It’s 11 p.m. on a Thursday and your hookup buddy is on their way to your dorm. You’ve showered, cleaned your room (stuffed all the clutter in the closet), filled in your roommates, made sure the lighting is absolutely perfect, and put on an effortless outfit. After all, this is a random, meaningless hookup—you’ve both […]
During the summer of 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States made the historic choice to overturn Roe v. Wade (1973). The landmark decision of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022) held that the Constitution does not confer a right to an abortion; instead, the decision to permit abortion would be decided by […]
He leads when dancing. She should follow. He is the one who asks her out. She should accept. He makes the first move. She should consent. The gendered standards between men and women inevitably place sexual power in his hands, and she is taught to be all too eager to comply. As women, we are […]
The first time I had sex, I started crying. It was delicately messy and awkwardly chaotic and uncomfortable, even with my loving boyfriend at the time. And it was undeniably painful, exacerbated by the all-encompassing stress I felt in the moment. In giving my body to someone else, it seemed like I had lost all […]
Aren’t you embarrassed? TMI. I didn’t need to hear that. Wow, you’re brave. Talking about sex is bound to elicit one or many of these reactions. But there’s nothing unpleasant about discussing sex, and in fact, we should be discussing it more. Women are made to feel like talking about sex is awkward and inappropriate. […]
She slept with 1000 men! Peggy Guggenheim was an extremely influential art collector and socialite, who participated in the salvation of thousands of works of art during World War II. She also was widely known for her sexual promiscuity. Guggenheim’s open embrace of her sexuality greatly defied the norms of her time, which tended to […]
The link between chocolate and sex long predates the invention of the Hershey Kiss. The Aztecs, famous for inventing chocolate and hot chocolate, might have been interested in the delight for more than just its delicious cocoa aromas. The Aztec emperor Moctezuma drank copious amounts of chocolate before rendezvousing with his lovers because of its […]
I grew up in one of the 13 states that had a trigger law enacted after the Supreme Court’s decision on Roe v. Wade was announced, affirming that abortions were no longer a constitutionally protected right. I immediately lost my ability to have a legal abortion. This is nothing but reflective of the ways that […]
“Treetises” is a column where I discuss the best trees to climb around Harvard’s campus. I wrote three Treetises—“The Best Tree in Harvard Yard,” “The Tree Trials,” and “Perchin”—during my junior fall, six years ago, in 2018. I left school after that year because I wanted to hitchhike and write. I didn’t plan on taking […]
Debates surrounding gender inequality and women’s rights have taken center stage across the nation and on Harvard’s campus, especially in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in June 2022. As these issues have intensified, they have cast a spotlight on how institutions like Harvard address—or fail to address—gender equity […]