Published Work

"My published work is limited to a few nonfiction articles I'd written when I was in undergrad. So far, that is!" - Kody Cowell

Practicing Playfulness

Published Work, MazingMag, June 28th, 2019

A friend and I spent a recent day off at a Better Buzz coffee shop and we’d elected to enjoy our food and drink “for here.” We turned away from the counter only to realize there was no more seating available.

Well, almost no seating. There was a small, wooden log “table” about a foot and a half in diameter, accompanied by two child-sized metal chairs. The chairs looked sturdy, so we decided to be weirdos and claim the space for ourselves.

Somehow, we fit and nobody told us “no.” Our seats were located just to the side of the shop’s primary walkway, and the tail-end of the customer line was close enough for people to look down the length of their arm and have a giggle at us. Our two plates of toast were supported as much by our knees as the table, and we had to put our drinks on a nearby drawer.

“It eases the tension we shoulder every day by getting us to laugh and have fun.”

It was a delight. Some of the other patrons shared their amusement with us, and a passing barista remarked on two separate occasions how much he loved our seating choice. We created an odd and amusing spectacle for the bystanders, as well as a funny moment of goofiness for my friend and I—all because we’d decided to act like we were tiny children for a breakfast sit-in.

It wasn’t life-changing, but it did mix up the morning’s tempo. When I inevitably find myself in that coffee shop again, I’ll no doubt remember the experience. If nothing else, it gave me an anecdote for this article. It’s a permanent part of my life now—an unexpected, pleasant addition to my figurative box of memories.

Which brings me to the subject this story serves to introduce: playfulness. Read more...

Metaphor for Whiteness

Published Work, The Cougar Chronicle, April 21st, 2018

Racial politics in Western society play around whether you’re “ethnic” or not. The issue with this is that everybody is ethnic.

There is no default race. There is no standard, no “normal.” It’s all relative.

The concept of “whiteness” exists because Western culture (laws and medical practices too, sometimes) treats people of caucasian heritage or appearance as a standard, a default.

If you’re white, you’re just white — you’re not ethnic, and certainly not exotic. Everyone else is different, and filtered through a lens of how similar they are to the white standard. Read more...

Veganism should not demand an all-or-nothing mentality

Published Work, The Cougar Chronicle, March 29th, 2018

Veganism should not require complete abstinence from animal products.

It is a movement with a goal to accomplish: eliminating violence against animals.

This should not necessitate rearranging one’s entire life so that they are within the scope of “being vegan.” Veganism is primarily about making an ethical choice. Do you want to sup- port violence against animals, or the destruction of the environment by meat factories? Probably not. Vegans recognize those as immoral things.

So why aren’t more people vegan? Read more...

Ethical consumerism isn’t feasible at a consumer level

Published Work, The Cougar Chronicle, March 7th, 2018

We need to talk about consumerism and the ways we’re slowly being taught to be responsible at the consumer level.

You know, things like veganism or waste-free living. “Ask for your drink without a straw,” and “don’t buy leather,” or even, “only buy things that don’t come in non-recyclable packaging.”

It’s the little things that make a difference, right?

Sure, but why aren’t we looking at the bigger picture? Why are we blaming the consumer, and not the corporations that produce our consumables like that in the first place? Read more...

Equalism is not a useful response to feminism

Published Work, The Cougar Chronicle, March 3rd, 2018

At a glance, equalism sounds like it should be a better alternative to feminism, since it promotes the ideas of the latter without placing one gender over another. It doesn’t.

Feminism is fraught with opposition, and some of this comes from people who do agree that men and women, regardless of race, should be considered equal. This is equalism in a nutshell – a subset of the umbrella-category of egalitarianism.

The term has been around since at least 2007 based on its presence in Urbandictionary.com, and it is generally discussed in terms of feminism. Our culture does not value femininity enough. It is suppressed, ridiculed, censored and even outright attacked.

By referring to one’s beliefs as “equalist” instead of “feminist,” you become complicit in censoring women and reducing the issue to a problem not unlike that of “All Lives Matter” rhetoric. Read more...

Valentine’s Day isn’t for everyone, and that’s OK

Published Work, The Cougar Chronicle, February 7th, 2018

Valentine’s Day is coming up soon, and only a couple of months after we made it through several weeks of New Year’s Resolutions. These two traditions tend to polarize people toward a “love it!” or “hate it!” attitude.

Realizing that both are valid opinions is imperative. This 2018 New Year, I saw a wave of people who seemed to have strong opinions against making resolutions and, certainly, cynicism regarding Valentine’s Day is nothing new. However, there’s no reason to guilt-trip people who think this way — who cares? Read more...

KODY COWELL