Silvie Vale

A gendered perspective on the forced and coerced sterilization of transgender individuals and...

Exploring the Meaning of Gender - Impakter

It is becoming increasingly common to hear the word "gender" in our daily lives. Whether on TV, in the newspapers or on social media platforms, everyone at some point is confronted with it. But what does gender actually mean? What does it imply and how is it part of our everyday actions?

Forced and Coerced Sterilization: The Nightmare of Transgender and Intersex Individuals - Impakter

Looking back in history, forced and coerced sterilization has been used as a means to implement policies aimed at population growth control, or even with the purpose of attaining a "superior" genetic race. In the U.S., between 1973 and 1976, the Government admitted to having ordered the forced sterilization of 3,406 Native American women , and between 2006 and 2010, 148 were forcibly sterilized in California prisons.

Together Towards a World Free From Gender-Based Violence - Impakter

Note from the Editor: This featured post is a collaboration with Silvia di Paolo, SUPERNATURE. The slogan "You've come a long way, baby" aimed at young professional women to entice them to smoke, was probably one of the most meretricious of the many clever marketing campaigns built on the soaring women's emancipation movements that had started in the 1960s in the United States.

Is Fashion More Than Vanity? - Impakter

Over the years, with the acknowledgment that gender is not inherently natural but rather socially constructed, its definition is becoming more ambiguous. Consequently, we are seeing many societies, mostly in the West, where the commonly known "male" and "female" gender roles are surrounded by uncertainties in which the line that separates and that defines both gender identities is not as clear as it was in the past.

FLAVNT - A Place to Call Home - Impakter

Through fashion and dressing people communicate to the world who they are and how they want to be perceived. In essence, this is the way we present our identity. Additionally, individuals' clothing choices and style influence the notions of gender and can be used to carve a broader understanding about the diversity of identities that exist.

A Front-line Fighter Against Sex Trafficking in Cambodia

Human trafficking, also known as modern slavery, is one of the most horrific crimes committed against human beings, and according to the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime ( UNODC), it affects all countries from around the world.

Truth or Dare? Reflections on Ethiopia's Drought Crisis

Presently, more than 10 million people in Ethiopia are facing serious risks of hunger. http://gty.im/2638737 It is hard to imagine that in the 21st century, where 222 million tons of food are wasted in developed countries annually, corresponding to almost as much as the net food production in Sub-Saharan Africa, millions of people still don't have enough food to survive.

War on Civilians in South Sudan

In 2011, after decades of conflicts, South Sudan was born. Despite the fact of being the most recent country in the world, South Sudan already has a tremendous record of war and violence. The country's current conflict that began in December 2013 is marked by thousands of civilian deaths, which in most cases are motivated on ethnical or political reasons.

The Inconvenient Truth About Westerners' Solidarity

Last Friday evening, gunmen and suicide bombing attacks were carried out in several places in Paris that victimized hundreds of people, from which at least 127 have died. The next morning, almost all the newspapers and magazines featured the attacks. Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms were filled with support messages.

Behind Superstition in Nigeria

Earlier this year, the image of a starving toddler receiving water from an aid worker in the streets of Nigeria went viral. The picture was useful in raising awareness about the harmful superstitions existing in the country and therefore gaining momentum in the fight against them.

Machine Gun - Jimi Hendrix

Machine Gun is one of the masterpieces of the great rock guitar legend Jimi Hendrix. It is a song that beautifully demonstrates how art can be used to express the spoils of war. Machine Gun exhibits Hendrix's disapproval regarding the Vietnam War.

Androgynous - Challenging the Gender Norms in the 80's

Androgynous, is a song by The Replacements, and part of their album Let it Be, first released in 1984. The song was written by Paul Westerberg, the band's guitarist and lead singer. Androgynous is a song about love.

Wind of Change - Scorpions

Wind of Change is one of the biggest hit singles of all times, and certainly one of the greatest songs from the German band Scorpions. The origins of the song date back to a performance in Moscow in 1989 at the Music Peace Festival, a two day hard-rock event that included the participation of prominent musicians such as Ozzy Osbourne, Skid Row and Mötley Crüe.

Zombie - The Cranberries

In 1994, the Irish Rock Band "The Cranberries" launched one of the greatest protest songs from the 90's - "Zombie". The huge success of the song made it reach the 1 st place on the Australian, Belgian, German and Danish charts. Additionally, it was considered the "Best Song" in the MTV Europe Music Awards in 1995.

Another Way to Die - Disturbed

Another Way to Die was the first single of the fifth album Asylum from the American heavy metal band Disturbed. It was released in 2010 and was intended to raise awareness and protest against global warming and the greed " Our endless maniacal appetite " that characterizes the capitalist world.