During a crowded bus journey, my daughter's shrill four-year-old voice piped up clearly and succinctly above the hum of the ongoing conversation: "I want to have sex with [insert classmate here]." A silence, not unlike the one pervading the moment before the conductor raises his baton, fell in anticipation of my reply. And on behalf of all the sex-positive parents, I swallowed … [Read more...]
My Red Bikini: How I Learned Self-Love Takes Time (And Is Worth the Wait)
This article originally appeared on adrienne maree brown under the title "self-love as a journey, practice and state" and is reprinted by permission. today i am wearing a bikini in public. this week i also went topless in public. i consider these miraculous occurrences and proof positive that self-love work is worth it. my belly loves the sun as much as the rest of me … [Read more...]
5 Ways To Deal With Body Parts That Make Us Uncomfortable Without Body Shaming
Even when we have worked hard to move away from body shaming and toxic diet culture toward a life of Radical Self Love and Acceptance, we sometimes slip and our old thoughts start to fire again. It can feel like we are going backwards. It can seem overwhelming and pointless to fight the bombardment of negative body image information we receive all day in the media and the … [Read more...]
Should I Consider My Cancer Body To Be Disabled?
Until two years ago, I had never had any real interactions with severe illness or with the US healthcare system. I am one of the lucky few living in the US who’s been able to have health insurance and access to healthcare for the vast majority of my life. Healthcare is a human right, but here in the US, we treat it like it’s a privilege and a commodity, and because of that … [Read more...]
Every Body Is a Beach Body: 5 Ways To Rock Your Body (No Matter Its Size or Shape) This Summer
Every year, usually around April or May, I will be on a train, idly looking at the billboards displayed along passing stations, when I will come across the first piece of “beach body”-related advertising of the season. “Get Beach Body Ready!” the ad boasts, displaying a photo of a pretty, young, white, usually female person, with thick, wavy hair, lightly tanned skin, and a … [Read more...]
7 Things You Can Be Proud of Doing by the Time You’re 35— Even If You Didn’t Save Twice Your Yearly Salary
It’s safe to say that the vast majority of us are definitely nowhere near able to save twice our yearly salary by age 35, despite the newest out-of-touch punchline from the financial sector. As an American in my early 30s who, like most of “our” generation if you’re also American, has a negative net worth thanks to graduating post-financial crash, trying to build a career … [Read more...]
You Don’t Have to Love Your Body, But You Can’t Hate Mine
As a fat activist, it has been really disheartening to see “body positivity” becoming the be all and end all of mainstream fat politics and activism. “Body positivity” is focused around individuals liking (and loving) their own bodies, whether those bodies are fat or not. For me, it has been worth the time and energy to try to make peace – and yes, “love” – my fat … [Read more...]
Let the Light In: 6 Ways to Use Body Magick to Heal From Trauma
No matter what type of trauma we are working to heal, it’s a fact that the effects of trauma live in the body. Many of us concerned with justice and trauma reject the Enlightenment-era thinking that our minds and our bodies are discrete components separate from one another, instead recognizing that our bodies, psyches, and spirits are holistically connected. As a … [Read more...]
