In a child’s room, I stared at one of those primary-colored toy workbenches. Its pegboard was painted with outlines of where the plastic tools go, to show what’s missing and…
Meet the Brazilian Photographer Advocating for Women via Nude Photography
While in Salvador, Brazil, Helene Dötsch met photographer Céu Albuquerque. Joining the photographer for one of her sessions, she discovered how Céu helps women and non-binary people all over Brazil…
When Rape Accusations Disappear: Wrongful Empowerment
Who should we be empowering? Image by Flickr user Katie Tegtmeyer. Over the past several months, the journalism world has been obsessed with the “A Rape on Campus” debacle from…
Empowered Voices: How You Can Respond to Street Harassment
Image courtesy by Flickr user Ted Eytan. Not only is April Sexual Assault Awareness Month, but last week was International Anti-Street Harassment Week. While street harassment has been around a long time,…
The Pregnant Woman and the Public: What’s Mine Is…Yours?
My pregnancy is not a gift for you. Image from Pixabay. I, and other Go Girl writers, have commented before about the various ways in which cis women’s bodies get colonized…
4 Ways to Celebrate Girls on International Day of the Girl Child 2014
Celebrate girls! Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. For all that we talk about the rights and needs of women, we often forget that women come from somewhere. Women, as Simone…
Knocked Up? Tips for the Pregnant Traveler
Being pregnant doesn’t mean being confined. Image by Flickr user Montse PB. Getting pregnant, in some ways, is a lot like getting married. The second that you admit that a…
When Do Bad Things Happen? Think Again
Pondering the mysteries of the universe, unmolested by anyone. Image from Erica Laue. In the days leading up to my incredible Turkish fitness excursion, I was (understandably) peppered with all…
Predators Will Be Predators: How “Safety” Keeps Us All in Chains
Even the fight in Wonder Woman won’t end violence against women. Image by Flickr user JD Hancock. One of the things that bothers me most about women’s travel — or…
Hijab or Not
Hijab is more than a veil; it’s a practice. Image from alitchick.blogspot.com. When I was living in Montreal, I had the supreme privilege of learning about hijab – the Muslim practices…
Body for Rent: Coming to Rest In My Own Form
Do you have an accurate image of your body? Sometimes it’s hard to love if you don’t know what it really looks like. Image from Healthy Is the New Skinny…
Girl Rising – Beauty, Hope, and Perseverance
If you have the chance to see Girl Rising, you must! A beautifully shot film about the value of educating girls, it doesn’t have a wide distribution. In fact, most…
Sex for pay and other controversies: empowerment
I got a lot of feedback on my post about prostitution vs. human trafficking that requested I write a more elabourate series of articles to explore the themes I brought…
Up On the Table
“Try angling it down,” the dark-haired woman suggested to her student. The student maneuvered a bit, then said, “Is that it?” Both women peered in close, their heads nearly touching…
Finding home: Here and now, and…then?
Consult the self-improvement powers that be, and you’re likely to hear one of two things: 1)  Embrace the present 2)  Envision the future What you won’t hear, what is to…