When you want to pour over the pages of CNN and InStyle Magazine, but you don’t have the time for it? Yeah, that’s my life too. Between school, work, and our social lives- we gotta know whats going on without reading a novel. So here’s a summary of whats been hopping on all sides of the spectrum to keep us informed for the next week.
Photo by Vlad Tchompalov on Unsplash
Feminist by Choice
Birth control mandate debacle
Earlier this month, the Trump administration announced they will give the right for employers to deny women insurance coverage for contraception. Pushing even further to erase Obama’s legacy, they decide that our birth control isn’t a necessity and promotes ‘risky sexual behavior.’ News flash: most women don’t take contraceptives for the sole purpose of safe sex. When will they realize that this is basic health care and that our bodies aren’t something they can pick apart?
Mexico Panel on women with no women
Mexico’s biggest university is hosting a panel on law, economics, and feminism. Fantastic, women can come together and discuss feminism, right? Wrong. Not a single woman will be on the panel, and this is on purpose. One of Mexico’s biggest feminists, Marta Lamas will be moderating the feminism conference because she wants a different perspective. She quoted her reasoning by saying, “And this time I thought, ‘Okay, let’s see what men have to say’… I am trying to change the world for men, too. “While her intention was one thing, the internet took it as another; and so, another controversy started. What do you think? Should we hear her out for wanting a different perspective or stand by the fact that there should be at LEAST 1 representative for women at panels?
Childhood Marriage Laws: What you need to know
UNICEF defines child marriage as “a formal marriage or informal union before age 18.” While this problem has steadily decreased over the past few years, the laws wrapped around it need a lot of work. Today, more than 1 in 3 women were married before 15. Do you already see the problem in this fact? Not only are these laws subjecting children to marriage with a man they don’t know, they can cause a lifelong negative effect on the girl involved. You’d assume this isn’t a problem in the US, right? Wrong. According to Human Rights Watch, there are harsher laws in Afghanistan than Florida. In Florida, a pregnant girl can marry at ANY age, with the approval of a judge. This is a critical issue that you NEED to know about because it could happen to anyone.
Photo by Gabriela Gioia on Unsplash
Badass Women of the Week
Amy Boyajian
As the founder of Wildflower, a company revolving around sexual wellness and positivity, Amy Boyajian believes in normalizing sexual experimentation, promoting self-love, and education on sex. She says, ‘Sex shouldn’t be something we’re too embarrassed to talk about if we continue then no legislative change will be made.’
History was made in India was Joyita Mondal, a transgender woman, became a judge for north Bengal. She is to the fullest extent of a badass as can be for her ongoing fight for ending social stigma for transgenders.
Long before the hashtag #MeToo took the internet by storm, Tarana Burke started this organization that helps victims of sexual assault/ harassment. She has dedicated her life to helping people who have been abused, and that is 110% badass.
Photo by Dakota Corbin on Unsplash
Pop Culture
Stranger Things Season 2= our minds are completely blown
This is not a drill everyone, I repeat this is not a drill: the second season of Stranger Things is finally out! The long-awaited show we were all obsessed with last year is finally back for our Halloweekend. Have you seen it yet?
Corey Feldman is bringing the truth to one of Hollywood’s biggest secrets
2017 is Hollywood’s year of breaking the silence and telling your story. From Harvey Weinstein’s sexual assault case to cases of verbal abuse, Corey Feldman is bringing light to one of Hollywood’s darkest shadows: Pedophilia in the industry. Something that seems to be thrown under the rug, Feldman is deciding to expose the harsh truth he had to face when he was a kid. Being dubbed the ‘Truth Campaign’ is no understatement, it’s time for the truth to come out.
Photo by Magdalena Ferreira Lamas on Unsplash
Beauty, Fashion, and Everything in Between
Affordable Makeup with a cause
While October may come to an end, our love for makeup with a cause never will. There are some affordable natural beauty brands that are donating money for Breast Cancer Awareness Month including Violets are Blue, Vapour, Hynt, and Jane Iredale.
Wet n Wild hires first albino model
Riding on the affordable train is the queen of inexpensive makeup: Wet n Wild. Wet n Wilds has started a ‘Breaking Beauty campaign’– a campaign revolved around breaking beauty standards and showing diversity in all forms. The campaign includes a transgender model, activist, cancer survivor, amputee activist, and an albino model- Diandra Forrest- fronting the whole campaign. Not only is this groundbreaking, it’s something we should all be here for.
Proenza Schouler Launches a new line of clothing
If you’ve been all over the fashion news, you’ve definitely heard of Proenza Schouler. To reiterate because our brains are all still fried from Halloweekend, Proenza Schouler is a lavish brand designed by Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez. First off, these designers are the epitome of badass for using their platform to tackle social issues and advocating for Planned Parenthood, transgender rights, feminist issues, and way more. Now they’re advocating for our wallets by releasing a more affordable line of clothing.
Photo by Dmitry Ratushny on Unsplash
No one is talking about this
Rohingya Rape Victims
Have you heard of Myanmar? Well, you need to. An increasing number of young girls, many a part of the Rohingya refugees have been treated medically and psychologically for rape. Thousands of people are fleeing the Rakhine state, but so many are affected by the militia operations- a large number being young girls taken away. This is happening as you’re reading this; this story shouldn’t be silenced.
Venezuela’s Crisis
This ongoing crisis should be flooding our feeds, Venezuela is in trouble. Hundreds of people have been arrested, prosecuted, and tortured for speaking out to the government. After the election in the government, the protests have slightly died down, but everything else is on the rise. The main source of concern lies in the economy: high inflation, human rights violations increasing, shortages in necessities, and so on. Any updates on the crisis you can find here or here.
Afghan Girls Struggling for Education
While the education for girls has increased since Afghanistan has escaped Taliban rule, there’s still a large disproportion at hand. According to HRW, 3.5 million kids aren’t in school, 85% of them are girls and only 37% of girls are literate. May girls are pressured to not value education or themselves and value the marriage laws instead. Many girls have come out with their stories on how they feel so lost and oppressed in the government’s stance on how they’re handling education. Girls deserve their education as much as men, the government needs to recognize that.