Learning to Love Myself

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By Jasmine Lane

Something interesting happened today.

I was going through my photos on my phone, like everyone does, and I came across a picture from about 9-10 months ago. I remember taking it and thinking how much I hated it, how disgusting I looked, how fat my face was, etc. You know, the typical body-shaming that women do to themselves.

Well, today was different. I looked at that same picture and thought, “Wow, you don’t look half bad. And your skin is nice. And your smile. And your hair. And your face is on fleek.”

What was different today was that I have grown to love myself.

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Be the Pizza You Want to See in the World

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By Alyssa Bluhm 

This article was originally shared as part of Alyssa Bluhm’s TinyLetter “Things I’ve Googled Recently.” Subscribe here for occasional “litspamming.”

Another day, another hundred think-pieces on misogyny, feminism, everything. I probably read too many of them, but I can’t stop; I have fuckup FOMO. And lately I’ve been stuck in a catalog of fuckup HORROR stories.

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#Gamergate: A Feminist Content Analysis on the Depiction of Women in Video Games Part 4

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By Russell Barnes

The following article is part of a multi-part series of excerpts from the author’s senior thesis. Start at the beginning here.

Discussion and Conclusion: The Ideal Female Video Game Character

We all have ideal definitions of various phenomena that we encounter. In video games, there is an ideal character model that developers heavily base their characters on for success. It’s not just the physical characteristics of the ideal that are emulated in the final product, but also the personality and social traits. Most video game characters are presumably developed with hopes of creating a product that generates a profit. Many female video game characters whose depictions come under critical scrutiny, such as Lara Croft, lead their franchises to commercial success. Critical success could be analyzed as well, yet it is not always reflected in financial gain, which helps further finance the development of future video games for the company.

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