Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Viva.
Body Politics
I've been thinking about what it was like to be a teenager. It was horrible. People who look back on their teenage years with nostalgia and fond memories must be sniffing glue and altering their memories. I was fat, smart, weird, and from a poor family... The absolutely worst combination for the battle zone that is North American high schools. Not only is your body changing fast, hormones are racing, boobs are sprouting, you're confused, you're developing your sexuality, deciding who you are gonna be, and on top of all of that, you become the target for all the body hate North American society can heap on you.
By Sarah Sparks9 years ago in Viva
Reclaiming My Own #AuntieMaxine
"Give evil nothing to oppose and it will disappear by itself." - Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching We have seen a value in speaking out recently. We have seen the power behind making the choice to "put self first." Whether it is in public or in private, as a country we have seen the counter action to closed-minded hate and the remedy is "self-love."
By Regina Stone-Grover9 years ago in Viva
To the Girl I Was and the Girl That Is
Dear Beautiful Girl, I want to take this moment to tell you that you are beautiful right now. Your beauty isn't something that is going to happen once you find the perfect shirt, get the best manicure, take the most loved Instagram photo, or start dating the "right" person. Your beauty is in you, as you are, right now.
By Heather Clarke9 years ago in Viva
Hairy Little Girl
If you're a female like me, take a minute to think back to when you were a little girl. See if you can remember the first time you shaved. Do you remember it, do you remember how old you were, but most importantly, do you remember why? Maybe you share my story.
By Claes Cummings9 years ago in Viva
Dope Moments in History: Ellen Degeneres
There's this shirt that I see a lot, it says "Well Behaved Women Rarely Make History." Hell yeah. (I actually believe that well-behaved people don't often make history, but I'm not touching that issue. Not here at least.)
By Triple Decker Sandwich9 years ago in Viva
We Are Queens
Before we are born, our parents have the opportunity to know if we are male or female. This gives them the chance to plan for the color of the nursery, clothing, toys, and more. Boys will get a blue-themed nursery, trucks and toy cars, and clothing with "boy" slurs and dinosaurs. Girls get a pink-themed nursery, dolls and teddy bears, and clothing with bows, flowers, and polka dots. This begins what our society calls gender roles.
By helianthus 9 years ago in Viva
Body Positivity
So what are a few things I can do to be body positive? Well, for starters... 1) Reject mainstream culture. Question and critically analyze everything you see rather than passively accepting it. Why are white, thin, young woman over-represented in the media when most of the world isn't white, thin, or young? Question why women and men are expected to be obsessed with their bodies at the determent of everything else in their life. Might it be to keep us confused, hungry and not focused on more important matters? Might it be to sell us more and more "miracle" products that promise to shave off the pounds, lighten your skin and find you a husband?
By Sarah Sparks9 years ago in Viva
Together We Can
College is supposed to be a safe place to experiment and learn about who you are as a person. Unfortunately, the common occurrence of sexual assault in colleges and universities across the nation makes this a mere dream for many young people. According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center one in five women are sexually assaulted on a college campus while one in 16 men are. That means that there is a 20 percent chance that a woman will be assaulted and a six percent chance a man will. Those numbers, although not huge, are alarming. It is an experience that NO person should ever have to go through. So how do we lessen these statistics?
By Raven Spoor9 years ago in Viva
Fat Betty
In 1989, psychotherapist Irvin Yalom published the candid autobiography called Love's Executioner and Other Tales of Psychotherapy which was a journey into Yalom's own mind and the encounters he had with patients over the course of his career. One of the patient's stories presented in the book, muddled with Yalom's own self-analysis, was the story of "Fat Betty".
By Sarah Sparks9 years ago in Viva
Women in the Edwardian and Interwar Era . Top Story - August 2017.
The Edwardian era began with the death of Queen Victoria on January 21st, 1901 and the accession of her son, Edward VII in 1902. Victoria reigned for 64 years, most of the nineteenth century which was a period of great social reform. Industrialization had created vast wealth, which was in the hands of a small minority of the population. Though the middle class was growing in industrialized countries, a significant portion of the population, those who worked in the factories which made the rich wealthy and gave the middle class the comforts they enjoyed, lived in extreme poverty. Poverty leads to many other social problems. The reform movements which sought to solve these problems often had women playing large roles. These reform movements paved the way for the social change of the twentieth century, which allowed for the emergence of some of the most remarkable, and notorious, women in history.
By Rachel Lesch9 years ago in Viva
