Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Viva.
Silence accomplices and sexual harassment
Recently, result of a study published about the sexual harassment against the women journalists in Iran. The study has conducted by "Asr-e-Ertebatat" monthly magazine.
Pouria NazemiPublished 4 years ago in VivaAn Internet Troll Mansplained My Rape to Me
The internet has been a continued breeding ground for faceless bullies for quite some time now. Cowards who hind behind anonymity and their screens, spewing hateful things and damaging messages at people, just for kicks.
Nicole BedfordPublished 4 years ago in VivaWe Couldn't Give Consent While We Were Sleeping
Sexual violence and rape are 80% likely to be perpetrated by a person known to a woman. 51.1% of female victims of rape reported being raped by an intimate partner and 40.8% by an acquaintance - Source
Nicole BedfordPublished 4 years ago in VivaWomen: Mid Life Crisis
Listening to a prominent male dj on a popular radio station this morning, my gag reflex was engaged to a sexist judgmental comment made about women in their 40s and 50s these days having the female version of a 'midlife crisis'.
I Hate Myself, Does That Make Me a Bad Feminist?
I consider myself a radical feminist. Perhaps that is redundant as feminism seems to be radical all on it's own. But what I want to talk about right now is women and self love and how that might not align with what we believe as feminists.
I Do This For The Women
I never had a BIG WHY. Or rather I never asked myself "What is my life's purpose?", "Why am I even here?" Like many women, I got caught on the treadmill of life, I followed a path that had been laid down for me by society, my parents, peers and friends.
How I am healing myself after a sexual attack,
How I am healing myself after a sexual attack, I’m sitting in my little slice of heaven, this little café with its comfortable sofas and light jazz playing in the background, my little slice of heaven where I can sit all day and just write and watch the world move past the windows as people hurried along under their umbrellas. Everyone knows me here, they know how I like my coffee, they even know that I always have a coke and ice and will usually be sat in the same place, in the corner by the large bay windows. Here I feel safe, I’m not watched, no one whispering who’s that lady by the window I’m just accepted. My safe place, but I never always felt safe, there was a time when I couldn’t sit anywhere on my own, enjoying the chilled music over a coffee, there was a time when the very idea filled me with overwhelming fear however, here I am, sitting writing about my most inner thoughts, digging into the deep corners of my mind, but I’m so safe in this place that the words are flowing like rain drops today.
Angie CraigPublished 4 years ago in VivaThe Deception surrounding being a school cheerleader
When I began junior or high school in seventh grade, Carol was in the eight grade. She was a pretty girl, about 5”7 inches tall slender and popular. She had shoulder length blonde hair and hazel eyes and was a cheerleader. She was actually the captain of the group. Looking back I would say she resembled Marcia Brady from the television show The Brady Bunch, only a few inches taller. I would see her walking through the halls of school with her hair bouncing on her shoulders, often with an enterauge of other cheerleaders with her. I was a shy teen and would imagine what it must be like to be so pretty and popular.
Cheryl E PrestonPublished 4 years ago in VivaDiary of A Mixed up Girl
I'm inhaling and exhaling, I'm starting to loose my breath and all I see are my parents crying and pacing around our tiny room. They start yelling as you would expect any parent to react, I mean they did sell their home and up root the whole family to another country with everything they had. In my head I'm thinkin to myself "How can you be so stupid and let this happen?" "I've just ruined everything." My sisters were crying and couldn't even look me in the eyes, I just felt my whole world shatter and everything I thought I knew faded into nothingness. I cried until I couldn't cry anymore.
Tabz Maya GrashuisPublished 4 years ago in VivaI Am Woman
So the frozen embryo transfer (FET) happened today. I'm not quite sure how to process this yet; there are so many feelings welling up inside of me that I don't know if I should be ecstatic and hopeful or hide under the covers until it's all over. I think I'm somewhere in between those two extremes right now to be honest. A friend of mine who's been in my shoes more than once told me that for her the hardest part was waiting those 2 weeks to find out whether or not implantation was successful. My doctor told me to think of this window of uncertainty as a little vacation but how can I relax with all these fears and doubts in my head? I thought that maybe writing it all down would help so that some day, even if things don't go as planned, I can look back on this time with a better sense of appreciation for what I endured.
What Are You Thinking About?
Tread lightly – she's watching. If I make one wrong move here I'll be sleeping on the sofa with a pillow for comfort for the next two weeks. But I'd like to think no negativity can come of this little write-up, to be fair. I just sort of want to use this space to express a few things – from a man's perspective. But, if it wasn't for this vocal challenge, I'd never dare to cross the threshold of the Viva community to begin with. But I'm here. So, you'll have to deal with me for a short while. Sorry about that.
Long Live Aggressive Women
I am an aggressive woman. Not too long ago this label would have mortified me. Being aggressive and direct are masculine identified traits, and I was taught from a young age to be softer; yielding. Women are taught to take what others offer with poise. To internalize every judgment, slight, or act of violence and transform it, within the crucible of our bodies, into love and forgiveness. As I’ve grown older, and more aware of the inequities within our society, it has become clear to me how convenient this docile perception of femininity is to the current power structure. I have also gained the ability to articulate how painful this expectation is. Not only to me, but to all women and people of minority experience who have been told that their success and personhood is tied to their ability to perform, and to provide for those who fail to recognize their intrinsic value.
Leigh GreenPublished 4 years ago in Viva