Anya Josephs

'Big Hero 6' is the kind of kids' movie we need

by Anya Josephs I’m going to admit that, although Big Hero 6 is technically aimed more at the kid set and I’m a college junior, I’ve seen the animated movie three times already. My friend Alison dragged me along during finals week because she heard there were women scientist characters (she’s a chemistry major). By…

Read more >>

Sexual harassment online is everywhere–but it doesn't need to be

by Anya Josephs There is nowhere you can go on the internet as a woman without being sexually harassed. Okay, that’s probably an exaggeration. More accurately: I, personally, have never existed online in any space where I am identifiably female without receiving unsolicited dick pics, demands for nude pictures of myself, or extremely personal questions…

Read more >>

Beyond Pepper Potts: the grim state of women and girls on screen

brutal tbh

by Anya Josephs Thanks to SPARK’s generous friends at the Geena Davis Institute on Gender and Media, I was able to join SPARK Executive Director Dana Edell and Program Coordinator Melissa Campbell at the 2nd Global Symposium on Gender in the Media. This afternoon-long conversation featured speeches by Geena Davis and Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, the Executive-Director…

Read more >>

"If I don't say anything, I feel rude," and other experiences of street harassment in Paris

by Annemarie McDaniel and Anya Josephs Annemarie and Anya are both SPARK bloggers, in Paris studying abroad for the summer! We’ve both had magical experiences here, but we’ve also noticed significant street harassment. We wanted to write this blog together to talk about the ways we’ve experienced harassment here differently than back home in the…

Read more >>

Why trigger warnings matter

by Anya Josephs This post contains graphic descriptions of eating disorders that may be triggering to some readers. As Sartre once said—hell is other people. I read this in my theatre of the absurd class this semester. Presumably, I also heard it when I read the play in high school, but I don’t remember. Most…

Read more >>

#ReadWomen 2014: A love letter to Tamora Pierce

This post is part of #ReadWomen2014. by Anya Josephs Tamora Pierce has written a number of series of books for young adults. Most of them are set in one universe, a sort of magical alternate history in a place called Tortall. Her first series, The Song of the Lioness, focuses on a girl named Alanna,…

Read more >>

One of the lucky ones? My experience reporting sexual harassment on campus

by Anya Josephs Sexual violence is an ugly problem that’s been hidden away on college campuses for too long. Recent efforts to bring this problem to light have made national news and even gotten the attention of the President of the United States, who created a task force recently to address this issue. I’m a…

Read more >>

Girls want American Girl to commit to diversity

by Anya Josephs When I was younger, I owned an American Girl doll, like many girls my age. I wasn’t as big a fan as some girls, but I really loved the books that went with each doll. I read all the stories that were in my elementary school’s library, and I still remember the…

Read more >>

Contact Us!