what will we be to each other / if the world doesn’t end? [1] ~~~ I write to be heard. I write to understand. I write to be understood. I write to share myself with you. I write so that maybe I won’t feel so alone. I write so that maybe we’ll connect. At some point earlier…
“…Maybe it’s all gonna turn out alright / Oh, I know that it’s not / but I have to believe that it is…” – Julien Baker “Appointments” ~~~ Today is my 37th birthday. Birthdays are interesting markers for people like me. I spend a lot of my daily energy struggling with thoughts about not particularly wanting…
I have a theory that properly handling allegations of sexual violence on a college campus (or within a company, community organization, or other group) will actually increase people’s interest and investment in that group rather than create a negative image of that group by the association with violence. This theory will form one foundation for…
“Getting help for mental health is not enough. We live in a world where people don’t want to live in it anymore. We need to change the world.” – @nikkimwalls ~~~ I think about suicide a lot. That is a loaded sentence. I mean it in two specific ways: 1. I often think about killing…
Comedy can be an incredible tool for furthering social justice by challenging seats of power and shining light on uncomfortable truths. Alternatively, comedy is often wielded by those with power—straight white men—to perpetuate oppression and discrimination by picking on people marginalized by society; by punching down. In Hannah Gadsby’s Netflix special, “Nanette,” the Tasmanian comic squares her…
Shame and misinformation, along with antiquated and toxic ideals of manhood and masculinity, feed a culture of silence surrounding men as victims of sexual violence. In a powerful and devastating personal history written for the New Yorker, acclaimed writer Junot Díaz reveals that he was raped as a child. Diaz then details years of struggles, with…
Besides the anonymous box where we could drop questions, I remember almost nothing of the formal “sex education” that I received through the public school system in 5th grade. I also don’t recall when or how I got “the talk” from my parents, or whether I ever did. I remember once asking my mom what…
This foundational anthology collects writings from diverse perspectives and a range of authors who examining root causes of violence, highlighting a range of manifestations, and discusses challenges to cultural dynamics that foster a rape culture in the United States. Collecting writings from over several decades, and having gone through several editions, the anthology has developed…
