Waist Trainers and The Controversial Revival of the Corset

Beauty practices around the world rise and fall as time goes, each one meaning something different for women. The fall of corsets led to girdles, and then to Spanx; now, "waist trainers" are being promoted by popular celebrities across social media, leading to a revival of the corset in mainstream fashion under a different name.      …

The Forgotten Crisis: Rural American Women, Domestic Violence, and Murder

Country life is often romanticized as a serene and bucolic lifestyle, an embodiment of the American dream, but for many women in rural areas, this dream is a living nightmare. Every day in the United States, about three women will be murdered by an intimate partner[1] and countless women will experience domestic violence. Being from …

Can War Language Rhetoric During COVID-19 Help Elevate Women?

2020 is (finally) in our rearview mirror. As we prepare resolutions for the New Year, we might be reflecting on the “unprecedented times'' of the year past. Dominating the landscape of 2020 chaos was, of course, the COVID-19 pandemic. The coronavirus devastated economies at all levels, impacting individual family decisions as well as national policy, …

Writing a Woman: The Minefield of Breaking Down Gendered Stereotypes in Media

Women have been featured in entertainment media for centuries. When it comes to storytelling, I would be hard-pressed to find a story that didn’t feature women in some way.  However, in an age where representation is critical in the fight for equality, the problem does not lie in the amount of representation, but in the …

The First, But Not the Last: Kamala Harris is Breaking the Glass Ceiling

The first woman. The first Black woman. The first Asian woman. Every single person to hold the office of Vice President of the United States of America has been a white male—until now. On January 20th, 2021, Kamala Harris will shatter this glass ceiling by becoming the first African-American and Asian-American woman to step into …

Making a List and Checking it Twice: Tips for Managing Women’s Holiday Stress

I was recently watching one of my favorite holiday movies, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” and I was struck by a scene that I had overlooked in years past. In this scene Betty Lou Who cries out from the top of her roof while stringing her elaborate Christmas lights, “I can feel it Lou. This …

Mrs., Miss., or Ms.?: How Honorifics Can Reveal Marital Status Even When Women Don’t Want Them To

A simple honorific is often overlooked; many women would not second-guess checking a box that says Ms., Miss., or Mrs. when filling out a form or an application. [1] From forms at the doctor's office, to credit card applications, and even library cards, the little box asking a woman what title to call her is …

The Importance of Supporting Women Entrepreneurs

While I was in college, one of my entrepreneurship professors gave each student a face-down article and told us to read it. Once we flipped it over, we realized that the article was about funding NEXTGEN JANE, a women’s healthcare company that sold tampon products. The room was shocked to silence about a male professor …

Doctrine vs. Culture: Sources of Sexism in Islam

In 2008, an eighteen-year-old Pakistani woman was gang raped by three men. Despite DNA evidence identifying the men as guilty, they were not convicted.  How could this happen? What could possibly justify this injustice? As I continued reading an article on this report, I was mortified to learn that it was doctrine from the victim’s …

Cultural Misconceptions and the Fight Against Honor Killings

In July, Ahlem was murdered by her father outside her family home in Amman, Jordan.  Witnesses saw her run into the street, bleeding from the neck and screaming, followed quickly by her father.  He then threw a concrete brick at her head, killing her instantly.  Witnesses claim that the woman’s father then sat by her …