The Sketchy Story Behind This Anti-Rape App

The same people that brought us We-Consent, the app that asked partners to record their consent to prove that they both were sober enough to give consent and record said consent; What-About-No, the app that allows a user to play a video of a policeman shouting “NO” to show clearly they are not giving consent; and Party-Pass, the app where users can pledge not to have sex without consent and get an email the next morning reminding them of that pledge; have now added I’ve-Been-Violated, an app to record evidence after sexual assault.

How To Have The Perfect WINEona Ryder Movie Night

Looking for the perfect way to celebrate #NationDrinkWineDay? There is no better way than gather all your ladies and having a WINEona Ryder movie night.

When planning a flawless WINEona marathon, it is important to pair the proper wines to fit the myriad of emotions you are going to be feeling. It’s also key to pace yourself so you don’t end up drunk and alone sobbing on your couch watching Girl, Interrupted at 3 am.

The Most Sleazy Ways My Friends and I Were Catcalled in 2015

Being a woman who decides to sometimes leave her house means you will at some point encounter street harassment. This has been affectionately dubbed “cat-calling.” Which seems to me like an appalling misnomer since it does not mean a person is softly purring and baby-talking to their cat to convince it to come inside. Infact, there is nothing cute or fluffy about being verbally harassed while you’re just trying to go to CVS to pick up floss. I’m not sure who decided to jazz up street harassment by dressing it up in the fancy duds of cuddly language but it’s honestly bullshit.

Sexist Language is Not Sexy

The way you speak says so much about you: where you are from, how well you were educated, if you are a total asshole. Language can mark where society stands on a topic and is changing constantly. People hate speaking in a way that they believe is over censored and PC, but language shapes attitudes and it is important not to feed into language not only because it can be hurtful and offensive—but it can be oppressive. Sexist language is everywhere and my dear feminists, it’s time we start thinking about what we are saying. Beyond cutting out the “that’s gay’s,” “how retarded’s”  and other forms of hate speech—we need to think about the phrases, idioms and inherently gendered words we use all the time.

Safe Sex With Maggie: How to Wrap Up Your Little Peter

Let Safe Sex Maggie teach you how to protect your peter. Sex without a condom is so 1992, am I right?

A HUGE thanks to Emma Brad for sharing her wondrous editing skills.

The Bell Jar

I am well aware that I am not breaking any new ground discussing the feminist aspects of Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar, so instead I will talk about how applicable the messages in this book are still today. This should continue to be read,  not in a summer reading list for AP lit way, but a personal, self-paced, reflective manner. I read this novel much slower usual because I did not want to miss pieces, I read and reread sections to ensure that I got it. This novel helped to refresh my thinking about feminism, yes, but also growing up, insanity, insecurity and societal pressures that regiment our everyday as women, as people, as lunatics.

Yes Please!

My summer began with me visiting my parents on the boat they call home which currently meant spending two weeks in the Bahamas. I know it’s a pretty lousy way to spend the first hunk of summer, but somehow I made it through. During this time I had very limited access to internet or my phone, allowing me to focus fully on getting tan and reading book after book without distraction. I began with Yes Please! by Amy Poehler. If you are a living, breathing human being in the United State you are aware that Amy Poehler is a goddess, she is hilarious, smart, incredibly tenacious and utterly inspiring.

Yes Please! is the perfect summer read. It is light and empowering and dare I say, quirky, much like getting a hug from your funky, independent aunt who lives in Tribeca or eating a Sponge Bob Popsicle on the beach. The memoir is written in the clipped pace that I can only imagine having a conversation with Poehler would be like. She opens up her whole world to her readers, sharing about her childhood, her college experiences with love and comedy, her failures and how it all eventually came together. She talks about the birth of her first son, life after a divorce and if the chapter on Parks and Rec doesn’t make you cry, you have no soul. Her stories are breezy and insanely relatable while still being utterly awe inspiring. Poehler teaches her readers how to overcome by bearing her flaws and emotional scars that she by sheer force of will transformed into an expression of comedy and performance. She started from nowhere, fell in love with improv, co-founded the Upright Citizen’s Brigade (known to most as UCB comedy clubs), wrote and performed on SNL and wrote and starred in a beloved show that will continue to be binge watched for years to come.

Amy Poehler encapsulates the idea that feminism is not all man-hating and bra burning. But rather fighting every day in big and small ways for equality- not only for yourself, but for everyone. Poehler discusses a great deal how she learned to jump at the chance to go against the grain and navigate an industry very predominantly run by men. She talks about the idea of being unapologetic, “It takes years as a woman to unlearn what you have been taught to be sorry for. It takes years to find your voice and your real estate.” I think it is safe to say she has done both of those things and she has paved the way for other women and girls to be silly, crass, smart and sexy—all at the same time.

The story is organized into sections, denoted by large quotes like “Short People Hate to be Picked up,” and then into chapters which usually revolve around one particular story, it reads like a series of essays, all pieced together from one life. There are a few chapters with guest writers such as Seth Meyers, Micheal Schur and of course Tina Fey. Each of these people add a new perspective to an already honest and dynamic memoir. Seth Meyers writes an endearing and thoughtful chapter, showing how supportive he is of Amy and vise versa. At the center of it is not just Amy Poehler telling wacky stories from the days she used to smoke a lot of weed and tear shit up with the Uprights Citizen’s Brigade, but it is the relationships she has formed along the way. And how those friendships are in the end what has saved her in the times when she has felt very low. Poehler speaks about the women who have touched her life and how badass she thinks they all are. “Let me take a minute to say I love bossy women. Some people hate the word, and I understand how ’bossy’ can seem like a s–tty way to describe a woman with a determined point of view, but for me, a bossy woman is someone to search out and to celebrate.” Women like Aubrey Plaza, Tina Fey, Rachel Dratch and Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Through short stories and hilarious snapshots of one woman’s amazing life so far, Yes Please! celebrates all women, all people, who are creating, who are different, who are goofy, messy, hyper, loud, shy or any combination of wonderful, odd things. Thank you Amy Poehler for giving us a book that so positively captures the idea of feminism through love for yourself and love for everyone around you.

Introducing Book Jamz

This summer I set out to make an overly ambition reading list of important books, novels and memoirs I thought it was about time I, as a literate feminist should read. And so the Book Jamz were born!. I have set out to read a book every week (or so) and share my thoughts on why I do or perhaps do not think they are worth a spot on every young feminist’s book list. I hope you enjoy and stay tuned!

Hofstra University Students Take back the Night

Hofstra University students protest sexual assault by participating Take Back the Night, a program that began in Philadelphia over 40 years ago. Student Advocates for Safe Sex, Campus Feminist Collective and Collegiate Women of Color organized the event that over 70 people attended. The event was three part with an informational fair, a speakout where guest speakers gave presentations, poetry was read and survivors were given a chance to speak about their experience. and finally, a march.