Eryn Rhodes
(she/her/hers)
Eryn is a fourth year double majoring in History and Women, Gender, & Sexuality Studies. Passionate about exploring the gender politics behind our media, legal frameworks, and policy decisions, Eryn writes to challenge the conventional. She hopes to go into policy advocacy or political journalism following her graduation. Outside of IRIS, Eryn is an Executive Editor and Co-Founder of the Virginia Undergraduate Law Review, an avid reader, and an equestrian.
To the everyday people I encounter– my parents’ co-worker, the friend of a friend, that one politics department alumni, and a handful of people in my extended family, Stop asking me what I’m going to do with my Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies major.
When I was in high school, I looked very different. I had short, manic-pixie-dream-girl-esq hair after cutting my long, blonde waves to a bob in the middle of my sophomore year.
Texas has its gubernatorial election this November. As a Texan and Virginian, I keep talking about the election. No one seems to care about the results. Texas can’t– or won’t– change. Why does it matter?
At the University of Virginia, the Instagram account @barstooluva has amassed thousands of followers.
As the ocean wind blew over the marsh, Brennan began to regret leaving his umbrella at home.
When I listen to the radio, I can’t help but sing along, even when I know I shouldn’t—like when I hear a catchy tune littered with sexualized imagery and glittering misogyny.
I am quite fond of living on a stage. Curating my thoughts for consumption, I love seeing myself in the reactions of others.
But now the awkward interaction with a barista, the stress of an upcoming exam, the slow-motion neon lights in a crowded bar are mine alone, no longer processed and packaged stories to liven someone else’s day.