Top Stories
Stories in Viva that you’ll love, handpicked by our team.
We Need to Face Uncomfortable Truths
Dear Male Reader, I have a question for you: Why do you hate me? Sometimes I feel like everyone hates me because they keep saying it was my fault. My fault for having decided to go out alone, or my fault for the length of the skirt I decided to wear, or even my fault for that one too many drinks I had. The blame is even worse if what happened to me was done by my intimate partner (being him a boyfriend or a husband). That's due to this weird "common sense" understanding that if I agreed to be in a relationship with that man, I automatically deserve everything that comes out of it, after all, it was my choice. Please, I can't understand, why do you hate me? Why am I to blame if it I wasn't the one to perpetrate the assault? Just stop and reflect for a moment, how can it be my choice to be sexually violated? My choices regarding personal fashion, alcohol consumption habits, and social circles are not synonymous with choosing to be harassed. No one ever put that power in my hands. But you male reader, like to put the fault on my shoulders when the ugly truth is that the only choice that mattered on the occasion of the violence I suffered was that of the man who did it. He was the only one who chose when and how would he abuse me. And I'm sorry to say it male reader, but you are the one who gave him that power. Because you as a part of our current social structure constantly reinforce that I, as a woman, am the frail sex but contradictorily you lash out with so much judgment when I am weak and vulnerable. Isn't that exactly how you want me to be? The damsel in distress is the role that is forced upon me. You must understand that even though it's very entertaining to play as the male hero in a video game going on a quest to save the princess, this brings the exact opposite of safety to real women. Because malicious men take advantage of our vulnerability, being it emotional or physical, to say an extremely invasive and inconvenient comment about our bodies, to grab our butts at a party, to decoy us of a cab ride home once we're tipsy, to shove us into a dark corner, to force us into unwanted sexual acts in our own homes. And they feel like they have the authority to do all these dreadful things because our pop culture is unceasingly putting us in a role of utmost submission. We DID NOT choose for such things to happen to us! So I ask you: why has the word "molested" become synonymous to "dirty"? Why is it me that has to live in shame with the label "raped" stamped on my forehead, when no one even mentions my aggressor? Moreover, why do you never allow me to speak about it? You need to stop taking away my voice because sexual violence is a very real social problem. I guarantee it has happened to someone close to you, dear male reader, maybe to a friend, a work colleague, a sister, cousin or aunt, maybe even to your own mother or wife, but you don't know about it because this woman lives mortified in the shame that you put on her, to the point that she doesn't dare speak up about what happened to her.
Lena MarquesPublished 6 years ago in Viva8 Over-Sexualized Characters In Comics And Video Games
You may have noticed, but Suicide Squad was released recently and with its release came a lot of discord. Ultimately Suicide Squad has been laced with controversy since it was announced as a film — between the casting choices, David Ayer's six weeks to write a script merged with a grueling filming and production schedule, Jared Leto's strange tactics and of course the sexualization of Harley Quinn.
Matthew BaileyPublished 6 years ago in VivaBeing Indian
Being born in an Indian family has its pros and cons. Lets start with some of the pros. Learn how to cook just by watching your mother Eating homemade Indian meals unlimited times Dress up in beautiful outfits Best wedding parties Massive family which means there isn’t a dull moment During festivals and events the most common gift is money Brought up to be respectful and generous towards others
#MeToo
There’s this hashtag going around Facebook recently - you might have seen it? It goes like this: "If all the women/femme aligned folks who have been sexually harassed or assaulted wrote "#MeToo” as a status, we might give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem."
Kate NicholsPublished 6 years ago in VivaCrossing a Line
Recently I was shown an article about a famous singer who was at a benefit concert. He was singing to a large crowd of mostly women. Yes there were men there too, but there was a huge crowd of women that were very close to the stage. As the singer often does when he performs he got very close to the edge of the stage. Many of the people there had their hands raised up in the hope that he might touch them. He also often takes flowers from them and other gifts. On this particular night like he often does he knelt down, and just as he did one woman grabbed his private part. Now this was not a brush of her hand, it was a grab. He quickly grabbed her hand and removed it. Because he was in the middle of his song he had to continue singing.
Lilli AdamsPublished 7 years ago in Viva#MeToo
Me too.If all the women who have been sexually harassed or assaulted wrote "Me too" as a status, we might give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem.
D. Gabrielle JensenPublished 7 years ago in VivaMy Thin Privilege
As with all topics discussed openly on the internet, the Thin Privilege argument has descended into a battle in which a side must be picked. You're either pro-fat or pro-skinny, and there's no middle ground. Well...
Katy PreenPublished 7 years ago in VivaDo You Want to Know a Secret?
I have a secret. It could be argued that keeping this secret makes me a bit of a hypocrite. For all my body positivity, there is one thing about myself that I cannot learn to love: my facial hair.
Being a Woman in 2017
Women have come a long way from what we were associated with many years ago. However, some people still believe that we should still be associated with the times of the past. This may be because it is what they have learned and what they have believed in, but it might also be that they don't want to change from the past.
Tanisha DaggerPublished 7 years ago in Viva“Made In Africa:” Changing Women’s Lives With Shea Butter
Rahama Wright, a first generation Ghanian, was no stranger to the difficulties that encumber women’s lives in Africa. Growing up, her mother would tell her stories of how different her childhood was versus Rahama’s in upstate New York. “She wasn’t allowed to got to school because she was a girl,” Wright reflects, “and her parents wanted her to marry very young.”
Why Were Women So Accused of Being Witches in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries?
Opening Early modern Europe was the epicentre of many social, religious and economic changes. Against the backdrop of the Reformation and the Peasant Wars in the early sixteenth century, the belief in witches was rampant throughout mainland Europe. Women were the main targets of the European witch hunts. Regarding the thoughts and belief system of ordinary people between the fifteenth and eighteenth century, there are a number of reasons why women were targeted as witches. Church Doctrine along with some popular writers of the time incorporated a large amount of misogyny into their ideas. These ideas, that spread quickly with the aid of the printing press would have influenced much of the European population to believe that women were liabilities and often accessories to evil proceedings.
K.R CoughlanPublished 7 years ago in Viva5 Inspiring Women Entrepreneurs Changing the Rules of Business
Breaking in like thunder, women across the globe are sending out messages that can no longer be easily dismissed. Once again we are entering a period in time where certain values and norms are being questioned, and 2016 has seen more light than ever shed on the importance of gender equality in the workforce, in order to promote gender equality in all aspects of life.