Where Did You Learn to Speak to Women Like That?

June 7, 2016May 14, 2018Leave a comment

By Lisa Marchand

There are many things I love about being a woman. In fact, many days I’m grateful to live in this day and age as a female. But there are some days, ones that still come too often, where I wonder how progression still feels so stagnated. Days where I cannot comprehend the disrespect we face on the streets.

Several weeks ago I left the bus shaking, immediately dialing my father to tearfully thank him for being the man that he is. Shortly after, I called my mom to tell her what happened. What I experienced churned up feelings inside of me that meant—although grown up and on my own—I still needed my parents to process the mysteries of the world.

Photo by Louis Blythe

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Taylor and Jordan: A Love Story, Minus the Pronouns

May 24, 2016January 16, 2023Leave a comment

By Jenny Doocy

Taylor Johnson parked the rusted old pickup truck in front of a suburban mansion, two houses down from the intended destination, and sent a short text that simply read here. Being chivalrous and walking up to the door, at the risk of being seen in this part of town, was not an option. In other situations a quick honk would have sufficed, but seeing as neither of them wanted to draw attention to their meeting—that is, any more attention than a beat up truck in this neighborhood would cause—a text message seemed the way to go.

Taylor waited for Jordan Smith, releasing nervous energy by drumming two long, slender fingers against the steering wheel, body moving to the rhythm of the music coming from the old radio, sneakers tapping against the pedals to match the beat of the fingers.

Photo by Steve Halama

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Pen Friends

May 16, 2016January 16, 2023Leave a comment

By Kelcie McKenney

In the fifth grade I paid $1.95 for a best friend.

My French teacher pressed us to try a pen pal service that would let us meet new friends across the globe. I wasn’t all that interested in France—my French was a mumble at best—so I set my eyes on England instead. I sealed in a check, a survey about my interests, and the hopes of meeting an international friend into an envelope addressed to the International Youth Service.

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Mother’s Womb: The Vagina from a Different Perspective

May 2, 2016January 16, 20232 Comments

By Kelcie McKenney

Vagina.

There, I said it. Was that so hard?

This semester, for a Performance and Installation Art class, I decided to build a giant, cozy vagina in order to press people to think differently about the female genitalia.

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Domestic Violence: More Prevalent Than You Think

April 24, 2016January 16, 2023Leave a comment

By Kelcie McKenney

One-in-three women have been victims of domestic violence.

According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV), one-third of women have been victims of some form of physical violence by an intimate partner within their lifetime. For men, it is one-in-four. Those types of statistics paint a vivid picture for the reality of unhealthy relationships: they’re far more common than you’d think.

“In an unhealthy relationship there almost always tends to be a power dynamic in place and the person who’s being abusive, whether it’s emotionally or psychologically or physically, makes it pretty much impossible for that other partner to be able to win any kind of argument,” said Becky Redetzke Field, the University of Minnesota Aurora Center Legal Advocacy Coordinator.