Christine Salek

Bio

Christine is a writer and perpetual student living in Des Moines, Iowa. Her writing can also be found on Medium, the Gonzaga Bulletin, and ResearchGate.
Throughout college, I always assumed I would segue straight from my undergraduate studies to graduate school without a break in between. I figured that maintaining an academic mindset over the summer, as I always had, would serve me best as I…
E.L. James' infamous Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy challenged the world's view of erotic literature, a genre often dismissed for its sexual or "smutty" themes, as it quickly topped the New York Times bestseller list and pushed erotica into the…
In spite of certain politicians and groups denouncing the value of comprehensive sex education in schools, the statistics don't lie: In California, the teenage pregnancy rate has decreased by 60% in the last 20 years. The trend is heavily…
As the Texas abortion debate continued on Tuesday night, several familiar terms kept creeping back into the vernacular of certain Republican representatives. And, as such, the contradictions and rule-breaking that have become commonplace in this…
As Governor Rick Perry's second special session continued in Texas on Monday night, thousands of people showed up in Austin to testify at the Senate committee hearing for the Senate's incarnation of the omnibus anti-abortion bill, Senate Bill…
In 1983, the Big Ten Conference established a women's Athlete of the Year award and later named it after Suzy Favor Hamilton, a University of Wisconsin middle distance runner and alumna who followed her illustrious college career with three…
Even after a yearlong federal investigation into the University of Montana's beleaguered sexual harassment policy ended with the university acknowledging its past discrimination against women and improving its response system, Sen. John McCain…
California took a huge step toward transgender equality on Wednesday as lawmakers passed AB-1266, which requires K-12 schools to allow students to join sports teams, participate in sex-segregated activities, and use facilities consistent with their…
A new online campaign started by the LGBT athlete network GO! Athletes called "Fighting 4 Fallon" is challenging its participants to educate the world about trans issues in the name of mixed martial-arts fighter Fallon Fox. By respectfully…
We've all finished a book and immediately thought, "Wow, I'd love to see this on the big screen." Sometimes the results are awesome (especially when the book's author is a big part of the production team). Other times, that's unfortunately not the…
Pro-life supporters around the country have chosen #Stand4Life as their Twitter hashtag to support the passage of the Texas abortion bill that would ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy and shut down all but 5 clinics in the state that provide…
It's understandable that if you're not GNC or a FAAB, you might not even know what the first part of this sentence means. But that's why this list is here — to introduce you to these nine gender and sexuality acronyms you might not know about!…
There are over 1.1 million people living with HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) in the United States alone — but one in five of them have no idea they are infected. While some people develop flu-like symptoms within a few weeks of contracting the…
In the wake of Paula Deen's admission of her casual racism and her consequential firing by the Food Network, a new Twitter hashtag emerged: #PaulaDeenTVShows. The fictional TV show titles range from spoofs of current shows to original jabs at her…
Maddy Blythe is a middle school student who, like many kids her age, plays sports for her school's athletics program. The 12-year-old was a starting player who recorded several excellent excellent plays for her team, even receiving standing ovations…
In the wake of some awesome things happening in the name of challenging societal gender roles, we have Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.) to bring us back down to earth. During his speech on the Defense of Marriage Act speech on Tuesday, Gingrey told his…
Summer means long days, cool drinks, and the good ol' State Fair. While the state fair is a quintessential part of many Americans' summers, some states do things a little differently: some host two fairs (usually spring and fall), and one even hosts…
Hudson Taylor's story at the University of Maryland doesn't start with his advocacy for LGBT rights — it starts with wrestling. A three-time All-American in the sport, Taylor could have completely enclosed himself in the wrestling culture and not…
While the WNBA's Brittney Griner continues to establish herself as one of the top athletes in the game, her awe-inspiring presence doesn't disappear when the game ends. Since becoming the first openly gay athlete to have been endorsed by Nike,…
When 200 undergraduates at Cambridge University sat for a three-hour criminal law exam on Saturday, they were probably expecting the misery associated with such a long exam to entirely consume their day. But when students reached the ninth question,…