THE ART OF SAYING 'NO'

"College is the time when everyone experiences those things such as sex and fun and pleasure. But in those years I've had to rot in loneliness. It's not fair. You girls have never been attracted to me. I don't know why you girls aren't attracted to me. But I will punish you all for it,"

The last time I heard of University College of Santa Barbara was on Hannah Montana circa 2011. As I scrolled down my tumblr dashboard last night I came across the name again, only in a less comical tone. May 23rd saw a killing spree committed by Elliot Rodger who took the lives of at least 6 young people. Prior to the attack Rodger posted a video on YouTube in which he classed his act as one of retribution. Whilst watching the video I realised that I was listening to somebody who has been failed by our society. Not because he couldn't get laid, but because he had been taught that he, as a male, deserved to. Elliot Rodger was acting in retribution for being denied sex from girls - what we have here is a victim of the friend zone:

THE S WORD

"She's such a slut!"

Aged 12, I overheard this being spat out as I walked down the school garden path. It was my second year in an all girls' school and (surprisingly) the first time I had heard the word being said in 'real life'. Standing before me were two girls ejecting a succession of hate-filled words about their (coincidentally absent) peer. That same night I found myself sitting at the desktop and typing the four letters into the urban dictionary search bar - s l u t:

SHOW ME THE LEG

How Media Failed Women 2013

While fulfilling my role as a middle class teenager by watching 'Have I Got News For You' on Sunday evening, my attention was caught at the mention of the name Susanna Reid. Going to school at stupid o'clock every morning leaves me with incredibly small opportunity, if any, to watch breakfast TV so my knowledge was as limited as anybody's when last year's Strictly star was brought into conversation.