Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Viva.
How Saying Me Too Can Help Create a Safer World
I think a lot of men have a hard time imagining what it feels like to be a woman who is often prey to to the forces of misused external power, particularly in the masculine form. As women, we live in a constant state of knowing that our bodies can be possessed by another human at that human's free will. Most of us do not have the kind of defences we would need in order to remove ourselves from certain harmful situations.
By Morgan Leigh Callison8 years ago in Viva
The Damaging Grey Areas of the Me Too Movement
For me, a few months back I was scrolling my news feed; that is when "Me too" came into my life. A video of a woman putting the mattress [that she was raped on] out on her lawn with the words "Me too" written in cheap permanent marker for all to see. I was moved, and I tried to swallow the feeling of a ball in my throat as I watched women write their own words in symbolism of the trauma they had endured. I, myself am a victim of sexual assault for many years in my adolescent life, and seeing the "Me too" movement make its way through social media had me feeling a concoction of feelings that included sadness, pride, and the cold dead realization that it is more common than I had assumed. As time went on, sexual abuse cases became more clear amongst the Hollywood community. Not only amongst females, but men had began to tell their stories. I started to think to myself, "This may just be a start; this movement may not solve a single problem in regards to the actual abuse but it may help people not feel so alone, lost, and isolated."
By Brittany Wardrop8 years ago in Viva
Should All Women Wear Hijabs? Or Should We All Fit Society's Norm?
In 2018 you would think that women could choose how to dress, yet society continues to tell us what is OK and not OK to wear. Walking down the street you hear men making comments about the girl wearing the mini skirt, cat calls or insults, she is labeled one way or anything. Older generations telling her to cover up while peers tell her to wear less, voicing her right to dress as she wants.
By Amanda Zeidan8 years ago in Viva
Why?
Why? Sometimes that's all I can ask myself is Why? Why do I put on makeup? Why do I wear shape wear that is so uncomfortable just to make my tummy look flatter? Why do I wear shirts that show off my cleavage? Why? To make me feel pretty? To make me feel sexy? Yes I feel pretty and sexy when I do all of this stuff, but how about when I take it all off? Do I still feel pretty? Do I still feel sexy? No, I don't feel like that. There are times I go through all this work so the world sees me as pretty or sexy but I still feel ugly and gross. The days I do go out with put my makeup on, I get asked oh are you sick? You don't look well. Oh why is is your face so red? Oh when are you due? No people this is me, the real me. It is so hard to live in a world where I can't feel pretty in my own skin. I'm sorry I'm not a size 2 so I look pregnant to you. I'm sorry my skin is not prefect without my layers of makeup on. It's bad enough feeling ugly and gross. I put my makeup on everyday before work and my daughter plays along with me. She tells me everyday after I put on makeup that I'm pretty.
By Angelique Wood8 years ago in Viva
Relationship Red Flag—Too Much, Too Soon
I’ve been thinking a lot about my experiences using dating websites and dating men in general, and I’ve reflected on my own behaviour and that which I encountered from my potential partners. Soul-searching is great for helping you to grow in general, and specifically for helping you to avoid the same mistakes again. I don’t recall exactly what it was that triggered this thought, probably something I read on Twitter—I spend an unhealthy portion of my waking hours on Twitter, but hey, at least it’s not crack, amirite?
By Katy Preen8 years ago in Viva
Daisy Ridley and 8 More Celebrities Who Fired Back at Body Shamers in the Best Way Possible
Women, more often than not, are pressured to conform to ridiculous beauty standards. Even now in the 21st century, when we're supposed to be free to celebrate who we are and what we are - as long as we're not doing anything illegal.
By Karina Thyra8 years ago in Viva
How To Have the Greatest, Most Mind-Blowing Sex Ever!
Don’t be shocked by the image. It’s not new. I am not implying anything negative or questionable by including the above photo in this story. Achievers in the film and television businesses know one another, and are frequently cordial at parties.
By Joel Eisenberg8 years ago in Viva
How Birth Control Works
Birth control works to prevent pregnancy as well as to repress the menstrual cycle. Hormones need to be replaced in order to not allow a pregnancy to happen. The birth control pill is a form of contraceptive that works when ovulation is stopped (when the egg is released). Birth control also helps make the cervix’s mucus get thicker rather than stay fluid, which allows sperm to enter the vagina so that the egg can be fertilized. Birth control completely stops the fertilization process. This is why birth control must be taken one pill at a time, one day at a time, daily.
By Iria Vasquez-Paez8 years ago in Viva
Fuck Freud and His Penis Envy; What About Menstruation Envy?
In Simone de Beauvoir’s groundbreaking and controversial feminist masterpiece The Second Sex she posits that: “This is when she feels most acutely that her body is an alienated opaque thing; it is the prey of a stubborn and foreign life that makes an unmakes a crib in her every month… woman is her body as man is his, but her body is something other than her.”
By Little Wanderer8 years ago in Viva
