Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Viva.
Gordis (Fatty)
Yo soy gorda. I am fat. Not always have been. I was actually pretty skinny until the eighth grade. The only other time I was chubby was when I was a baby. Old VHS home footage shows me scooting rather than crawling, and my chubby cheeks were my best features. My nickname was "Gordis," a cute way to say gorda/fat (Anything in Spanish that has endings with -is, -ito, or -ita is meant to be cute). But I have wondered lately when I stopped being called this name that feels, I don't know, good? Warm? Nostalgic? It stopped at some point, before or after I got fat, I honestly don't remember.
Selena VillegasPublished 6 years ago in VivaHow to Stay Stylish When It’s Freezing Out
For many, colder weather means having to sacrifice fashion for warmth. It means buying a bulky coat to stay toasty during a commute or opting for pants whenever possible so you don’t freeze your legs off in a skirt. If you are one of those people counting down the days ‘til spring arrives, then we’ve got some news for you: there are tons of ways you can stay stylish even when it’s freezing out.
Megan PortorrealPublished 6 years ago in VivaThe Silence Breakers – Time's Person(s) of the Year
December 2017 As the year draws to a close and we amuse ourselves with the usual "best of/worst of" awards, this year’s Time Magazine’s "Person of the Year" is more than usually eye-catching. On first inspection, the person of the year is no less than five people. However, on closer examination it turns out that five is actually six. As such the cover could itself could qualify for the "Year’s Most Tragic Picture"; the visible five are amongst the most high-profile women to have come out about the sexual harassment, the one tenth is an anonymous young hospital worker from Texas. The black velvet clad elbow belonging to Ms. Anonymous is undoubtedly the most poignant part of this image and, when all the celebrity brouhaha is done about who grabbed whose tits, one senses the owner of this elbow will feel no bolder, no more comforted, nor nearer to any kind of closure.
Martin RobertsPublished 6 years ago in Viva10 Things We Need to Stop Saying
There are so many casual expressions and sayings that are actually really sexist, and just plain infuriating. Some of these I've heard people say, and some of them I found while I while researching for this blog. Now mostly, they're directed at women, but there are some that are directed at men. So here are ten sexist phrases/ideas that I wish would just die already.
Shana NizeulPublished 6 years ago in VivaInnocence Stolen
Growing up from what I can remember, I didn't have a horrible childhood. Both my father and my mother provided my brother and I with all that we as children would need materialistically and emotionally. I remember my mother and I not being super close, that was saved for my brother. Myself, I was a daddy's girl. Both my parents were hard workers and worked quite a lot, my dad more-so than my mother, being he had quite a few old fashioned ideals. My brother and I were close but grew apart as teen years came upon us and incidentally our hormones that made us detest each other. My parents went on to get a divorce in my early teens thus causing a divided home; I with my father and my brother with my mother. My brother would go on to thrive both socially and financially as my mother soon moved out of state once we reached adulthood. My dad ended up remarrying twice and is finally happy. Where did I end up? Jobless for most of my early 20s. In and out of therapy for a good 2 years after a failed suicide attempt around 21 years old. Did you know that severe abuse can cause lapse in memory from the time it happened until after it stopped and sometimes longer? Well if you did know that, you knew more than I did. After my suicide attempt I was put into therapy twice a week for the next 24 months. Upon being in therapy I discovered that I had been blocking out memories of being molested 8 years as a child. My suicide attempt was due to being overwhelmed with the side effects of PTSD. At the time of my attempt I did not know what PTSD was or that it was a thing. All I truly knew was I was having night terrors that were so vivid I would wake and believe I was still living the nightmare due to smells as well as seeing and hearing things; all which were never there after I woke up. I knew before seeking help I had been abused.
Megan WheelerPublished 6 years ago in VivaPregnancy Insomnia
It is hard enough to sleep on the best of days. With stress and the chaos of life weighing on your mind, it can keep you up at night. Perhaps you've never been great with sleep. Perhaps your mind races or you can never get comfortable. But you have coffee in the morning and you move on with your life.
Samantha ReidPublished 6 years ago in VivaTrans Feminism
Born into a time when feminism was seen as a radical movement and into a body which made me feel awkward about my gender identity, I didn't have a clue what it meant to be a woman. For three decades I suppressed my sexuality. Growing up in a time when anything but heteronormative was seen as sinful and socially denied, I didn't come out as bisexual until I was 30 years old.
Laxmi SiouxPublished 6 years ago in VivaI Was Raped
Approximately 85,000 women and 12,000 men are raped in England and Wales alone every year; yet only 15% of those people will report it to the police and 90% of people knew their attacker.
small town girl .Published 6 years ago in VivaBrie Larson to Produce & Star in Victoria Woodhull Biopic: 5 More Women Forgotten by History Who Deserve Their Own Films
Women played different roles in changing the path of history. They were scientists, composers, warriors, writers and leaders. Still, there are many whose stories remain unheard of; their struggles and legacy deserved to be honored.
Karina ThyraPublished 6 years ago in Viva- Top Story - January 2018
A Century of Corruption
Last night at the Golden Globes, actors and actresses wore black to display their support of the Time’s Up movement, a campaign founded in response to the Harvey Weinstein allegations and subsequent Weinstein effect. The response in Hollywood since the watershed moment of the first allegations against Harvey Weinstein in October 2017 has been significant, but not surprising. Since Weinstein, there have been following allegations of abuse against a number of prominent names, including Kevin Spacey, Louis C.K., Charlie Rose, James Toback, Matt Lauer, Brett Ratner – the list is sadly exhaustive, and will most likely be continuously added to. But as appalling as these revelations are, they are far from shocking. Hollywood has been an abusive industry for its entire existence, forming over a century’s worth of heartbreaking stories of ‘casting couch’ abuse, manipulation and mistreatment, from the days of the silent era, through Hollywood’s golden age to the present day.
Fern WigfieldPublished 6 years ago in Viva Confidently Beautiful: 5 Lessons from Pia Wurtzbach's Best 'Miss Universe' Moments
On January 30, 2017, the most prestigious beauty pageant in the world (or in the universe, rather) held its coronation in #MissUniverse 2015 Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach's home country, the Philippines. Steve Harvey served as host again this year, and his hosting was filled with jokes about what he did last year...
Karina ThyraPublished 6 years ago in VivaHow 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.
Morgan Leigh CallisonPublished 6 years ago in Viva