Power

Intimate Wars and Primary Drama

Merle Hoffman describes her many years working as a prominent abortion provider. Republican candidates clamor to be called "pro-life", but what does that really mean? Also: "The Walking Dead" fails basic biology.

From Fear to Safety: Confronting Sexual Assault and Harassment on Campuses

One in five women are sexually assaulted while in college, and approximately 81 percent of students experienced some form of sexual harassment during their school years.  An analsyis of sexual assault on Virginia campuses revealed that such crimes were rarely prosecuted, although under Title IX, schools receiving federal funds have a legal obligation to protect students from gender-based violence and harassment.

How Modesty Doctrines Made Me Hate My Body

Modesty taught me that my first priority needed to be making sure I wasn’t a “stumbling block” to men. Not being sexually attractive was the most important thing I had to consider when buying clothes, putting them on, maintaining my weight (can’t have things getting tight!), and moving around (can’t wiggle those hips, or let a little knee show). Modesty taught me that what I looked like was what mattered most of all. Not what I thought. Not how I felt. Not what I was capable of doing. Worrying about modesty, and being vigilantnotto be sexy, made me even more obsessed with my looks than the women in short shorts and spray tans I was taught to hate