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By Allison Cabana *From the SPARK Research! Blog Archive: This blog was originally written for SPARK, a girl-fueled organization working to ignite an anti-racist gender justice movement There’s plenty of stereotypes about what women and girls can’t do. Messages about girls not being smart enough for science or not being tough enough for sports are everywhere, from TV shows, books and magazines, news and social media in both subtle and very obvious ways. Back in 1992, there wa

By Steph Anderson *From the SPARK Research! Blog Archive: This blog was originally written for SPARK, a girl-fueled organization working to ignite an anti-racist gender justice movement Growing up, I loved being active: climbing trees, riding bikes, building obstacle courses, you name it. If it involved dirt, even better. I loved testing my body’s limits, not to mention my parents’ nerves (but that’s another story). Once I was old enough to play an organized sport – basketbal

By Jenn Chmielewski *From the SPARK Research! Blog Archive: This blog was originally written for SPARK, a girl-fueled organization working to ignite an anti-racist gender justice movement Okay, I admit it. As much as I would love to say that I was a little feminist socialist as a child, impervious to the sexualized gendered marketing scheme that is Barbie, I cannot. I was one of the 99% of girls that played with that skinny, large-breasted, blond haired plastic toy[1] and I t

By Christin Bowman *From the SPARK Research! Blog Archive: This blog was originally written for SPARK, a girl-fueled organization working to ignite an anti-racist gender justice movement Music videos may be one of the most degrading pieces of media out there. I, for one, can’t remember the last time I watched a music video that didn’t incorporate women of the lip-licking, hip-humping, nearly-naked variety. Some experts suggest that almost 90% of music videos incorporate objec

By Kim Belmonte *From the SPARK Research! Blog Archive: This blog was originally written for SPARK, a girl-fueled organization working to ignite an anti-racist gender justice movement Okay, let’s do a little exercise. Close your eyes and picture a “computer scientist.” Who is it that you picture? If the very first image that comes to mind is of, well, a man, alone in an office surrounded by computer bits, you wouldn’t be alone. Research shows that computer science and informa

By Jenn Chmielewski *From the SPARK Research! Blog Archive: This blog was originally written for SPARK, a girl-fueled organization working to ignite an anti-racist gender justice movement Okay, let me get real with you when it comes to my perspective on how sexualized girls are in the media and advertising. Just a couple weeks ago, I was shopping online trying to find some leggings to keep me warm before spring finally came. As I sat browsing through images of models wearing

Sara McClelland, Associate Professor of Psychology and Women’s Studies at University of Michigan talks to SGL about what could be possible if we allowed intimate demands to guide the political. #collegewomen #girls #relationships #sexism #desire #Video #sexualharassment

Jessica Ringrose, Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Education, University of London, talks Digital Feminism and how girls are resisting sexist dress codes in schools. #feminism #rapeculture #activism #girls #dresscodes #socialmedia #sexism #digital #Video

by Elise Bragard When was the first time you realized you were sexually attracted to someone? And what did that sexual attraction feel like, either emotionally or physically? It can be difficult to answer these questions, because it’s possible that when we did have that feeling for the first time, we may not have had the language or knowledge about sexuality to think of it as sexual attraction. The way we interpret these memories as adults are potentially different from how w

by Marisa Ragonese *From the SPARK Research! Blog Archive: This blog was originally written for SPARK, a girl-fueled organization working to ignite an anti-racist gender justice movement What a year for talk about racism in the US. No criminal charges for Darren Wilson, the police officer in Furguson, MO who shot unarmed Black teenager Mike Brown last August. Or Daniel Panteleo, the cop in NYC caught on video putting Eric Garner, Black father of six, in a fatal chokehold on a

by Hannah Bernhardt Illustration by Tamara Cubrilo My favorite scene in “Mean Girls” is when the entire school is brought together for Sex Ed. In this scene, all the students are gathered in the gym while the P.E. teacher rants about the dangers of sex. It’s ridiculous, it’s over-the-top, and honestly… it’s kinda relatable. That scene is so funny precisely because so many of us were subjected to similar scare tactics in our sex ed: “Don’t have sex, because you will get pregna

by Jenn Chmielewski *From the SPARK Research! Blog Archive: This blog was originally written for SPARK, a girl-fueled organization working to ignite an anti-racist gender justice movement Okay, so I’ll admit it. Post-Turkey day and just a couple weeks off from my family’s Christmas dinner (and my awesome candy cane cookies) I’ve started to think a little too much about how this holiday season might be putting a few pounds on me. When it’s just me with a mirror, sometimes I ca