Cancer ostensibly affects approximately 1 in 5 people during their lifespan (WHO 2021). Including loved ones and caregivers of cancer patients, 6 million more are impacted by this disease per year (Broom and Kenny 2021). More than an individual disease, cancer is a public and relational ailment. Despite the prevalence of cancer cases, I never […]
Climate migration has begun. Art piece: A boat of climate refugees is going towards a new land. The posts have question marks on them, denoting that the refugees do not know where they will end up eventually. Also, the water is tumultuous and angry, showing that the refugees have traveled through a rough area and […]
Barrier-breakers pictured around the Autism Acceptance logo (clockwise): Greta Thunberg, Breanna Clark, Sia, Satoshi Tajiri, Susan Boyle, Temple Grandin, Dan Aykroyd, Morgan Harper Nichols “Start collecting a check. He’s a lifer.” That’s what my parents were told by doctors when I was diagnosed on the autism spectrum. I would have no chance of going to […]
I can’t recall my first gymnastics class – I started at the age of two. My parents and coaches fueled my participation and skill development, encouraging my passion and striving for success. By the second grade, I eagerly practiced twenty-five hours per week and competed at state-level competitions. As my career progressed, attending practices felt […]
Until recently, OCD was commonly recognized as a rare mental illness, and medical professionals defined it as such (Summerfeldt 2004). OCD is short for obsessive-compulsive disorder, a condition in which people experience recurring, intrusive, and uncontrolled thoughts (NIH). However, recent studies instead suggest that OCD results from the inability to cope with uncertainty, as seen […]
Chances are, you know an alcoholic, or you know someone close to an alcoholic. Maybe it’s a grandparent, or a friend’s mom, or your aunt’s college roommate. With over 30 million Americans reporting having alcohol use disorder in 2021, it is likely that most people know someone who has experienced the deleterious effects of alcoholism […]
Successful women are particularly at risk of experiencing celebrity takedowns. When Travis Kelce has attended Taylor Swift’s concerts, people praise him for being society’s ‘perfect boyfriend’. By contrast, when Swift has attended Kelce’s games, some football fans have become angry, booed her when the camera pans to her, and suggested “She’s ruining football” online (Cherian […]
When asked his biggest fear, popular social media influencer Jon Brannon, also known as Jon Skywalker, responded “dying skinny.” Brannon and many other fitness influencers encourage a culture of toxic masculinity through steroid usage. In his Tik Tok bio he even describes himself as a “TREN-SETTER”, or a trendsetter in the fitness industry, as well […]
Dark comedy has allowed misogyny to stay mainstream (Ford et al. 2007: 168). It’s easy to find recent examples of jokes that went too far. For example, in 2016, a leaked tape of former President Donald Trump joking with a male friend about sexually harassing and “grabbing [women] by the pussy” went viral. Trump dismissed […]
Caitlin Clark is reshaping the landscape of women’s basketball. Leading her Iowa Hawkeyes team to the championship game of the popular March Madness tournament in two consecutive years and breaking dozens of records along the way, Clark has grown the women’s game in unprecedented ways. Through what has been deemed as the “Caitlin Clark Effect,” […]
