of a ban that persecutes those executing their right to travel here under years of agreements and contractual legislation between their countries and this one. Yes, it’s been temporarily stopped by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, but with our new President responding with a law suit threat, it seems the ban is far from disappearing.
By Swaay8 years ago in Viva
The Bourjois Rouge Laques Are So Much More than Just Another Liquid Lipstick
I’m happy to speak for us all when I say, I think we’re at liquid lipstick capacity. From their first appearance one the “scene” a couple of years ago it seems every brand has been pushing out a new “air-light,” “waterproof,” “fully pigmented,” goo in a tube. And while there have been hits, there have been a whole bunch of misses, too. It’s a hard line to walk between too emollient (resulting in a smudge-fest disaster) and too dry (which results in a possibly even less attractive peeling effect). I’m all too happy to start letting this one go: admitting that totally fool-proof lipstick is actually just too big of an ask.
By Annie Walton8 years ago in Viva
"But Women Abuse Men, Too..."
Well, yes, there are women who abuse men. This well-known fact is brought to our attention whenever violence against women is discussed, just so the men don’t feel left out (nothing to do with derailing the original conversation, of course.) But we also know that there are far fewer women that abuse men, than there are men who abuse women. Nothing new learned here. But there is something that can be learned from the domestic violence statistics that may change our assumptions about the way intimate partner abuse manifests itself. There is a pattern along gender lines, but it might not be what you think.
By Katy Preen8 years ago in Viva
Can “Is(m)s” Merge to Make “Is”
Feminism and humanism are two world views that are constantly present in Western culture, regardless of how each individual identifies themselves. Despite their similarities, many, such as Corliss Lamont, question their political compatibility. Rightfully so, feminism has more of a socialistic tendency and humanism’s ideologies are much closer to a totalitarianism. That being said, it is important to look back on how these two world views came to be in order to draw conclusions.
By Megan Le Stum8 years ago in Viva
The Fairytale Lie
Have you ever looked at your newsfeed and felt the bitterness and envy of seeing yet another engagement photo or extravagant wedding? Did you feel frustration that you hadn’t found a love like that? Or anger that your own partner hadn’t popped the question? I felt these emotions many times before and brushed it off as if it was normal, but it’s not. I stayed in a loveless relationship for 6 years because I felt the pressure to get married especially since we had a child together. I worried if I left what others would think, and I worried most about who would want me after a failed relationship. I thought that my fairytale ending would be impossible if I left. These are all premeditated thoughts I had, but never really questioned why those fears were so strongly present. I mean men don’t have that same pressure on them if a relationship fails right? If you admit to having felt any of the thoughts above, take a minute and question where are these thoughts coming from? And more importantly what is your definite purpose in life? Is it solely to find a partner? Or have you just been so distracted by society's pressure, you never got a chance to answer what else you want out of life?
By Tee Dot8 years ago in Viva
Dear My Body
Dear My Body, We shy away from the camera; we always have. We are like the Sasquatch — rare sightings on FB. I am not interested in what you look like. I don’t want to see. I don’t need to see. I prefer the role of the observer, not the observed.
By Kat Thorsen8 years ago in Viva