Letters from a Teenage Feminist

     So I've been on winter break the past few weeks, but I'm back with some amazing news. Maybe you've heard of the Time's Up movement. Maybe you haven't. But it is super cool, and I am absolutely thrilled.       Here's the whole article on the thing, but I'm going to sum it up here. Basically, with the #metoo movement, a bunch of women (Like, 300 of them) have created a group called Time's Up. ( Here's their website ) The group is committed to stopping sexual harassment and assault in all places, not just Hollywood. "TIME'S UP Legal Defense Fund will provide subsidized legal support to women and men who have experienced sexual harassment, assault, or abuse in the workplace and while in pursuit of their careers."      This is a direct quote from their website, explaining their legal fund. They support another movement called 50/50 by 2020 , to have equal representation in the media. They support LBT+ (if I got t...

   Days after Doug Jones' victory-- our victory-- in Alabama, we've just taken a staggering blow. The FCC voted today, and net neutrality is dead. Or very nearly dead. By my understanding (I can't find much data on a quick search and frankly, I have more important concerns than the nitty-gritty details, but this is according to a very intelligent friend who I trust to know this), it still needs to get through the courts, and then it's onto Trump's desk, and I have no doubt that man will sign it. And I am shook.     My friends and I gathered around before class today, all outraged, all scared. It occurred to me that it would be legal for this blog to be effectively censored. (I have no delusions that this blog is on anyone's radar, at least anyone powerful enough to limit access to it, but the point remains that they could.) I do not know a single person who is happy about this. Even my classmates who support Trump are upset. The only people who will benefit fr...

We've all read extensive coverage about Roy Moore. We've all seen the allegations from nine women that he molested them as teenagers (read: CHILDREN). And this is... staggering. I'm going to be shook if he wins Tuesday's election. Then again, look at the White House... Anyhow, while these allegations are hugely important, momentous, they're not even the only thing Moore has going against him. I did some research this weekend and found some pretty unbelievable things he's said in the past. I want to make it absolutely clear that I'm not trying to diminish in any way the sexual harassment allegations against him. These alone should have been the end for his campaign. But I feel like more people need to know about the other things he's said-- not instead of, but in addition to, the fact that he's a child molester. I don't know if this will influence anyone who can vote in this election. I don't even know if this will reach anyone who can vote i...

       So I'm sure many feminists and activists can relate to this sentiment-- but why on earth do I do this? It's so incredibly surreal to be a feminist right now, what with the goings-on in the Trump White House (stars, I still can't believe I'm typing those words), actual Nazis demonstrating, mass shootings, and... yeah, mostly the Trump White House.  It kind of sucks to be aware of all this. It sucks to see how far we've sunk. It sucks to see a racist, misogynist, ableist bigot signing executive orders.        It sucks to be debating with someone and have them call your data to back up your political opinions "cute." It sucks to have someone try to mansplain what flipping CNN is. And yes, both of these examples come from recent personal experience. And my friends have even more experiences, from Facebook debates with men who will not listen, to my best friend's date this weekend where she stated multiple times she w...

I wasn’t going to do this yet.  Last time I tried to run a blog, I posted sporadically at best. I’ve got a lot on my plate right now. It’s senior year of high school, I’ve got rehearsals and homework and writing and college applications, but... As of today, we’re just past the one-year mark. A year since I stayed up until midnight, eyes glued to the screen of a TV. A year since my mom made me go to bed because I was on the verge of an anxiety attack. A year since that morning when I woke up to the terrible news– Trump had won the election.  It’s been a long year. There have been too many scandals to count. At times we seem to be on the verge of a nuclear war. And I’ve realized I want to put my voice out there. I speak out at school. I’m part of debate. I fight where I can for what I believe in. But my school only has around six hundred students from three tiny towns. I live in a deeply conservative area. There’s only so much I can do.  ...