Curriculum: Sex (shouldn’t be) Taboo Tournament
I love Taboo. I am a naturally competitive person, especially when it comes to things like word games!
Entries by Steph Black
Interviewing Zoey Salsbury and her relationship to online harassment
As part of my research on online harassment, I was lucky enough to interview an incredible woman, Zoey, about her experience with this topic. We spoke for nearly an hour about all of the ways that online harassment has affected us. As the full transcript was nearly 10,000 words (it was an hour long conversation, […]
A Troll by Any Other Name: Naming and defining *that* behavior on social media
What is trolling anyways? Or cyber harassment anyways? Or online harassment? Are these all terms for the same thing? Or perhaps it’s a ‘know it when you see it’ phenomenon? The term trolling was first coined by a woman named Whitney Phillips, an internet scholar, way back in the 1990s when the internet was still […]
Fieldnotes: Diving into the deep, dark, misogyny of Twitter
Why: Examining hashtags that have commonly been used to perpetuate misogynistic sentiment on various social media platforms in order to better understand the people I am studying. Where: Twitter What: I will start by saying I hated doing this fieldwork. I knew I would be uncomfortable going into it, as there is no way to look […]
The Feminization of Poverty
Poverty is a deep and broad phenomenon in the United States that affects millions of people each year. But in order to attempt to alleviate the damages that poverty creates it is necessary to first understand it, study it, and generate theory. Currently, there are dozens of theories to explain poverty and why it happens, […]
Curriculum: A Dialogue on Antisemitism
Background: Antisemitism is a growing phenomenon across the United States and Europe and college campuses are particularly vulnerable. But, strangely, there aren’t a lot of resources to teach this complex form of oppression at an age-appropriate level for college students. This is an attempt to bridge that gap. Goals: To understand the history of antisemitism and […]
A Dialogue on Antisemitism at American University
Last night, I had an amazing opportunity to hold a conversation on my campus about the prevalence of antisemitism on my campus. I am BLOWN AWAY by how incredible this dialogue turned out. Nearly 40 people from dozens of campus organizations and offices came. This included staff, students, and faculty, both Jewish and non-Jewish. The folks […]
Reanalyzing performance–How Kath Weston refutes performativity through an intersectional lens
In her book Gender in Real Time: Power and Transience in a Visual Age (2002) in a chapter titled “Do Clothes Make the Woman?: Performing in and out of Industrial Time,” anthropologist Kath Weston critically deconstructs the notions that gender exists only through individual acts of performance. Instead, by observing a lesbian prom held in […]
Celebrating the Modern Matriarchs
When we pray, we pray about the same four women: Sarah, Leah, Rebekah, Rachael. But this Women’s History Month, let’s celebrate the Jewish women whose shoulders we still stand on ourselves. Read my full post here! Thanks to The David Project for publishing my words!!
Annotated bibliography (in progress)
Below is a list of the first handful of sources I will be using for this project. These for sure will not wind up being the only sources I use, but they are a solid foundation for the type of research and investigation I will be conducting over the next few weeks. Bratu, Sofia. […]
The Need for College Feminism
I have often heard, mainly with notes of derision and dismissal, that colleges today are hyper-liberal institutions. Why is this seen as such a bad thing? Shouldn’t this not only be celebrated, but encouraged? Read what I have to say about college activism here! I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to guest-post for […]
Interview with The Eagle: University holds anti-Semitism seminars following appearance of anti-Semitic posters
This past week has been a whirlwind of emails, meetings, outreach, educating, conversing, and listening. But I am so proud to be making this important change on our campus, and I hope the work that I’m doing has a lasting impact on how AU talks about anti-Semitism and anti-Jewish oppression. Read more about my efforts […]
The (Brief) History of Oral Contraception
Check out this quick an dirty presentation on the medical history of birth control for my class, Women in American since 1850! Due to time constraints, not everything could be included in this presentation, but I highlighted a few of the key women, as this is a Women’s History class. https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/e/2PACX-1vQbXDGa_LnvmDbGA13kx4f5_HQMRKnTLrMyquCSGB3XeKIWoEhhwHiLceaEmAQ0H1vOBemd-bt4v9hT/pub?start=false&loop=false&delayms=3000
Zionist Feminists for the Resistance
Recently I’ve been noticing a trend of refusing activists from certain progressive spaces solely because they are Zionists. Not only is this a prejudiced snap-judgment, and frankly hurtful, it’s a detriment to progressive causes. Read what I have to say below. https://www.studentisraelity.com/home/zionist-feminists-for-the-resistance
Campus response to anti-Semitic postering leaves much to be desired
Earlier this week, my campus experienced another incident of bigoted postering by an outsider. The response by the campus? For the most part, resounding silence. Why are the Jewish students not receiving support and solidarity from other groups on campus claiming to care about intersectionality? Read what I have to say here.
Introduction: Women and Online Harassment
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be a woman on the internet nowadays? With trolls, bots, and ‘alt’ political party members, it can sometimes feel like a miracle that women choose to be on social media at all. Why do they stay? Why do they leave? What is it actually like to be […]
I Am Vashti
“I feel the weight of hundreds of women’s eyes on me, wide and shocked, waiting for me to respond. Weeks later, though I am alone, their eyes have not left me.” I wrote this Midrash* for Jewish Women International to give Vashti a much need voice in the conversation around her. I wanted to […]
Interview with Hillel International: Advocates for Inclusion
One year ago, I was asked by my campus’s Hillel to attend the annual Jewish Disability Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill. The day centered around policy and political advocacy. After a morning filled with panels, politicians, and networking, we got to lobby our representatives on the issue of disability. Here’s what I said to Hillel […]
Women’s emancipation versus women’s rights
There are fundamental differences between women’s rights and women’s emancipation. In the United States today, women, for the most part, have equal rights to men. Legally speaking, women are allowed to vote, own property, sue and be sued, and work. Women can inherit, women can keep their surnames after marriage, and women can own property […]
Interview with American University: Why I chose to march again for the Women’s March on Washington
To me, the link between Progressivism and Zionism is clear. But to many of today’s activists, Zionism is a reason for exclusion from progressive spaces. So why did I march again this year? Read my interview with American University’s College of Arts and Sciences here.
Interview with College Magazine: How to make anything sound positive in an interview
Job interviews can be intimidating. And not every trait you bring to the table is inherently either a strength or weakness. But with a few tricks, everything can sound positive. Read my full interview with College Magazine to find out how!
Interview with Washington Jewish Week: Why I chose to march in the 2018 Women’s March on Washington
The morning of the second Women’s March on Washington, I was asked by Washington Jewish Week my motives and thoughts on the movement. Here’s what I had to say.
Press Release: Working with Zioness Movement for the Women’s March 2018!
This year, I almost didn’t attend the Women’s March. After a lackluster response to rising incidents of anti-Semitism and negative anti-Zionist sentiment, I didn’t think there was a place for me as a progressive Zionist and a feminist Jew. Then, along came Zioness Movement. Check out the Zioness press release in regards to the Women’s March here!
It’s time for accessible Plan B at AU
Access to Emergency Contraception is an integral part of a student’s overall health and well-being. It is a necessary tool in a young person’s sexual health and American University should make it easier for the student body to access. Read more here.
Student debt disproportionately hurts women
How is student debt a feminist issue? How are women disproportionately affected by rising tuition costs? Check out what I had to say in my column for the Eagle here! This column also made it to the print edition of the paper.
Certificate: Race Equity in Practice: Learning From Impact Sites for Systems Change
On October 25th, CSAJ’s Impact Sites for Racial & Economic Equity, Enlance Communitario and Oklahoma City Artists for Justice, led a webinar to share their wisdom and approaches to addressing racial inequity for survivors. They discussed their challenges, context and concrete tools for responding to systemic bias, unequal access to resources, building community partnerships and […]
Webinar: Participated in AAUW’s student leader webinar
Every year, AAUW holds webinars for other Chapter leaders to hone their skills. This year, I was asked to participate alongside some other badass student leaders!
Lorde and Keating: Two Black feminist, two sides of the same coin
One of the most compelling aspects of the feminist movement is the diversity of thought and action from various women throughout feminism’s history. Decades of research, activism, hurdles, barriers, and victories for women have been a crucible for a wealth of curated knowledge from some of the world’s most brilliant minds. Two of those minds […]
Interview with College Magazine: 10 Activities at AU That Don’t Just Involve Rocking Red or Blue
In September of 2017, I was asked by College Magazine, what do I do at American Univerisity that doesn’t involve politics? I am proud to have been able to brag about my involvement with AAUW! Check out what I had to say here!
The Importance of Language and Terminology for Anti-Intimate Partner Violence Professionals and Victims.
It is easy (or perhaps, at least, easier) for those in academia to define, conceptualize, and describe intimate partner violence (IPV, also known as domestic violence (DV)). The pedagogical definition describes “physical, sexual, or psychological harm by a current or former partner or spouse. This type of violence can occur among heterosexual or same-sex couples […]
Certificate: Sustaining a Coordinated Community Response: Sexual Assault Response and Resource Teams (SARRT)
Because sexual assault is such a complex and sensitive crime, effective response to it requires a teamwork approach. As a result, many communities have sought to meet these coordination needs by establishing a Sexual Assault Response and Resource Team (SARRT). With such a model for coordination, each member of the team has distinct but interdependent […]
Certificate: Dynamics of Sexual Assault: What Does Sexual Assault Really Look Like?
Much of the thinking about sexual assault has not changed in the last 20-30 years because this thinking continues to reflect a number of myths and misconceptions about rape, rape victims, and rape perpetrators. This module examined those myths and misconceptions, the reasons for them, and how they affect the investigation of sexual assault. It […]
Book Review: The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman My rating: 5 of 5 stars This short story was incredible. The even tone was chilling and I highly recommend. This was initially published in 1899, and yet so many of the themes remain relevant and hold true, especially in today’s climate of uncertainty surrounding women’s rights. My […]
Reflections on the National Conference for College Women Student Leaders (NCCWSL) 2017
It has only been two days since I returned to the District after attending NCCWSL 2017, and I still haven’t fully processed how amazing it was.
AU, start supplying contraception for your student body
Contraception is a crucial health measure that all students should be able to take advantage of. I believe American University should supply it for free to the student body. Read my full argument in an op-ed for The Eagle here.
As you’ve probably realized at this point, this site is all about me! Here I’ll be posting my writings, thoughts, and other fun stuff along the way. Some of the things I post will be older works of mine, while others will be hot off the press. Stay tuned!
