I’ve always believed in the power of stories. When I was little, one of my favorite bedtime stories was a book by Margery Williams called The Velveteen Rabbit. One of the lessons the story teaches is the value and importance of being a genuine person. That lesson has stuck with me throughout the years and I’m thankful for that. Stories have the power to teach life lessons, provide clarity on an issue, help people overcome their fears, and renew hope in tired souls. Stories are magic. Stories are everything.
In the recent wake of sexual harassment and assault accusations leveled at several high-profile men including producer Harvey Weinstein, (ex) Amazon executive Roy Price, actor Steven Seagal, filmmaker Brett Ratner, and comedian Louis C.K., people are taking to social media to voice their anger and confusion over the incidents. While a majority of women aren’t all that shocked by the recent allegations, many men seem genuinely unaware that sexual abuse of this nature has been an ongoing issue for women everywhere and these takedowns are just the tip of the iceberg. Of course, in a world still largely dedicated to protecting and promoting the interests of men, the issues for 21st century women run even deeper than sexual harassment and abuse in the workplace.
Thankfully, two bold young women have taken to the Internet, creating pseudo-fictional Instagram characters whose satirical and often humorous posts are empowering thousands of women. Meanwhile, the men who follow these posts are given an eye-opening glimpse into the world of women and any previous misconceptions about feminism are put to rest. Get to know these two pioneers of online feminism and their stories below!
A Girl Called Yellow
I discovered @theyellowhairedgirl a.k.a. Yellow, as she refers to herself on Instagram, two years ago when a friend of mine tagged me in one of her posts. I was immediately fascinated with the anonymous Yellow’s story and her avatar featuring American pop artist Roy Lichtenstein’s iconic “Girl With Hair Ribbon” painting. She seemed like a very funny girl who was also a little bit sad and frustrated with the current state of affairs between men and women. Over the past two years, Yellow’s posts have covered a wide range of issues including common misconceptions about feminism (feminists can be feminine too!), modern dating woes (internet dating, ghosting, blind dates), sexual harassment in the workplace, body image, as well as “taboo” topics like periods, panic attacks, and mental health. She also hosts a website www.curiousxxxfemale.com that gives the illusion of a porn website complete with livechat sidebars and videos of lingerie-clad girls sitting on couches interview-style. A random visitor to the site might assume, upon clicking a video, that he or she is about to witness a male casting agent receiving a blowjob from a desperate young girl trying to break into the adult film industry. To the visitor’s surprise, each video instead depicts a conversation between the girl sitting on the couch and the blurred-face man sitting across from her. The conversations consist of the man asking the girl to share her thoughts and feelings about everyday topics as opposed to performing degrading acts in order to land the job. The Curious XXX Female videos have received nearly 3 million views to date.
As I’ve watched Yellow’s audience grow from a mere 20K followers to currently 80K+ followers, I’ve noticed men beginning to follow and engage with her posts and I think that’s really saying something about her sincerity, humor, and relatability. This past year, the woman behind @theyellowhairedgirl revealed herself to be Leah Rachel, a thirty-one year old Los Angeles based writer and actress. Leah has a book deal in the works as well as television projects in development at Sony and HBO.
Kiara Delacroix is La Princesa
Kiara Delacroix, the 26-year old woman who goes by the Instagram moniker @eatingboys and looks something like a real-life anime doll, could easily be mistaken for “just another Internet slut” due to the overtly sexual themes displayed in many of her posts. However, deeper perusal reveals an extremely intelligent and poetic young lady who is fed up with the modern male-female dynamic, especially when it comes to sex and love.
Kiara’s posts offer her audience a satirical glimpse into the emotional aches and pains that are a rite of passage into girl world. The story she weaves throughout her posts covers numerous topics such as the dichotomy of sex and love, the objectification of women, slut-shaming, ethnic stereotyping, intimacy issues, the ecstasy and agony of the sacred crush, and female empowerment during sex. In one of my favorite posts, she tells women, “don’t rawdog him unless you would be proud to have a son exactly like him.” Kiara’s audience currently boasts nearly 40K followers, while Kiara herself remains largely anonymous outside of her personification as @eatingboys.