We believe that there must be space to tell the story of EVERY body and we are grateful to those who have shared their stories with us so that we might share them with you. If you are struggling with an eating disorder, there is help. You can reach the toll-free, confidential National Eating Disorders Association Helpline in the US at 1-800-931-2237. You are not alone. I was … [Read more...]
4 Ways White People Can Process Their Emotions Without Hijacking the Conversation on Racial Justice
This article originally appeared in EverydayFeminism.com under the title "4 Ways White People Can Process Their Emotions Without Bringing the White Tears" and is reprinted by permission. If you’re a white person who has been in many activist spaces, then you’ve probably experienced a specific, often unspoken ground rule: There’s no room for white tears in this … [Read more...]
Filling our Cups: 4 Ways People of Color can Foster Mental Health and Practice Restorative Healing
This article was originally published on Threads of Solidarity: WOC Against Racism and is republished with permission. As strong, as brilliant, as loving, and as powerful as we may be, we weren’t built to be superheroes — we were built to be human. — Threads of Solidarity, “Giving from an empty cup/How not to die” The strong, Black woman. The Asian “model minority.” “¡No … [Read more...]
Wading through Whiteness: Reclaiming My Identity as a Filipina Immigrant
My very first experience of shame (that I can remember) occurred in the third grade after my family had emigrated from the Philippines to Canada. We were asked what we had had for breakfast that morning, and I volunteered "Vegetable soup!" as an answer. In response, I heard a chorus of laughter and a "What kind of weirdo has soup for breakfast?" On the surface, this … [Read more...]
Uma Feminista Interseccional Contra o Feminismo Imperial
Recentemente, durante uma sessão de treinamento do meu setor trabalhista que ocorreu em um país de maioria muçulmana, um colega, branco, deu início a uma conversa sobre projetos de desenvolvimento sob uma perspetiva de gênero. “Estas mulheres ainda sofrem muita opressão”, disse, “Devemos tomar a iniciativa de iniciar estes projetos de mulheres, e temos de começar junto das … [Read more...]
How Do I Understand Being Jewish While Also Holding White Privilege?
[Image description: The photograph shows the author, a light-skinned woman with graying brown shoulder-length hair and glasses. She is wearing a navy-blue hooded sweatshirt, and her right hand is resting against the side of her face. She is looking into the camera and smiling. Behind her is a curtain in a mandala design.] I recently decided to purchase a genetics test from … [Read more...]
3 Things You Should Know About Racial Justice 101
In the wake of continuous acquittals of police officers killing unarmed Black civilians, racial justice activists across the U.S. continue to fight to hold the police and law enforcement agencies accountable for the increased controlling and surveillance of communities of color and the routine murder of Black people during police interactions and while in police custody. Race … [Read more...]
“You Sure Are Hot FOR an Asian Girl” and Other Ways Words Devalue People of Color
What do I look like? To linguistically dissect the parts of my body, to cut it apart with words, means to twist and twine it with conjunctions. This is my physical appearance: I am on the shorter side of the human height spectrum at five feet, two inches (well actually, five feet and two and three-quarters, excuse me). I am thin. I have a small nose, small ears, and small … [Read more...]
Cuidarse a uno mismo y el trabajo social
Si le preguntases a mi madre o a mi novia cuándo hice algo equivocado, te dirán algo como, “Bueno, conociendo a Quita, ella nunca hace nada equivocado”. Pero incluso la Princesa de la Perfección tiene que admitir cuándo se equivoca. Mi viaje de cuidarme a mi misma está en un proceso en el que estoy haciendo más cosas mal de las que no. Como alguien que se ocupa en el trabajo … [Read more...]
The Greatest Gift My Parents Ever Gave Me: Allow Yourself to be Selfish
When my brother and I were growing up, we developed a lie that we sustained until adulthood. We pretended to not want things. When we went to Wal-Mart or Fred Meyer’s, we averted our eyes from the aisles of toys and books and electronics. When we were caught staring too long, too longingly, at anything, our father would immediately grab it and eagerly ask, “Do you want … [Read more...]
Who is the Body Positivity Movement Leaving Behind?
Over the past few weeks, Ashley Graham and Tess Holliday have been featured in many headlines. Ashley Graham is the first plus-sized model to be featured in an ad in Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Edition. Tess Holliday, who is known for her viral #effyourbeautystandards campaign, is the first plus-sized model of her size to be signed to a major modeling agency. While both … [Read more...]
Seeing More: Fighting Depression through Radical Empathy
I used to believe that intense focus and concentration were the best way of being. I would spend hours practicing music, hours meditating, hours focusing on just one little thing. The more the world disappeared around me, the better I was supposed to be. Capitalism and patriarchy train us to work really hard and excel at one skill in order to be worthy and recognized. But … [Read more...]
One Way to Honor MLK: Please Stop Saying You’re Colorblind
This article was originally published on Write Away and is republished with permission. “I don’t see race. I’m colorblind.” I’ve heard it said many times, and I’m confident the speaker always meant well. However, those words have never made me feel better. The intention is well meaning, but the words, at best, are misleading—suggesting that the impossible is feasible. … [Read more...]
No soy tu muestra
No soy fan del discurso del Dr. King “Tengo un sueño” y del modo que la mayoría de la gente lo interpreta. Muchos olvidan que el principio del discurso se centra en el fracaso de la supremacía blanca del gobierno americano para cumplir la promesa de la proclamación de emancipación y la democracia para toda esta gente. Pero realmente me avergüenzo de la frase “Tengo el sueño de … [Read more...]
