Top Stories
Stories in Viva that you’ll love, handpicked by our team.
Body Acceptance
Like most (if not all) women and girls, I have insecurities about my body. I’ve had these insecurities since I was nine years old. I take after the women in my mother’s family, curves everywhere. Even when I’ve been at my skinniest, I’ve had curves. Wide hips, big chest, and always a bit of fat around my belly, thighs, calves and upper arms. I’m 5’5, and my skinniest was 135lbs, wearing a size 2. My weight has gone up, then down, then up, then down, then up again. I’m currently 255lbs, wearing a size 20. I feel the same way about my body now, as I did then. As far as I can tell, those curves and that thickness is always there. The only difference is how obvious it is in photos, how big those curves are. I’ll never have a flat stomach. My arms and legs will never look skinny in proportion to the rest of me. These are facts.
Erin O'NeilPublished 9 months ago in VivaBe Your Own Hero
I’ve been pondering the subject of “Be Your Own Hero”. Here in the Western world, and maybe your part of the world also, we were told fairy tales in which a ‘hero’ came along and rescued the fair maiden who was in dire straits, be it a dragon, evil stepmother, witch, sorcerer, greedy king or whatever. This instilled in us as young female children, that we needed an outside influence to rescue us from whatever life brought us that was beyond our control to overcome.
Jean SumrallPublished 9 months ago in Viva
"She Is Willing To Do Whatever It Takes To Be With Me"
You don't have to be Marilyn Manson to abuse women the way he's accused, but it undoubtedly makes things a smidge easier. Last year ex-fiancee Evan Rachel Wood outed the previously alluded-to 'powerful' man who cruelly abused her for years. She was 19 when she met the 36-year-old Manson at a party while he was still married to burlesque queen Dita Von Teese, whom he divorced the same year. Wood told Insider that they looked into each other's eyes and 'knew'.
Nicole ChardenetPublished 9 months ago in Viva
Why I will not give up on the Red Dress
She's there. She's always there. Carefully hung in my wardrobe and laying at the back of my mind whenever she feels like to. I sometimes forget about her, and sometimes, I cannot help but worship her. She's me, and I am her. I love and despise her, for I know I should probably forget about her. But I will never, and here's why.
Bérengère BalteauPublished 9 months ago in Viva
My Mind An Artist, My body The Canvas
Growing up, I’d revel in all the mysterious ways to make myself beautiful. Straightening my hair, learning how to use eyeliner, plumping my lips, the best overnight cure for a pimple. What outfits were trendy? What made me look amazing? Anything! The world was my oyster when it came to beauty.
Aathavi ThangesPublished 9 months ago in VivaB.L.T.
To fully understand my plight, you should know that by the seventh grade, my baby sister had breasts that could rival a pornstar's. They grew in less than a week. On Monday, they were little salt piles that she refused to tuck into a training bra, and come Friday, our apartment was echoing with the sound of shower drizzle mixed with screams of, "Where did those come from?" and, "Mom, shut the curtain! Ohmygod—"
Eilish TooheyPublished 10 months ago in Viva
Why Celebrating Fake Mothers on Valentine’s Day Made Me Happy
Dearest Fake Mommies My timing sucks. Sharing this recent enlightenment with you before you died would have been my pleasure. Yet to quote several of you, “Better late than never.”
Suzanne V. TannerPublished 10 months ago in Viva
I Met My Partner on Tinder and I'm Not Ashamed Of It
'Wow, it's brave of you to admit that you and your partner met on Tinder,' someone said to me recently. Brave? Not really.
Katie JglnPublished 10 months ago in Viva
I am Human, and Nothing Human is Alien to me
In the light of the release of ‘Framing Britney Spears’ documentary, portraying, what seems to be a perpetual tragedy, Spears’ life, I decided to make a little YouTube search and ran across a fan-made documentary series, and the story of Spears’ life shook me.
Autumn RosePublished 10 months ago in Viva
What You Shouldn't Say to Single 40-Year-Old Women
We have this uncanny prejudice over older adults. We see them as an oracle for predicting the future. We are annoyingly curious about their lives, knowing what works and how to use the information against them.
Jessey AnthonyPublished 11 months ago in Viva
Picasso - An Artistic Genius or a Bullying, Misogynistic Womaniser?
Pablo Picasso was inarguably the most prolific painter of the 20th century. A pioneer of the avant-garde movement and whose artistic genius is unparalleled. But do you know that his tumultuous relationships were expressed in his art pieces in the form of misogyny, prejudice, and male chauvinism?
Kamna KirtiPublished 11 months ago in VivaMy Intimidating Mentor
------ I was always shy. Somehow, for reasons I don't even understand, I decided to become a litigator. It was not a profession kind to the timid. I liked the pre-litigation part, you know, the part that did not require any confrontation. I was able to think deeply about discovery matters, pondered key witness value/their testimony, and contained my thoughts on paper.
