This piece was first published in Danish magazine Friktion and is republished with permission. Dutch beer company Heineken has recently faced backlash for its “lighter is better” ad, where a bartender with light skinned Latino appearance slides a beer past three dark skinned Black people towards an Eurasian woman, with whom he shares a wink, before the slogan “sometimes … [Read more...]
Learning to Live with Wanting to Die
[Content warning: Discussion of suicidal thoughts] According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Depression is characterized by depressed or sad mood, diminished interest in activities which used to be pleasurable, weight gain or loss… fatigue, inappropriate guilt, difficulties concentrating, as well as recurrent thoughts of death.” My depression took a … [Read more...]
Your Stereotypes of Me are Not My Problem
[Image description: The photograph shows the author, a young Asian woman, standing on a city sidewalk. It is nighttime, raining, and there are cars and taxis rushing past in the background. The author is wearing a sundress in orange, pink, black, and white print. In one hand, she is holding a tote bag; in the other, she is holding an umbrella, which is open behind her.] When … [Read more...]
Undoing the Silence: 5 Myths that Uphold Mental Health Stigmas in Latinx Communities
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...]
Simple But Not Easy: 25 Steps to Justice
Tired of asking, “What can I do?” or “How can I be helpful?” At times, you are asking how you can uplift marginalized voices. That is the most productive question; lead with that first. However, in most situations, the underlying request is “Tell me how to be a good person” or “Tell me how to not offend.” When people ask these questions, I typically begin a discussion — a … [Read more...]
Ally Etiquette 101: Never Feel Entitled to Anything
I have seen a lot of conversations recently about what the term “ally” means to social justice and radical movements. Is “ally” an identity? What role should allies play in larger discussions of oppression and resistance? Should allies have access to spaces created specifically for those who experience oppression? The goal of many of these discussions is to determine what an … [Read more...]
5 Ways ‘Asian Woman Fetishes’ Put Asian Women in Serious Danger
Republished from Everyday Feminism Recently, a friend and I were talking about growing up Asian American in predominantly white neighborhoods and schools, and she told me that when she was in fifth grade, boys teased her on the playground by saying that she had a “sideways vagina.” This has happened to me, too – and I’m sure to so many other Asian girls. From … [Read more...]
7 Ways ‘Honoring’ Other Cultures Is Really Cultural Appropriation
This article was originally published on EverydayFeminsim.com and is republished with permission. If someone was trying to help you, but they were unintentionally doing more harm than good, you’d want to tell them, right? And you’d hope they’d be open to your feedback – after all, you’re not saying they’re a bad person or accusing them of deliberate sabotage. If they really … [Read more...]
Never Enough: Growing Up Mixed-Race with a Mix of Friends
I identify as mixed-race. My father is white, and my mother was black and Native American. I have medium-light-toned skin, I have curly hair when it’s not buzzed, and I do not really look like either of my parents. When I was growing up, it was always hard to explain my background to people. Plenty of people, kids and adults alike, would ask me, “What are you?” as though I were … [Read more...]
4 Ways White People Can Process Their Emotions Without Bringing the White Tears
This article originally appeared in EverydayFeminism.com 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 space. This sort of rule is instilled because oftentimes, in other spaces, your emotions, and the emotions … [Read more...]
10 Answers to Common Questions People Ask When Being Called Out for Using Ableist Language
The Body Is Not an Apology’s goal is to share the myriad ways human bodies unshackle the box of “beauty” and fling it wide open for all of us to access. Our goal is to redefine the unapologetic, radically amazing magnificence of EVERY BODY on this planet. When we do, we change the world! Join the movement and become a subscriber today! bit.ly/NoBodiesInvisible. *** This … [Read more...]
Let’s F#ck It Up: 3 Things They Don’t Want You To Know About Taking A Revolutionary Selfie
“This is an experiment in not being afraid of seeing myself. Of not being afraid of seeing my body. And, more importantly for me, not being afraid of other people seeing these things. So, enjoy the photos. I'm not sure all of them will be flattering, but I hope to have more than 314 pictures by the end of this year.” These are the words that opened my first self-love photo … [Read more...]
6 Ways White Folks Can Support Black Lives Matter, Even If You Can’t Leave Your House
The Body Is Not an Apology’s goal is to share the myriad ways human bodies unshackle the box of “beauty” and fling it wide open for all of us to access. Our goal is to redefine the unapologetic, radically amazing magnificence of EVERY BODY on this planet. When we do, we change the world! Join the movement and become a subscriber today! bit.ly/NoBodiesInvisible. As someone … [Read more...]
A Place To Call Home?: “Not Puerto Rican Enough for the Island, Not American Enough for the US”
I don’t feel I’m from the US, however I’ve been told over and over again that I was not born on the motherland of Puerto Rico and therefore cannot claim full-blooded Puerto Rican. I find myself constantly living in a state of limbo, not American enough for the US, but not Boricua enough for Puerto Rico. Being Puerto Rican has its complexities and Puerto Ricans from different … [Read more...]
