Why Women Should Preach, as Explained by Wonder Woman

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This post contains zero spoilers of the new Wonder Woman movie except that (totally non-spoiler) IT’S BEYOND WONDERFUL. You should go see it. Like, right now.

I know nothing about comics. I know nothing about DC versus Marvel. I have, maybe, seen half of the fifty super hero movies that have come out within the last ten years. Probably closer to five, but who’s counting? So maybe the new Wonder Woman movie broke all the rules or maybe everything I was blown away by is common knowledge – I wouldn’t know. All I do know is this: I loved it.

I loved the diversity I saw within the first five minutes. I loved the diversity I saw throughout the rest of the movie. I loved the clever one liners. I loved the subtle and not so subtle references to the ways men do things and the way Wonder Woman crashed right through those walls (literally and figuratively). I especially loved getting to see a woman save the day, seeing a woman in the leading role of an action movie, seeing a caring, compassionate, intelligent and gorgeous woman kick ass. Read More

Why Beauty and the Beast Gives Me Hope, as a Feminist

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I’m (one of the millions of people who are) a bit obsessed with Beauty and the Beast. I’m (one of the millions of people who are) a bit obsessed with Emma Watson. When I heard it broke 5 box office records opening weekend, that Emma is now in two of the top 10 films ever, it made my heart happy. So well deserved. Such a needed thing in our world today – both a beautiful, magical story with good morals and a kickass female in center stage.

I’ve always loved Beauty and the Beast. Do I need to tell you what you already know? The amazing soundtrack. The stark difference of Belle to other Disney princesses. THAT LIBRARY. The gentle reminder to not take people at face value. I don’t need to convince you of the story’s brilliance. Not everyone is a Disney princess fan, but I have yet to meet someone who didn’t enjoy Beauty and the Beast growing up.

But I re-watched the original this past weekend in preparation for the new one (highly suggest doing so!) – and I was surprised. Surprised at how hopeful both movies made me. I knew I loved the movie, the characters, the music. I knew I was going to love the new one because, let’s be real, Emma Watson can do no wrong. I knew all of this and yet I was still blown away. Read More

7 Types of Men You’ll Meet as a Feminist

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There’s this little historical event happening in DC this weekend – have you heard?? It’s the Women’s March on Washington. If you know me at all, you know I’m STOKED – thousands coming together to rally for equality? Taking a stand for justice? The sass involved of planning it for the day after a man who, seemingly, has no respect for women takes the highest office in the land? SIGN. ME. UP. (I’ll be attending the sister march in San Diego!)

Because of the march, there’s been a lot of discussion on feminism lately. Can feminists be pro-life? Do feminists HAVE to be pro-choice? Is it a women only movement? How intersectional are we being? Is feminism even needed in 2017??

Being a feminist is not always easy. Being an out spoken, passionate about justice, hey-I-write-blogs-about-feminism-a-lot feminist is really not easy. I get a lot of flak from friends. I also get to be a part of a lot of really cool conversations with friends, which I am thankful for. I recently read an article warning to beware of male feminists, which I thought was a little intense and yet incredibly thought provoking. Since then, I’ve been taking a lot of mental notes during the conversations I have with men about feminism. I’ve come to find that, generally speaking, there seems to be seven kinds of men… Read More

Dressember 9: I’m Not a Fan of “Feminism”

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For the month of December – in honor of Dressember – I’ll be blogging everyday! Thoughts on anything from fighting for justice to feminism, from dresses I’m wearing to books I’m reading, and everything in between. 

Last week I wrote about feminism, about how it get’s a bad rep, but it really, truly – at its heart – is simply equality.  It was really cool seeing the feedback I got from people – who were glad to see me reclaim the word for good, excited that I was speaking out to the haters, encouraged that I see feminism as a two way street between men and women.

I admitted that there are some crazies out there (like within every belief). One bad apple spoils the bunch, right? Whenever I tell people I’m a feminist, I have to quickly explain, “but I’m not one of those, like, femi-nazis!” So I thought it might do some good to explain some “feminist” movements that I don’t support, or I believe miss the mark: Read More

Dressember 8: Well, This Is Embarrassing…

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For the month of December – in honor of Dressember – I’ll be blogging everyday! Thoughts on anything from fighting for justice to feminism, from dresses I’m wearing to books I’m reading, and everything in between. 

I went to the gym today. In a dress. Don’t worry, I had work out pants on underneath. But, still. A dress.

As if that isn’t awkward and embarrassing enough, it was a bright pink dress. So I’m already feeling stupid for showing up to the gym in a dress, but it’s bright pink?? Ohhhh my gosh. Krysti. How silly and girly and ridiculous. How dumb do you look right now? Just keep your head down and maybe no one will notice….. I was telling myself all of this, until, as I was walking through the gym as quickly as possible to avoid the stares, I realized a few things: Read More

Dressember 3: The F Word

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For the month of December – in honor of Dressember – I’ll be blogging everyday! Thoughts on anything from fighting for justice to feminism, from dresses I’m wearing to books I’m reading, and everything in between. 

 

I’m a feminist. That word probably brought about eye rolls, head shakes, or the highly hilarious “Want to hear a joke?? Women’s rights!” line. You’re probably expecting me to now rant about how all men are from the devil or support the #FreeTheNipple campaign or complain about rape culture. (For the record, I totally believe in rape culture.) You’re probably expecting a lot out of  me, because the word ‘feminism’ comes a with lot of assumptions.

It’s frustrating, really, because feminism is so simple. It’s like dating – a very basic thing that we’ve decided to make so incredibly complex. Do you like someone? Ask them on a date. Do you not like them? Tell them. Communicate. It’s not so hard. And yet we go out with people we don’t like and break up with people we do; we text and “talk” and hang out and hook up with people, but we don’t go to dinner with them. We take this very simple concept – date someone you enjoy spending time with – and make it confusing and heartbreaking and a battle. Similarly, we take the simple belief of the equality of the sexes, and we turn it into a war. Read More