Vanilla

By: Third Year UTK Student

I’m not a very exciting person. I’m a heterosexual female with fairly normal heterosexual relationship. I’m some mixture of tradition and progressive Christian. I support equal rights. I enjoy spending time with my family, who I am fairly sure love my boyfriend more than me. I’ve read 50 Shades of Grey (which incidentally makes for excellent reading before I move to the New Testament) and enjoyed it quite a bit. Seriously, I will never look at elevators the same again.

Friend Zone, When the Beat Should Probably Stop, and a haiku

By: UTK Grad Student

One of the phrases that I’ve heard on a growing basis is the term “friend zone.” I can understand feeling upset that the girl or boy you had your eye set on doesn’t feel the same way towards you… but that’s their choice! To me, the term “friend zone” gives the thought that, due to you being friendly (showing attention and the like) you are obligated to reciprocate the affection. Like they “owe” you a relationship.

Rocking Teal Eyeliner

By: A UTK Grad Student

I only started wearing make-up on a daily basis around six months ago … right around the time I started seriously reading feminist lit, following blogs, and forming my own opinions on the subject. I hadn’t realized how many features of day-to-day life I’d assumed were just “how things are” were actually functions of deeper societal pressures and expectations.

It had always been presented to me as a dichotomy: either I was smart, or I was a girl. Smart girls didn’t spend time applying make-up, and girls who did must not want to be taken seriously. Making it worse, I was a chubby, geeky teenager with a slight acne problem who spent her lunch hours in the library and used words like “diction” and “presumptuous” in everyday speech. The cards were kind of stacked against me to begin with, and so growing up, “smart” was really all I had going for me. I was terrified to do anything that could undermine it.

Afraid

By: Third Year UTK Student

I’m afraid of the feelings he gives me.
I’m afraid of how honest I am with him.
I’m afraid of how much I like his friends.
I’m afraid of how far into my life I imagine him there.
I’m afraid of the lack of control I have when I’m around him.
I’m afraid of how beautiful I find the sound of his heartbeat.
I’m afraid of how much I like the feeling of his head on my chest.
I’m afraid of how good it feels when he gets rough in the bedroom.

But I’ve never been less afraid of love.

Oral Satisfaction

By: First Year UTK Student

There is nothing a guy wants more from someone than a blowjob. Cuddling during a movie, making out in the bed of his truck, or having sex on a kitchen table, he still wants some good, old-fashion oral action. No, guys aren’t pigs who lack emotion and cute, romantic gestures. They just really love blowjobs, and that’s okay. Through my experience, I’ve learned that guys want one under any circumstances.