Let's be honest-- there are more than a fair share of celebrities, actors, and musicians who are not a great influence. You know who they are. Sure, we love to sing along to them on the radio and or watch E! for their next big scandal-- but certainly you wouldn't want a daughter, a sister, a friend to emulate their behavior. I think we give those people enough attention, but we don't give the good, strong, powerful, compassionate women enough praise.

Are there more? Absolutely!  I challenge you to find a fearless woman that inspires you! If you don't recognize some of these women, I challenge you to read their story, see what they have done, and why I believe they are positive role models.

What about men? Certainly there are men that have been supportive of women and girls:

I couldn't do this post without talking about those celebrities who think the F-word is dirty. Not that F-word. I'm talking about feminism. Actress Shailene Woodley said in an interview that she doesn’t consider herself a feminist “because I love men.” Singer Katy Perry had the following response to being asked if she is a feminist: "A feminist? Uh, yeah, actually. I used to not really understand what that word meant, and now that I do, it just means that I love myself as a female and I also love men."

There's the problem! Being a feminist simply means you believe that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. One doesn't trump the other & women aren't out to get more power than men, simply equal power.

Think we missed someone important? Or disagree with someone we listed? Let us know!

I know, I know—we’re all super tired of hearing about Robin Thicke and his antics, but we really couldn’t ignore this any longer. Let’s start back from the beginning and work our way through the madness that is Robin Thicke.

March 2013: If you haven’t heard Blurred Lines, you must be living under a rock. While the song had a pretty catchy tune (it’s okay, we can admit it), it caused quite the controversy. With lines like “And that's why I'm gon' take a good girl. I know you want it” and “I hate these blurred lines. I know you want it” and a video that showed women nude, Thicke was charged with dismissing & propagating rape culture. Survivors of sexual assault came forward indicating that the very  lyrics of the song “I know you want it” were used by their rapists. Thicke denied any claims he was supporting rape and said his song was a “feminist movement in itself.”

February 2014: Thicke and his wife, Paula Patton split. Allegations surround him cheating on her repeatedly with other women. Guess Paula decided she did not, in fact, want it. Since their split, Thicke has apologized to Patton with a number of public appeals for her to return to him.

June 2014: Thicke’s newest video has just been released titled Get her Back. The video shows a number of text messages allegedly between Thicke and the woman in the video (who looks suspiciously JUST LIKE estranged wife Paula Patton—but we’re sure that’s just a coincidence, right??). At some points in the video, the Patton look-alike is drowning in water and is shown with a day of the dead mask over her face and Thicke is covered in bruises and marks on his face. The video ends with Thicke walking away with the text message reading “this is only the beginning.” Creepy—right?!

July 2014: For some reason, VH1 decided to hold a Twitter Q+A with Thicke and the Twitter world definitely took the opportunity to tell Thicke how they really feel about his sexist lyrics and stalker tendencies. Check out #AskThicke for the scoop.

What's the big deal? Every girl likes getting attention when they're walking down the sidewalk, driving in their car, or out with their friends right??

For many girls, women, and people that identify as LGBTQ, street harassment is a daily reality. "According to the CDC, "non-contact unwanted sexual experiences," including street harassment, are the most prevalent form of sexual violence for both men and women in the United States."* Street harassment can include sexual comments (or comments about specific body parts), honking, whistling, groping, flashing, and others. And for most, it's not much of a compliment. When asked how it makes them feel, common responses have been angry, irritated, or disgusted. Some even said it makes them fearful of being out alone and makes them change their route to avoid the harassment. Girls and women are expected to like the attention and are further called names (prude or b***h) when don't respond positively or when they ask the harasser to stop.

So what do YOU think? Big deal or not? What can YOU do to combat the street harassment?


*For more information about an organization seeking to stop street harassment in NY & for the information presented in this blog visit: Hollaback

February 11th is national WEAR ORANGE day! Orange is the color that represents teen dating violence awareness. Wear ORANGE this February 11th to show support for healthy relationships for our teens! Share with everyone why you're wearing orange!

That's right! You have the chance to win an iPad Mini just for using your favorite app!

We wanna know-- what does a healthy relationship look like to you?? It's as easy as submitting your entry by tagging @safeandrespectful in your photo by February 15th, 2014.

Be sure to read the full list of rules and instructions to make sure your entry counts:
Click here for rules, regulations, and instructions!

Don't use Instagram? You can also submit your entry to safeandrespectful@gmail.com.

Good luck!