Reasons to Date a Feminist

Recently, Phyllis Schlafly (remember her? She’s the one who lead a campaign in the 1970’s to stop the Equal Rights Amendment from getting ratified) said to a group of men:

“Feminist is a bad word and everything they stand for is bad …  Find out if your girlfriend is a feminist before you get too far into it. Some of them are pretty. They don’t all look like Bella Abzug.”

Well, sorry Phyllis, but we feminists are actually a pretty awesome set of people to date. Here’s why:

1. We’re independent. Feminists are all about being useful, contributing members of society and being their own person. Vaginas ≠ inability to unclog a toilet, fix our computer, or kill a bug. Although we do still appreciate when you offer, we won’t necessarily expect it of you.
2. We’re open-minded. Feminism wouldn’t have been possible without people being open to change and shifts in society; and we get that – which is why we try to remain as open-minded as we can.
3. We split the check. It’s still nice when a guy offers to pay, and sometimes I accept, but I certainly don’t expect a guy to always pay for me – hell, sometimes I pay for the guy. We understand that a relationship is a two-way street, both emotionally and financially.
4. We don’t buy into conventional ideas of beauty. This doesn’t necessarily mean that we never shave our legs or never shower or anything like that, but instead that beauty is about being healthy, happy, and internal beauty. It comes from within. And that goes for you too!
5. We’re definitely not boring. Feminists care about the world around them, and are passionate about things. We’re open to debate, discussion, and interesting people. And think about it – who would you rather have as your constant dinner mate?

What reasons did I leave out? Leave it below!

Things Every Girl Should Know About: Circle of 6

There’s a reason that our cell phones have become major tools of ensuring our personal safety – we can look up maps, bus schedules, crime statistics, and call for help all with that little device in our pockets. But Circle of 6 has perfected the key things you need in uncomfortable situations or emergencies into one easy to use app.

You can set up your circle of 6 people you’re closest with that live in your city or that you would want to help you in a moment of crisis (i.e., I put my Mom on there even though she lives in New York – because she would certainly call me or make sure my friends were on their way to help me get home safe). It links with your GPS to send your location and address to friends in a pre-written text, so all you have to do is open the app, hit the button, and press “send”. There’s also a direct hotline button for rape or relationship abuse, and you can add a custom number (such as your local police station) to call as well.

It makes me feel safer – no longer do I need to turn on my GPS, remember the address, text it to 6 people, and write out a message. I can set it up so that quickly and efficiently, Circle of 6 does all the work for me. Download it! It’s awesome.

Many, many updates are coming your way in the next week!

Thanks to a  fairly packed past couple of weeks, I have been seriously remiss on my blogging duties. But that doesn’t mean I haven’t been writing! A bunch of pieces are in the final editing phase right now and they’ll be out this week – both for BTA and Couch Potatoes. Huzzah!