5 Myths That Uphold Mental Health Stigma in Latinx Communities October 19, 2019 by Erika_Ruiz Leave a Comment It was after three years of struggling with my mental health when I came to terms with needing to see a therapist. I was coping with regular anxiety attacks, situational depression, and untreated trauma. My reluctance to seek out professional help was due to a number of reasons that could be narrowed down to one thing: the stigma that comes with admitting to mental … [Read more...]
5 Ways Mexican Queerness Is a Radical Act Against Colonialism and Machismo June 22, 2019 by Erika_Ruiz Leave a Comment I am a queer non-binary person. The labels I use to describe this queerness are always changing and hardly ever stay static, but I am undoubtedly queer. I also come from a Mexican household. Both of my parents were born in the state of Jalisco and migrated to the United States when they were a young newlywed couple. I exist in the intersection of these identities as a queer … [Read more...]
The Difficulty of Portraying Softness While Existing in a Brown Body April 30, 2018 by Erika_Ruiz Leave a Comment It is almost close to impossible to portray genuine softness within a cisheteropatriarchal capitalistic society without it becoming a commodity or lifestyle that can be marketed and sold to us. We are taught from an early age that our emotions hinder us. This is because our society as a whole thrives on an unrealistic portrayal of intimacy and love. We are taught that to be … [Read more...]
Navigating the Whiteness of Countercultures in a Brown and Fat Body March 29, 2018 by Erika_Ruiz Leave a Comment I am an active enthusiast of counterculture fashion. I first discovered the emo counterculture as a young tween and I became obsessed with heavy eyeliner, vampires, and My Chemical Romance. I have continued to be an active participant in countercultures ever since, ranging from casual goth to space grunge and everything in between those two extremes. This means going through an … [Read more...]
Fat & Hairy: 5 Ways Body Positive Campaigns Keep Forgetting to Include All of Us March 31, 2017 by Erika_Ruiz Leave a Comment Every year, a group of feminist students at my university plan out a secret #FreeTheNipple protest in which masked students go out to the middle of the school campus and stand topless for approximately three minutes in order to make a statement about women reclaiming their own bodies. Every year, I am invited to attend the protest by well-meaning feminists who know I have … [Read more...]
