relationships
Trace the link between feminism and relationships from outdated norms to modern conventions including chivalry, working mothers, splitting the bill and beyond.
I’m a Strong, Independent Woman but I Still Can’t Say ‘No’
As cliché as it sounds, I have long considered myself to be a strong, independent woman who won’t do anything just because someone else wants me to. Every date I’ve been on I’ve said that I’m going to be myself and if he doesn’t like that then it’s his loss. Whenever I read stories of women being coerced into having sexual relations against their will, I always told myself that they wouldn’t be able to convince me, that I’d be stubborn and wouldn’t give in. It was all well and good of me saying that then, but the truth is when the time came, it was easier to give in.
By Phoebe Cooper6 years ago in Viva
You Can't Hurry Love
At the age of 18, I was a freshman at NYU in the Tisch School of performing arts. At age 18, your brain is still a baby, still growing. It is so easy to be influenced by other people. I had a goal of saving myself until marriage, but that did not happen. I met someone, and my first time being intimate, I became pregnant. What a horror! How could something so horrific happen to me? Obviously I knew that could happen, but was mortified. I was 18, my life so ahead of me, what do I do now? I told my parents, they told me to keep the child. I told the man, he told me not to. A decision so tricky.
By Ananda Malave- Reyes7 years ago in Viva
Are You Always Going to Pick an Abuser?
As a newly remarried woman I have definitely had this question cross my mind; just because my first marriage was abusive does that mean my second one will be too? It's a heavy question and an important question for anyone to ask, especially if they have already been in an abusive relationship.
By Janet Rhodes7 years ago in Viva
I'm Standing Here Naked
No, but seriously. I stood there naked. Let me explain. I have allowed the idea of love into my head three times in the life I've lived so far. Three times I got burned, but each time I learned something new about myself and about life. I'm a firm believer in taking the most out of a bad situation and turning it into something good. I learned a long time ago that that's the only way to stay positive about life. For all the ladies that read this, the lesson I learned here was to never let someone manipulate you into something you don't want. Never let them hurt you, hurt your feelings, hurt you soul. Never let them speak to you like you are nothing more than the scum on the bottom of a dirty shoe. And NEVER stop believing how truly beautiful and wonderful you are.
By Bryanna Burshnick7 years ago in Viva
Conquering Girl-Crazy
Ladies, we’ve all been there. Everything seems fine and then he (or she or whomever), does something, says something, and suddenly we go girl-crazy. We get excited and emotional, and our thoughts are directly connected to our mouths, no filter to save us. We say things we mean, but didn’t necessarily mean to say out loud. We behave irrationally. And much later we might find ourselves giving apologies and asking for forgiveness, blaming our behavior on lack of sleep or caffeine, or hormones. What if you could break the cycle? I have 5 steps that might help.
By Layla Knight7 years ago in Viva
There's a Place for Your Kind of Love... Prison
Four years of age and not knowing quite what life is all about, playing with toys, and being happy as can be, so far. Well, at quite a young age, I was being looked after by one of my parents good friends while they were at work and my old brother at school. Nice family, lovely woman and man with a few much older kids than I, with one being in a wheelchair due to having meningitis. I became quite good friends with one of their daughters, but being a wee girl, I was quite taken back by their son, as many young females are at the age of four. Their son was quite a few years older than I, possibly 10 years older. Everyday Monday to Friday, only for just a few hours, while my parents go to work, I'd go to this other family's house. At a very young age of 5-years-old, I started to realise something REALLY wasn't right with their son...
By Marianne McGarry7 years ago in Viva