Feminism, Pop-Culture | Posted by Grace on 06/25/2012
Perfectly Normal
I don’t have a diagnosed eating disorder and that makes me sad. That might sound like a strange thing to say, but what I mean is that I think it’s wrong that my daily obsession with counting calories, my attempts to drink copious amounts of green tea because it supposedly speeds up your metabolism, and my complete inability to forget about my weight is pretty much considered normal. Wikipedia informs me that “Eating disorders refer to a group of conditions defined by abnormal eating habits that may involve either insufficient or excessive food intake to the detriment of an individual’s physical and mental health.”
I don’t fit into this category because I never fell ill, no one ever commented that my weight was unhealthy, and no one worried, …
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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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Pop-Culture | Posted by Julie Z on 05/11/2012
The Problem with “Hot Problems”
I would be lying if I said that while watching the recent viral video “Hot Problems” (or, to be accurate, about 45 seconds of “Hot Problems” before I gave up), I didn’t blankly stare in disbelief, then roll my eyes and feel more than a little bit disheartened. And yet, despite comments made by YouTube viewers as well as the mainstream media, the depression I felt after watching the musical attempts of 17-year-olds Drew Garrett and Lauren Willey was not based on the concept of this video representing a generation of conceited, vapid young women. As a teen myself, it’s blatantly apparent that there’s a much more concerning problem at the heart of this video, and, more specifically, the vitriolic response to it.
We live in a society that relentlessly …
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Feminism | Posted by Kate M on 02/8/2012
What Happens After You Lose Weight
I wouldn’t say that I was ever fat. I was always just overweight enough that girls would tell me I looked “fine” and guys wouldn’t tell me much of anything (because I guess my dazzling intellect and sense of humor wasn’t high on their priority list). As a feminist, I always tried to feel proud of my body. I really did want to accept it and love it for what it was. But that was easier said than done.
Last summer I lost about 15 pounds. When I came back to school in the Fall, I was showered with compliments. “How did you do it?” everybody asked. I told some that I hardly even noticed my weight loss and that I had no idea how it happened. I …
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Feminism | Posted by Amy A on 07/19/2011
Why I Don’t Wear Makeup
I’m 17 years old, a rising senior in high school, and I am unusual among a lot of my friends for this one reason: I don’t wear makeup.
That’s not to say I have never worn makeup, because I have, on occasion. I’ve worn it for two of the four high school dances I’ve attended, for the occasional band concert or dress-up day, and for the school musicals (although then it was stage makeup, a completely different matter). I have never worn makeup for a school picture. Why? It’s not like I’m heart-stoppingly gorgeous or anything. I am an average looking girl, but I’m comfortable with that.
There are a couple of reasons why I don’t wear makeup. One main reason is that I really like sleeping. I would much …
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Creative | Posted by Tesneem A on 05/27/2011
No Body Is Perfect
Colour me flawless, colour me pretty,
Isn’t it enough that I’m smart, caring and witty?
I have my scars and I have my scratches,
I even have my fair share of bulges,
I wish that the skeletons would stay in their closets,
And that those cans of worms would remain closed,
But I can’t deny that I’ve had my woes,
For perfection for me is a far away dream,
Unattainable and ever elusively seen,
I know that life goes on, but I still despair,
No matter how much it looks like I don’t care,
But I wish it wasn’t so hard for me to let go,
It’s time to be resilient and live again, to be emancipated and elated,
Because if it’s true that the sky is the limit and …
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Feminism | Posted by Chelsea B on 05/25/2011
Fat Is Not A Personality Trait
It sickens me that one of the most common issues plaguing young females today is that of body image distortion.
I say this as a person who once hated her body so much she welcomed the idea of going to extremes to obtain perfection. Whether it was by starving, purging, or over-exercising, if it “guaranteed” perfection, I would do it. It never occurred to me that the perfection I had in mind would never be obtainable. Nor did I realize that recovery would be a life-long struggle to relearn what it felt like to be full.
A year ago, I decided it was time that self-loathing relinquished its firm grip on my life. I did not consult a psychologist because I thought of my recovery as a journey I would …
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Articles | Posted by Julie Z on 04/20/2011
An Interview with Glennis McMurray
Glennis McMurray is the founder and editor of the website, G.L.O.C. (TheGLOC.net) the first large-scale blog by and for all the Gorgeous Ladies of Comedy. Glennis is a seasoned musical improvisor having started and starred in the acclaimed I Eat Pandas (Time Out New York Critics Pick, ECNY Award-winner: Best Improv Group). She can now be seen performing with the NY cast of Baby Wants Candy every Saturday night at the SoHo Playhouse. In January 2011, her solo musical Disco Balls: Into the Light debuted at the Charleston Comedy Festival, and she was recently seen as Coach Betts in Half Straddle’s production of In The Pony Palace/Football at the Bushwick Starr. In addition to the two variety shows she produces, Dream Role and Supercream Supreme!, Glennis can …
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