Posts Written by Stephanie
By Stephanie • 11 years ago

An open letter to my little sister, and women starting college everywhere

A SYTYCB entry

Dear Sister,

Congratulations! This week starts your journey into college. It’s an experience you’re sharing with more young women than ever before, and I couldn’t be more proud of what you’ve accomplished.

I’ve known you your whole life, and watched you follow your passion for lacrosse, community service and the Beatles. But there’s something that’s never really been on your radar: feminism, and what it means to be the smart, educated woman you are in today’s society. You know what, I get it.

I know these issues may sound highbrow and scary, or they may conjure images of marching through the streets with burning bras and unshaved legs. But they’re things you’ll face head-on in the next four years, and I want to offer you the advice I wish someone had offered to me when I first headed off to college. It will make you stronger and wiser. Better yet, it’ll help you see feminism without even trying!

Make friends who don’t look like you, inside and out.

College is a chance to escape from the bubble of your previous community. If your school did it right (unfortunately, some don’t), your college campus will be filled with diverse people and ideas. The way you reach out to everyone and form your own community will shape a lot of what you learn about yourself. Plus, if you practice this compassion and outreach now, you’re building the skills to have your education impact a diverse array ...
By Stephanie • 11 years ago

Fear of a Feminist

A SYTYCB entry.

If you haven’t yet, mosey on over to The Atlantic to read Ta-Nehisi Coates’s brilliant piece on American racism and the hurdles of integration brought to light by President Obama being the first African American president of the U.S. In a nutshell (It was hard to pick one passage; it’s that good):

Racism is not merely a simplistic hatred. It is, more often, broad sympathy toward some and broader skepticism toward others. Black America ever lives under that skeptical eye. Hence the old admonishments to be “twice as good.” Hence the need for a special “talk” administered to black boys about how to be extra careful when relating to the police. And hence Barack Obama’s insisting that there ...

A SYTYCB entry.

If you haven’t yet, mosey on over to The Atlantic to read Ta-Nehisi Coates’s brilliant piece on American racism and the hurdles of integration brought to light by President Obama being the first African ...