I was in my senior year of college before I learned to spot the widespread vilification of vulvas and vaginas. In reading Swedish artist Liv Strömquist‘s graphic novel, Fruit of Knowledge: The Vulva vs. The Patriarchy, I relived every emotion and thought I had at the moment of realization. For feminists looking to renew and refocus their fury, it’s hard to beat Fruit of Knowledge as light reading. Continue reading
When important movements have broad applications, it can be difficult to craft condense, pro-position arguments. That’s where We Should All Be Feminists comes in. At just 48 pages, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie‘s essay on the ubiquitous necessity of the women’s movement is a defense concise enough to slide into anyone’s hand. Continue reading
If you want to know what it’s like to live a life in-transit — to dress yourself out of a suitcase, shower in truck stops, and sleep in airport terminals — My Life on the Road is not the book you’re looking for. Gloria Steinem‘s memoir is a reflection on jet-setting and wandering, but it’s one written from the perspective of a woman who reached retirement before she settled down and got herself a permanent residence. Her story would be unbelievable if anyone else tried to tell it, and that’s what makes it so magnetic. Continue reading
Because this is my last semester at USC Upstate, I’m taking Senior Seminar: essentially, a 15-week-long writing workshop for a capstone paper. Knowing that I was going to take this course, I brainstormed all year for topic ideas. Writing 25 pages is easy for me, but a good, meaty thesis can be difficult to come by. By the beginning of this semester, I had two ideas: use the Order of the Real to explain body horror, or talk about the dearth of positive menstruation portrayals in literature and its impact on women and girls. Continue reading