A Little F'd Up, Feminism | Posted by Julie Z on 05/21/2012
A Conversation with Young Author Alex Schnee
When I heard about Alex Schnee, an author and student at Sarah Lawrence college, and her recently published novel, Shakespeare’s Lady, I knew that I had to talk with her. We decided to Skype about both publishing books around the same time, what our experiences were like and why some view young women our age as complacent.
Julie Zeilinger: Ok, so can you just start by explaining briefly what your book is about?
Alex Schnee: Sure. It’s about the “dark lady” of Shakespeare’s sonnets. Nobody really knows who she is, but I found a woman living at that time who has been propositioned as the dark lady by several scholars. I tried to weave together a fictional romance between William Shakespeare and this woman, Emilia Bassano …
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Feminism, Pop-Culture | Posted by Talia on 05/17/2012
Women In The Kitchen: The Surprising Reality
Over the past several months, I’ve begun to watch competitive cooking shows obsessively. I mean, I don’t really know how to turn on my own oven and have never cooked anything in my life, but watching food shows has given me a desire to learn how to cook something simple…someday in the far future. But while these competitive food shows are certainly good for cooking tips, I couldn’t help but notice that women are largely underrepresented.
One of my favorite shows is Chopped, where four professional chefs are given a very short amount of time to make a dish composed of three or four random ingredients. There is usually only one female competitor on each episode. Every once in a while, you’ll see two women, but it’s unusual. There …
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Feminism | Posted by Julie Z on 05/15/2012
Writing “A Little F’d Up: Why Feminism Is Not A Dirty Word”
On May 15th, my first book will be published. This fact is not a result of some pretentious belief that at 19, my writing skills have been so carefully honed to the point that my work must be shared with the world. It was not some ploy to get into college. Contrarily, writing this book was the most difficult thing I’ve ever done, and something I almost didn’t do. But it was also an experience that completely transformed me, and for which I will forever be thankful.
After a year of running the FBomb, I was approached to write a book about the next generation of feminism. I tried to explain that the FBomb was always meant to be a community – a place I may have started, but a …
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Feminism | Posted by Fiona L on 05/2/2012
An Open Letter to Street Harassers Everywhere
Dear leering men on street corners and subway cars staring and grabbing your crotches:
It’s me…the eighteen-year-old girl who is probably just one of many you all have directed your attentions to over the past seven years. Anyhoo, I’m just writing to express my sincere thanks for your behavior.
In my opinion there is nothing more attractive than a man who makes me scared to walk down the street—and that whole grabbing your crotch and licking your lips bit? I think it’s so sexy how you make it known what you want, regardless of my consent.
Sure, I’ve yelled back a couple of times, but you were right when you called me a bitch for doing that or told your friend that I wanted you. When I yelled “f**ck off” …
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Feminism | Posted by Julie Z on 04/30/2012
The Women’s College Experience
Over the past few weeks, there has been an influx of accepted students on Barnard’s campus. I’ve tried to talk to as many as possible, successfully resisting the urge to desperately grab them and urge them to get as much sleep as possible before Fall, and instead asking them if they have any questions about what it’s like to go to Barnard. Time and time again, these prospective students mentioned their trepidation about the idea of attending a women’s college — which is something I totally understand.
When I initially began the college application process, I had absolutely no interest in attending a single sex institution. In fact, I knew exactly what I wanted in a school. I wanted to go to a small liberal arts school in New York …
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Feminism, Pop-Culture | Posted by Julie Z on 04/28/2012
Saturday Vids: The Conversation
The Conversation, hosted by Amanda de Cadenet, premiered on Lifetime this past Thursday. If you watched it I would love to hear your feedback, and if you haven’t check out the Conversation’s page on Lifetime’s website. Also check out the blog extension of the show, where I (along with some other amazing contributors) am also blogging!
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Feminism | Posted by Bre K on 04/27/2012
One In Five Women
There you are at three in the morning, sprawled out on someone else’s bed in a foreign room that smells like sex. Your body doesn’t even feel like yours — it feels like you’re standing over yourself, watching something happen to you. You’re not quite able to explain what’s going on. Confused. Dissembled. Disgusted. Shocked. So many feelings you can’t quite put together to equate to that word. And yet there it is: Rape. It finally pops up into your head three weeks later after you come back from Thanksgiving break — your first break during your first term in college.
No this wasn’t me. This was an 18-year-old freshmen living a couple doors down from me. Let’s say her name is Barbara.
The worst part is Barbara and I …
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Feminism | Posted by Crystal on 04/25/2012
How Do I Deal With Sexual Harassment?
I work as a bagger in a grocery store where the majority of my co-workers are male. Ever heard someone say something like, “To him, women are just a piece of meat?” Well, that’s the mentality of most guys at my work place.
The men at my workplace discuss women a lot. They have a phrase for them even: they call women “burgers.” Often when a few guys are on break or about to get off work, they talk with the other guys about how they are going to go get some “burgers.” Then they discuss what they want on their “burgers.” Lettuce for pubic hair. Bacon for under age of consent. Toasted bun if they want the girl to be intoxicated. And so on. If they do something to …
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