Toxic

"What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger." "God only gives you as much as you can handle!" Toxic positivity is positivity that's taken a wrong turn. It dismisses our true feelings, minimizes what we're going through and leaves us with feelings of guilt for being unhappy. And it's typically rooted in someone else's uncomfortableness with vulnerability. In this episode, Jenna and Amanda unpack...

The audacity of men continues with Alex Jones, conspiracy theorist who denies peddling conspiracy theories about the Sandy Hook massacre to make millions after he was sued by the grieving parents for millions more, and Andrew Tate, a random dude who realized he could get other dudes to send him money if he started spouting violently sexist bullshit on social media. This is the world we live in (wa...

Enjoy this mini episode devoid of your typical a-hole-ish abusers to celebrate us making it to 50 episodes of Toxic! Get to know Jenna and Amanda, how Toxic came to be and why Jenna can't cook a pizza in an efficient manner. Thank you for your support over 50 episodes of calling out and shutting down toxic masculinity poster boys. Here's to 50 more and counting....because, unfortunately, there's n...

All the women above, all women of color, were murdered in the last few weeks by men who decided that dealing with their feelings was just too much work and opted for a brutal homicide instead. So, you know, eff those guys.  Femicide is the killing of women because they're women, and that encompasses the majority of domestic violence homicide. Worldwide, every 11 minutes a woman or girl is killed b...

When abusive partners have access to guns, female partners are 500 percent more at risk for homicide. So in 2015 when police came to get Scott Bland's guns after his wife was granted an order of protection, confiscating 73 of his 74 guns wasn't their best call. Especially after he had explicitly informed his wife and the mother of his two children that he was going to kill her. "Looking back on it...

Last week, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade because it will never personally affect them so who cares and declared states could make their own decisions about whether or not uterus-owners should be allowed bodily autonomy. States across the country immediately said, "Bodily autonomy what? Anyone with a vagina does not deserve such a luxury!" Abortion was outlawed or made extremely difficul...

Happy Pride! While we celebrate all the LBGTQ+ community has done simply to survive and be who they are, let's also talk for just a minute (or 60) about the fact that queer folk are not always given the same protections by law enforcement and the criminal justice system when it comes to disclosing abuse and assault. Domestic violence is just as predominant among LGBTQ+ as cisgender-hetero folks, b...

Well, it's been a crap few weeks and, frankly, we don't need your optimism over here. Unless you're Tarana Burke, then bring it on. In this episode, Jenna and Amanda touch on the shitstorm of late and why bragging about not paying attention to the Depp/Heard trial while clamoring for stricter gun control isn't actually a flex—the two issues are intricately related and we need to stop one issue to...

So many of us are worried and angry about a woman's right to make choices regarding her own body possibly being taken away, maybe in less than a month (ugh), but let us take comfort in the fact that there are med students and practicing physicians lining up to make sure they're trained in abortion and reproductive healthcare for women many thanks to the international nonprofit, Medical Students fo...

It's the episode where we can't pull it together 30 minutes in to switch gears so, just, forgive us for that. Also, Jenna nicknames the abuser in this week's story "Hot Carl" not because he's at all attractive but because it literally means shit and just trust us on this and don't Google it.  This week, we have to start off by talking about the Depp/Heard defamation trial, not from a choosing-side...

Even though Florida created the "Stand Your Ground" law to allow people to protect themselves when a violent individual threatens them on their property, this law apparently does not apply to women attacked by abusive ex-partners. Go figure. When Marissa Alexander fired a warning shot into a wall near her husband who had just told her he was going to kill her, she was arrested and sentenced to 20...

Hey, it's a Spotlight episode. What's that, you ask? Well, it's like a headlamp, but bigger. And today, Jenna and Amanda are aiming it in the direction of victim blaming. It's one of the reasons abusers, assaulters and other toxic individuals continue to feel empowered to do what they do. "Because no one will believe you," they threaten survivors. And they're not always lying. Victim blaming is of...

We start with talking about the obviously problematic Florida "Don't Say Gay" bill and how it's once again rooted in power and control. (We love you, LGBTQ+ youth, and so do so many others.) Next, Amanda talks about a story she covered for the A&E True Crime Blog on Ellen Greenberg, a 27-year-old first grade teacher who allegedly stabbed herself more than 20 times back in 2011 and officials ruled...

This is the incredible story of Kim Dadou Brown who spent nearly two decades in prison after her abusive boyfriend tried to kill her and she fought back in order to save her life. Unfortuantely, her story is not unique—an estimated 90% of women behind bars have been abused by an intimate partner. On average, according to the ACLU, women serve an average of 15 years for killing a partner while men...

First off, happy 1-year anniversary to us. We're celebrating by making you some stuff, so stay tuned. Next, Roblox, the video game 200 million people play every day, not at all shockingly, counts child predators among its fans. And those child predators are targeting....wait for it...children. A recap of some stellar reporting that showed Roblox doesn't give very many shits that this is happening...

In this episode, Amanda and Jenna talk about the allegations of Chris Noth being a rapist (damn it, Mr. Big, you were only supposed to be a fictional a-hole), and Apple's AirTags that stalkers everywhere are celebrating for making their hobby easier (fanfuckingtastic). After that, we break down the details of the Vanessa Guillén murder from 2020. After telling her mom and a few close friends that...

In 2014, a 22-year-old man reached the height of violent male entitlement and decided to go on a killing spree because women weren't giving him the sex, even after he put on his best creepy smile to try and flirt. Elliot Rodger killed six individuals and injured 14 more before taking his own life. Jenna and Amanda delve into how this isn't a gun-control problem, this is a toxic masculinity problem...

Jenna tried online dating for about 12 hours and promptly deleted it, mostly because of the overwhelming number of fish-holding men on Bumble. After that, we get into more serious topics, namely what just happened in Waukesha, Wisconsin, our home state, on Nov. 21. How our slacking criminal justice system let accused murderer Darrell Brooks go on a $1,000 bail (for running over a woman with his ca...

Sometimes it seems like the best advice we can give women who are trapped with an abusive partner is to get out, and get out now. And grab an order of protection on your way out. It's solid advice, and a good start, but it's not a fail-safe plan. Abusive partners hell-bent on controlling a victim no matter what are the most dangerous kind and we need to start holding them accountable as such. In t...

Yeah, this is a rule we need to discuss. Women who attend any of the military academies in the U.S. have to choose between expulsion, abortion or permanently serving their parental rights if they become pregnant during the four years they're enrolled. Melissa Hemphill was a cadet at the Air Force Academy in 2009 when she became pregnant and faced this bevy of tough to tougher choices. Melissa gene...

Oh, what do you know, another toxic male decided to do toxic things and didn't assume there'd be any repurcussions. Wayne Couzens is (was) a UK cop who pretended to arrest Sarah Everard this past March then made the horrendous decision to rape and murder her. We delve into how that's spurred a misguided outcry for even more policing (not necessarily the answer). But first, we talk the new Netflix...

The 2021 Women's March for Reproductive Freedom was reason enough for Toxic hosts Amanda and Jenna to convene in the same state for 48 hours it was very exciting slash ridiculous. In this mini-episode, we recap the march, discuss something called "progressive feminist groups" (spoiler: they're not feminists), give you an angering update on survivor Robin from last week's episode and talk about the...

First, let's talk headlines: Brian Laundrie is guilty AF, right? And also, why are we not looking for allllll the missing women? Secondly, when an abuser threatens homicide, we need to take that as seriously as someone saying "bomb" in an airport. Example number one million: Derek Thebo, the toxic a-hole who killed his son and himself to no doubt torture his estranged wife. After that, the next to...

This past week, Texas decided women can't possibly make rational decisions for their own bodies so they made some laws to guide them. In other words, they removed a woman's right to bodily autonomy under the auspice of caring for "the unborn," restricting any abortion after six weeks which is often well before a woman knows she's pregnant. The unconstitutional law conveniently left men out of the...

In July 2021, a man named Leslie Scarlett opened fire on two paramedics, then on firefighters trying to put out a house fire he started, as well as the neighbors who ran over to help. Inside the house, police would later discover his girlfriend's body. Local police say Scarlett was suffering from "a mental health crisis" and once again, accountability for one's actions is deflected with the I-coul...