If I Were A Campus Tour Guide…
Walking out of class most days I’ll cross paths with a campus tour guide, giving their barely-paid spiel to the unsuspecting parents and students, about how star-studded awesome this university is. I always smile, just a bit when I see them, because you see I have this great fever dream, of just skipping up behind them, […]
Shortcomings: Not Your Model Minority
WARNING: Heavily Spoilers Past This Point I “Shortcomings” is a movie about an ass****. As the film opens, we’re introduced to the main character, Ben Tanaka, doing what he does best: hating. In the IDGAF (I don’t give a f***) wars, Ben fought valiantly on the side of giving a f***. But he didn’t just […]
An Extension of You
Last weekend I woke up from a night out and there were roughly six bags, ranging from purses to totes, sprawled out on my bedroom floor. The crocheted purse held my keys, wallet, and red lipstick. The “1-800 INK MAG” tote held my computer, journal, and doodles.
Ram City Market Is a Contradiction
My gut reaction of disbelief rolled straight into panic as I ran down the road. I had not just trudged through what felt like an hour-long walk to just sit back and watch my milk carton roll into the street to be forsaken. As I raced across the road seizing my carton from the impending doom of a rogue Richmond driver, I regretted trusting that flimsy plastic Kroger bag. I just wanted to have cereal.
Written in the Stars: Confessions from the Zodiac Signs
Astrology is a steamy topic, it incites rage from some and passion from others. Personally, I believe in it. It’s a fun, little pastime that allows insight into the behaviors of others. “What’s your big 3?” This question, which could be a wee bit annoying to some, has made it into my process of getting to know anyone new. As an Aries sun, who is always eager to learn about the ones I love, this ritual is essential to making new friends. Is your chart fire and air dominant like mine? Do we both have cardinal risings? Are we compatible, and you’re my new love interest? I simply must know! I wanted to see what others thought about astrology, specifically how they viewed their signs and the ones of others. Featuring the thoughts of VCU students, which I collected through anonymous submissions on our Instagram @ink_magazine, we explore the things written in the stars and how astrology forms the people we are today.
Mangled Dressings
The accompanying photoshoot to article, “What is the Male Gaze, Actually?”
What is the Male Gaze, Actually?
The woman on the screen is smooth. It is almost violating, the way the camera creeps along her skin. Its centipede legs tickle and invade, tracing along shiny curls and a single, bare leg. Her feet are arched and heeled. If we reached up, out of our velvet movie theater seats and through the projector’s pixels, she would smell like sex and prize money. The leading man gets her at the end and we do too, like a present. Like a dog. She is the trophy for all our hard-earned gravitas. After shooting down all those planes, killing all those spies or saving everyone from a burning building, a man must receive his due. It comes gift-wrapped by the director in a gratuitous sex scene. If only there were a fifty-cent word to describe such a phenomenon!
The Descending Heel of Fascism: Drag Bans and the Assault on Trans Bodies
On December 23rd, Tennessee’s House of Representatives passed House Bill 09, one of numerous laws being proposed around the nation criminalizing crossdressing that have come to be known as “drag bans.” The bill was signed by the governor on March 2, going into effect on July 1. While Tennessee is the first to sign a bill like this into law they are not alone in their targeting of drag; bills have been proposed in at least 14 states, including Texas, West Virginia, and Missouri.
How to: Ramadan Respect
5:30 A.M. groaning as your siblings, mom, or alarm wake you up WAY earlier than you are supposed to. You throw the blankets off of yourself, stumbling into the kitchen. Deciding what to eat for breakfast while still bleary-eyed, almost burning yourself with the stove because you have to eat eggs and turkey bacon for […]
Uncanny Vernacularity: Connection Through Collection
Postage stamps, bottle caps, teeth, fast food toys, stuffed creatures, hair, medical oddities, coins, trading cards, clothing, and barbed wire; it’s no secret that humans are collective creatures.
To Be Young, Nerdy, and Black
I lived out my early years in the retro arcades of Trinidad, and the video rental stores where my older siblings and I got our anime DVDs; some were probably pirated, but we were just happy to have them. That began my exposure to all things nerdy, and in the eclectic island of multiple cultures, I formed a persona as a being who was unashamed of their interests, geeky as they may be.
Find Your Peace and the Birds Will Come
The death of a loved one does not mean the death of a relationship. The nature of love is plastic and, like literal plastic, may never disappear completely. We can adopt new practices to fill the gaps left by a loss to allow the connection to live on.