[Image description: The photo on the left is a black-and-white photo of the author, Sonya Renee Taylor, an African-American cis woman. She stands naked near a window with white blinds and curtains. She has a large body and dark skin, and she is cupping her large breasts as she stares out of the window. The photo on the right is an iconic black-and-white photo of slain civil … [Read more...]
Loving My Body’s Changes: Aging and My Belly
I might be different from other women because I’ve never felt the pressure to conform to the standards of beauty. When I go to a doctor’s office, I’m more likely to pick up the National Geographic than the Cosmo. If Cosmo is the only option, I’ll stare at the wall. I’ve never kept up with the seasonal fashion and make-up trends. I hate the feel of makeup on my face. I don’t … [Read more...]
Not Everyone’s “Born This Way“: Coming Into My Trans Identity
Two years ago, I came out as queer, kinky, polyamorous, and transgender, all in the space of a few months. I’m not young; I'm approaching the age bracket known as “middle age.” In fact, I worried initially that my coming out explosion was some sort of midlife crisis brought on by reading too many queer comics and following too many Trans twitter accounts. Part of me shies … [Read more...]
Moving from Healthism to Radical Self-Love: The Man in the Photo
Two days ago, an image popped up in my Facebook feed: a slender young woman on a gym floor taking a selfie. The photograph consisted of her own torso and head, along with the image of a larger, middle-aged man using a cable machine, just visible over her shoulder. The caption read: “Uck: when his boobs are bigger than mine.” That was the original image, but the original … [Read more...]
Why the Words Stick in My Throat: Talking about Aging
[The graphic consists of a lilac background with four rows of cartoon-like pictures, four pictures to a row. A figure of a woman in white pants stands in front of one of the pictures, blocking it from view. Each picture has a word at the top. The pictures read Beauty, Skinny, Sexy, Fit, Hot Mama, Smart, Fine, Charm, Spirit, Dazzle, !, Adorn, Lust, Cute, and Attract. The woman … [Read more...]
Why the Words Stick in My Throat: Talking about Aging
This article is the third in a three-part series on aging. Source: Wear Your Life Well [Image description: The graphic consists of a lilac background with four rows of cartoon-like pictures, four pictures to a row. A figure of a woman in white pants stands in front of one of the pictures, blocking it from view. Each picture has a word at the top. The pictures … [Read more...]
Pretty Tired of Pretty
My eleven year old son suggested I write about the word pretty. I asked him why, and he said “Because my mommy is pretty.” Immediately, I panicked and knew I could not write about that word. That’s how I knew I had to write about it. As an adjective (according to Google search), pretty means “attractive in a delicate way without being truly beautiful or handsome.” As a … [Read more...]
The Right and Wrong Way to Talk About the Generations
If you’ve never seen HBO’s The Newsroom, it’s pretty standard as far as Aaron Sorkin creations go. It features a severely under-diversified cast; generic current-event references that high-five those who get them while not alienating those who don’t; dialogue that must be read at hail-storm tempos just to stay within running time; and, of course, a white, cis-male protagonist … [Read more...]
