Teen Voices

Changing the media landscape one byline at a time. Girl-produced news for a global audience. #BeHeard

Hybrid Publishers Give Teen Girls Chance to Become Novelists

By Smrithi U ● Teen Voices ● May 8, 2017

These publishers are taking a chance on teen writers and giving them opportunities to sign book deals, unlike many traditional publishers. “So many people frown upon” teen writers, says the founder of one hybrid publisher.

Latest in Teen Voices

‘Pro-Ana’ Blogs Continue Despite New Online Policies

By Sarah Emily Baum ● Teen Voices ● April 24, 2017

Even with new rules by social media platforms to prevent pro-eating disorder sites, these “pro-ana” blogs keep popping up. “We just make new blogs, new posts and new tags,” one teen said.

Massachusetts School Club Takes Aim at Assaults in Boarding Schools

By Adeleke McMillan ● Teen Voices ● April 20, 2017

Boarding schools don’t have to comply with Title IX regulations that protect students from an unsafe school environment. One student said victims at boarding schools deal with sexual assault “any way they can, but the administration makes that hard when it’s such a taboo subject.”

Disability Complicates Mother-Daughter Relationship

By Sylvia Colt-Lacayo ● Teen Voices ● April 17, 2017

Writer Sylvia Colt needs her mother to bathe and dress her, but that doesn’t mean she also doesn’t want to kick her in the nose sometimes.

Some Girls Reject Term ‘Feminist’ Over ‘Equalist’ in Ireland

By Majella Votta ● Teen Voices ● April 6, 2017

Feminism has “derailed” into a self-entitled, ‘our turn at the wheel,’ hateful and illogical organization,” said one Irish teen, who, like many of her classmates, prefer to be identified as an “equalist.”

Teens Ask, Where Are the Girls with Disabilities in Pop Culture?

By Emily Flores ● Teen Voices ● April 3, 2017

As a teen girl with a disability, Emily Flores sees no television or movie characters who resemble her. One reason may be the hurdles actresses with disabilities face in getting work.

Female Teens Cosplay for Self-Expression, Community

By Fareen Ali ● Teen Voices ● March 27, 2017

Teen girls often get into cosplay, or costume play, for the creative expression and community it provides. But they can also face infantilization and harassment from outsiders. As a teenage girl, you always have to be careful,” says one cosplayer.

Viral Video Exposes Cultural Response to Rape in Tunisia

By Tharwa Boulifi ● Teen Voices ● March 20, 2017

A high school theater piece in Tunisia reveals what girls there consider the double victimization of rape. “I think it’s time for the Tunisian society to understand that a shotgun marriage will never be the solution for rape,” one girl says.

Teen Longed to be ‘Star Wars’ Rey, Settled for Leia

By Molly Pifko ● Arts & Culture ● March 13, 2017

Kenyan Girl Rejected by Schools for Her Disability

By Miriam Wangui Wanjiku ● Teen Voices ● March 1, 2017

A young Kenyan thanks her schools for the medicine, confidence and education provided after local options rejected her because she has a disability.