Celeste Montaño

The miracle of Jane the Virgin

by Celeste Montaño and Joneka Percentie When the CW released its first look at Jane the Virgin back in July, everyone in SPARK was on the fence about it. The trailer’s tone was intriguing, but a show that revolves entirely around a Latina woman’s sex life—or lack, thereof? Less intriguing, more off-putting. Turns out, we…

Read more >>

DoodleUs Update: fewer "dude-les," but still lacking people of color

by Celeste Montaño Earlier this year, SPARK launched DoodleUs, a campaign asking Google to improve the representation of women and people of color in their Doodles. In case you missed it, Google Doodles are those fun animations that replace the Google logo on the company’s front page, often in celebration of historical individuals. And since…

Read more >>

Taylor Swift can't shake off white privilege

by Celeste Montaño The increasingly-familiar sight of a white woman twerking and objectifying black women is back on your screens, this time brought to you by Taylor Swift. On August 18, Swift released a new music video for the single “Shake It Off” to coincide with the announcement of her “first official pop album.” As…

Read more >>

Google: Doodle Us!

by Celeste Montaño [Ed. note: an earlier version of this blog didn’t mention the research of Ann M. Martin, a science educator who has been tracking and writing about gender in Google Doodles since 2011. This piece, and our corresponding action page, have both been updated to credit her and her work, which is excellent and…

Read more >>

Why I Hate Elevators

by Celeste Montaño I’m not a big fan of elevators, especially the ones in my dorm. I greatly appreciate my personal space, and it’s hard to have any space in a small room packed with students; plus, it sucks when I have to push through all the tall people to get out. But mostly, I hate…

Read more >>

Whose Culture Does Mexico Barbie Represent?

by Celeste Montaño At age 19, it’s been a few years since I’ve played with Barbie, or been acquainted with her latest friends and fashions. In fact, if it weren’t for the recent controversy about Mexico Barbie’s passport, I would have remained perfectly unaware of what’s going on in Barbie World. But the many news…

Read more >>

When Other People Watch What You Eat

by Celeste Montaño Last time I had dinner with a friend, she laughed as I set down my food. “You’re so funny,” she told me, but didn’t elaborate. I smiled uncertainly. Seeing that I didn’t get it, she gestured to what I was eating. “The mac & cheese, the fries, the soda… it’s all so…

Read more >>

Real Beauty, Real Talk: the SPARKteam Responds to Dove's Latest Campaign

Have you seen Dove’s latest “Real Beauty” campaign? It’s been making the rounds and causing quite a stir: The video, which shows women describing themselves as ugly and then other people describing them as beautiful, leading up to a big reveal where we all realize that we are our own worst enemy, is drawing both…

Read more >>

Contact Us!