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By Marisa Ragonese I had a baby three summers ago, and she’s been hanging around me a lot ever since. One of the best parts about this whole kid thing, at least for me, is the radical shift from how men used to look at and treat me, and the way they do now. Most notably, the dudes I encounter in the day-to-day have generally stopped ogling my body, complimenting my body, insulting my body or otherwise harassing me. NOW they either look me in the eye when they talk to me or, i

By Marisa Ragonese Illustration by Neil Webb I had a baby three summers ago, and she’s been hanging around me a lot ever since. One of the best parts about this whole kid thing, at least for me, is the radical shift from how men used to look at and treat me, and the way they do now. Most notably, the dudes I encounter in the day-to-day have generally stopped ogling my body, complimenting my body, insulting my body or otherwise harassing me. NOW they either look me in the eye

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 Here at SPARK, if there’s one thing we all love, it’s activism. We protest and picket and petition for change. We struggle to take sexy back with a fiery passion that burns deep within all of us – a SPARK that ignites us (pun very much intended). Being an activist isn’t always easy. In fact,

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 Not too long ago, I worked at a drop-in center for LGBT youth in Queens. Every summer we participated in an activist “boot camp” for youth organizations all across NYC. We would plan workshops and lots of other activities for camp during the school year and then trek out to the country for a

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 Valentine’s Day – that pink, red, and white chocolate-covered day where you have the chance to tell everyone how much you care for them. I have to confess: it was one of my favorite days growing up. The anticipation of carnations, chocolates, or Disney-themed cards from a “secret admirer” (eve

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 When I was a kid, gymnastics was my life. I spent hours and hours at the gym, and I was closer to my teammates than I was to my schoolmates. At school, I wrote all of my book reports and biography assignments about gymnasts, and I spent every recess balancing, swinging, flipping, and dancing.

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 Confession: Facebook is a big part of my life. I was actually one of the first people to sign up for an account in 2004, and I haven’t looked back since. For a long time, Facebook felt like a warm, cozy living room where my friends and family could meet and stay connected. I would eagerly upl

by Kim Nguyen *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 Compliments. I love giving them and am generally comfortable getting them. I love original and artistic expressions that people rock (because I’m slightly jealous of people who can pull off super unique looks) and I like to make other people feel good. I like to think I have an eye for design and

by Steph Anderson I am not a runner – or at least I wasn’t. I grew up hating running for all of the obvious reasons: panting, chafing, blisters, short shorts. Frankly, I would have rather spent an hour at the dentist than run 2 miles. So when I completed the New York City Half Marathon this past spring, I was elated and honestly amazed that my body even had the capacity to run that far. I also felt more connected to my body than ever before. Yet, one of the first comments a f

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 It was on a hot summer day a few weeks ago that I decided to sit outside in a park to do some writing. Ninety-degree heat isn’t for the faint of heart, and the only sane thing to wear on a day like that is shorts and a tank top. What can I say? I like it hot. I set myself up under a sprawling