something secret

A lot of the backlash over Beyoncé's identification as a feminist seems to stem from the infamous "titty corset" she worn on one night of her famously named "Mrs. Carter World Tour." The rallying cry seems to be that a woman cannot be a feminist when she so willingly sexualizes herself. But is it not one of the basic tenets of modern feminism that a woman should be free to express and explore her sexuality on her own terms without fear of reproach? Considering that Beyoncé meticulously manages her career and brand herself, with an iron fist that borders on delusional, I think it's safe to say that she is the one making the decisions when it comes to how overtly sexual her image is. If for nothing else, this qualifies Beyoncé as a feminist in my book.

In the short time I spent as a fashion tourist in the US, I noticed that "uniform" is a dirty word. While school uniforms were a pretty normal part of my childhood growing up, (both in primary and secondary school), in the US, uniforms seem to be a cultural signifier of private schools and the upper crust; a shorthand descriptor of strict Catholic schools stripping teens of their individuality with dowdy pleated skirts and plaid ties. The idea is so pervasive that hundreds of teen movies employ the trope. How do you know the new private school student is a social rebel? They refuse to conform. They reject the uniform, and refuse to wear it as requested. It's so common, it's cliché. But when it comes to fashion, choices and practicality, I think there's a serious case to be made in defense of uniforms. Adult uniforms aren't quite the same as prep school pleats, but uniforms have practical advantages. Who doesn't love not having to worry about what to wear e

So here's the thing: Growing up is really hard. You leave high school around 17-18, then (if you're lucky) you go to college, where you get to feign independence for a few years, and then you're unceremoniously spit out into the real world where you actually have to be  independent, and in all that time, no one ever manages to teach you how to be a real adult. And yet somehow, you're still supposed to figure it out. Because at 21, you are an adult, even though you don't yet feel like it, with all the rights and responsibilities that that allows, and you're expected to act like it. And you know what? One year out of graduation, I can confirm that it is not in fact as simple as it seems. But the thing is, it doesn't matter. I've been back home for almost a year now, nowhere near where I had hoped to be at this stage in my life. I'm not in NY, I don't work at a magazine, I'm not interning for a photographer. I'm not doing what I said I'

Reproductive rights aren't debatable. They're an indelible part of bodily autonomy. They are not up for discussion, in the same way that your right to freedom isn't debatable. As my 20 year old brother says: "What makes anyone think they have the right to tell a woman what she can or can't do with her own body?" Simple, really.

There is nothing inherently wrong with makeup or cosmetics, and therefore there is nothing about liking those things that disqualifies a woman as a feminist. The problem is that makeup has been historically used to police a woman's femininity, and by extension her acceptability in society. The issue isn't that a woman wears makeup, it's that if she wears too much she's a "trashy whore" but if she wears too little or none at all, she's "butch" or unladylike. Cosmetics are just things. Powders and glosses and lotions. They have no baring on a person's intellectual ideology. Liking makeup doesn't make you any less a feminist than liking lingerie does. Being a feminist doesn't have to mean rejecting outright things that happen to be coded as "feminine". It's like saying that women can't drink beer because beer is for men, or that men can't/don't pay attention to hygeine because grooming is for women. It's non