And Possibly Dinosaurs
The best parts of being a homebody
Sports are awesome. More specifically, hockey is awesome. But I can’t be the only one who’s noticed that every sport we watch starts male athletes.
Sure, there are leagues like the WNBA, but we really only watch female athletes if our country is doing really well. See, for example, the Women’s World Cup.
As a feminist and hockey fanatic, I love the idea of women playing hockey. But where the heck are they?
by Randi of Randi with an i
Hey, I’m Randi with an “i” and I’m not a guy.
As someone who has been #blessed with a gender neutral name, I’ve grown up having a way different perspective of – well – your name.
When I worked my last job as a reporter, I would frequently receive emails addressed to “Mr. Shaffer.” I would answer my phone line as “Randi Shaffer” and was never taken aback when the voice on the other end of the line quipped a surprised “Oh, I thought you would be a man!”
The basis for that column was how often people mistook me for a man. But things have changed so much in the last half-decade alone, since I first wrote that piece.
Let’s back up for a minute.
We’ve all heard the phrase over and over again: chivalry is dead.
With plenty of women (myself included) striving for equal rights, it seems a bit backward for us to constantly be waiting for men to open the door, pay for our meal, and pull our chairs out for us.
But is it really that backward? Can chivalry and feminism coexist?
I’m a proud feminist. I could talk about feminism all day any day, and I love connecting with other feminists. But here’s the thing: I don’t agree with all other feminists. Take one, for example: Beyoncé.
Whaaaaaat? Isn’t Queen Bey the face of feminism? After all, she stood in front of a giant light-up FEMINISM sign that one time.
Sure, she’s got great ideas about feminism. But I don’t agree with everything she does. And that’s okay.
Quitting can be tough. Whether you’re quitting a job, a sport, a hobby, or even your blog, it’s never going to be easy.
It seems like I’m always telling myself that it’s never the “right time” to quit something. I haven’t given it enough attention, I haven’t given it enough time, etc.
But here’s the thing: it’s never going to “feel right.” It’s going to be awkward, and you’re going to doubt yourself. So, how do you know when it’s okay to quit?
I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai has been on my to-read list for a long time. But Game of Thrones took over my reading life for a little more than a year, so it kept falling on the back burner.
But I was finally able to read it in July. And man am I glad I did.
Malala and her father, natives of Pakistan, are not ones to get pushed around. They stand up for what they believe in and speak their minds. This proved problematic, though, when she was targeted by the Taliban and ended up being shot.
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It’s no secret that Keurig coffee brewers are all the rage right now. Heck, I’ve got two—one at home and one at work. They’re really convenient, because everyone can have their own flavor of coffee without having to waste a whole pot.
But here’s the thing—K-Cups are incredibly wasteful. They aren’t recyclable or biodegradable, so they have to go in the trash after each use, and they just sit in landfills. It’s estimated that all of the K-Cups tossed out in 2014 would circle the earth more than 12 times. Even the inventor of the Keurig regrets making them non-recyclable.
So, how does a tree hugger like me deal with this reality? Quite easily, actually. Here’s how to use a Keurig without destroying the environment.
It’s common knowledge that women apologize a lot. If you haven’t seen the Pantene commercial about how often women say sorry, I encourage you to watch it. No matter what your thoughts are on Pantene, you had to admit it’s pretty powerful.
Why is apologizing such a bad thing? I mean, it shows that we’re emotional and kind, right?
Sure, depending on the case. But apologizing for something that isn’t your fault doesn’t help when you want (and deserve…) respect.
Trigger warning: abduction, sexual abuse, physical assault, rape.
People seem to be fascinated with tragedy. Every time a celebrity dies, we’re heartbroken. And whenever a story breaks about a person (or group of people) who has been abducted and held hostage for years until miraculously escaping or being rescued, we’re fascinated. (Insert Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt theme song here.)
That’s why Room was so fascinating to me. Not only does it tell the story of a young woman who is abducted and held hostage, but it also tells the story of her five-year-old son, Jack, who was born as a result of the regular rapes she endures at the hands of her captor. And it tells it from Jack’s perspective.
It’s no secret that women are under a lot of pressure to look their best every day. Don’t get me wrong, men are, too. But as a woman, I see and feel the pressure much more than I see the pressure on men, so it seems more appropriate for me to discuss the former.
One big culprit of this pressure is makeup. It helps cover up flaws, accentuate strengths, and all-around look like different people. Some argue that this causes more pressure on women to look their best. They say that we should boycott makeup and rock the natural look, embracing our bodies as they are.
Here’s my issue with that point: it’s all-encompassing. They’re trying to create a new standard of beauty, but at the same time they’re alienating the people who genuinely enjoy wearing makeup.
Ever since I learned how to write, I’ve always been obsessed with having proper grammar. I studied journalism, worked at my university’s Writing Center, and publish written content four times a week outside of my job in marketing. I’ve even got a plaque on my desk that says “I am silently correcting your grammar.” (Sometimes I don’t correct it so silently.)
For a long time, using “they” and all of its variations in the singular really bothered me. It’s plural, so we shouldn’t be using it to describe one person, even if we don’t know the person’s gender. We just need a new, non-gender-specific word, right? Other languages have one, why can’t English?
Well, because it would be incredibly tedious to not only come up with a gender-neutral pronoun, but also for it to catch on with the general public. Instead, maybe we should just get off our high grammar horses and accept that it’s perfectly alright to use “they” for a single subject.
When I was in grade school and high school, I got picked on quite a bit. I wasn’t the prettiest girl in school, I didn’t live in the right neighborhood, and I was a bit too punk for all the preppy kids. I was the (co-)captain of my (junior varsity) cheerleading team, but I didn’t fit any of the stereotypes. I felt like I didn’t fit in.
I did a lot of growing up in college, and in the two years since I graduated. I became started identifying as a feminist, part of which means lifting other women up. But that’s not all it means. It means I’ve also got to be proud of who I am.
With that in mind, I wanted to take a moment to recognize myself and my favorite thing about me.
