Editorials

Stop calling everyone beautiful. There, I said it. I’ll say it again because we all need to hear it again. Stop. Calling. Everyone. Beautiful. While I find it admirable that many mainstream brands, ads, and influencers have expanded the typical media’s standard of beauty – thin, young, white girl – [...] Read More....

As a feminist, mom to three little girls, and Spice Girls lover, you think I’d be the first one on board with the cutesy phrase “GIRL POWER,” right? I see this phrase on neon signs in play rooms, adorable pillows, graphic tees, and I want to like it – I want [...] Read More....

12/13/17 Dear Grandpa, Everyone thinks their grandpa is the best, and that’s really nice and everything, but the truth is, mine actually was the best. You were the actual best grandpa, great grandfather, dad, neighbor, worker, and friend. You’re the man everyone aspires to be, the one great character every [...] Read More....

Everyone likes to feel beautiful, right? That’s what the media tells us; that’s what our inner nature tells us; it’s what we instinctively tell any little girl we see and the way we measure our attractiveness against other people’s, whether intentionally or subconsciously. After finding myself telling my daughters this [...] Read More....

You probably don’t even notice it – if you’re from the South, you probably don’t even say it – if you say it, you probably see no problem with it. But I’m here to share why one of the most common greetings has GOT to go: calling people ‘guys.’ It’s [...] Read More....

It’s my birthday, so in order to celebrate I thought I’d share 31 facts for my 31 years. Let’s just dive right in, shall we? 1. I can lick my elbow, which is supposed to be impossible. 2. I have insomnia and hypnagogic hallucinations every night. (Want me to do [...] Read More....

Women everywhere shared brave stories of everything from “putting up with” to surviving sexual abuse with the #metoo campaign in 2017, bringing attention to the severity of a widespread yet “hush hush” problem. You probably saw social media posts of friends, neighbors, teachers, or peers you never would have known [...] Read More....

Even before I became a high school English teacher, I felt passionately about correct grammar. Strangely enough, I never received strong formal grammar instruction in school because when you were in the advanced English classes, the emphasis was on reading, critical thinking, and writing. As any avid readers can relate, [...] Read More....

Here’s my disclaimer as I open up a racial conversation: I’m a white woman living in the Chicago suburbs where I also grew up. My husband, family, and neighbors are white. In grammar school, I can remember two girls who were black, and in a high school of about 2600 [...] Read More....

Women, we are strange, beautiful, mysterious beings, and nowhere is this more apparent than out at a bar. Nobody can be more cutthroat than a girl at a bar, shooting daggers at you because you 1. Are younger 2. Are cuter 3. Aren’t a regular (girl, YOU DON’T BELONG HERE) [...] Read More....