ALI ZANE WRITES – Long criticized for its sex crime laws, Japan has revised the Penal Code, redefining rape as non-consensual sexual intercourse. Previously, rape was classified as forcible sexual intercourse, meaning that the assailant had to have used physical violence to qualify for prosecution. This century-old law has created…
SARAH LOHMANN WRITES — K-pop has always been rife with experimentation—throughout music, styling, and choreography. With their debut mini album Assemble, the South Korean girl group TripleS brings a fresh, trendy, Y2K-inspired sound. Making their mark in a saturated and ever-evolving market, they implore listeners to be their authentic selves…
SARAH LOHMANN WRITES – “Does it hurt?” When we hear this question, it is often with an urgent or melancholic tone. Korean author Jungeun Hwang frames the question differently when it is asked of thirteen-year-old Nana by her childhood friend Naghi after he strikes her across the cheek. She confirms it does…
ANDREA PLATE WRITES – (This is the first in an original series about new wave feminist writers in Korea). It was big news in 2016 when the novel Kim Ji-young, 1982, by author Cho Nam-Joo, awakened a semi-somnolent women’s movement in South Korea. The book sold one million copies—only the second novel in the…
DANIELA GUEVARA WRITES—Despite the country’s low crime rate, there has been a significant increase of 27% in sexual assault in Japan, specifically on public transportation. Women in crowded trains (and other public places) often face sexual harassment in the form of groping during their commutes. In fact, Japanese research shows…
ANTONIA HORLICK WRITES—In the past decade, cosmetic surgery worldwide has become more popular than ever. With the rise of social media platforms such as Instagram, young people have become more self-conscious about their looks. They live in a self-obsessed world of Snapchat and Instagram, which both have selfie filters that…
ANDREA PLATE WRITES – Let us all breathe a sigh of relief. Tuesday’s U.S. Senate confirmation hearings (July 30) into the matter of Air Force General John Early Hyten’s fitness to serve as Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was not a #MeToo mobbing – thanks to Martha…
(Certain names in the story have been shortened to protect the person’s identity.) AASHNA MALPANI WRITES– I hear a piercing wail in the background. My source puts the phone on hold for a minute, then returns with apologies: “Sometimes I wish I never had him.” She sounds exasperated, complaining about…
ANAS ALZAHRANI WRITES — While countries around the world are buying into the “this is what a feminist looks like” mentality, China still seems to maintain its distaste for the movement. Yet despite strict regulations to curb radical voices, activists refuse to stay quiet: especially the Feminist Five. The group…
AASHNA MALPANI WRITES – In the streets of Hyesan city, North Korea, a woman in her forties makes ends meet by selling clothes and textiles to local markets. A guard or a police officer stops her, demanding she follow him to an empty room or other such location. She complies.…
ELIZABETH SOELISTIO WRITES — Ahn Hee Jung, a 53-year-old politician and former rising star of South Korea’s Democratic, party was acquitted August 14 on charges of raping his female secretary, Kim Ji Eun. The controversial verdict sparked massive debates on the topics of justice, sexual hierarchies and the power wielded…
RYAN URBAN WRITES: People say they are fed up with President Trump for remarks targeting the most vulnerable in our society, from Muslims to women, leaving society no other choice but to shout at the top of their lungs and scream “We need to fight against Islamophobia in America!…Then we…
