Content note: This article discusses eating disorders (including bulimia and anorexia), weight loss, and "thinspiration". It began with a love of tattoos: the permanence of art on an impermanent body, the buzz of the machine, the stinging and the bleeding and the healing. And by “it,” I mean how I taught myself to call my eating disorder “inspiration” -- and thus … [Read more...]
Feminist Rage: 4 Ways White Feminists Continue To Silence Women of Color’s Anger at Racism
Women are angry, and rightfully so. I only have to write the words “Brett Kavanaugh” — a series of events so deeply disturbing in their unmasking of elite frat boy rape culture that I stopped my compulsive news watching for three weeks after — to convey how deeply US women are under attack by the Trump regime. As white women in particular are justifiably encouraging each other … [Read more...]
How I as a White Woman Am Unlearning Dangerous Sexual Stereotypes About Black and Brown Men
Content note: This article contains references to rape. When I pick my son up at the library, he is standing in front of a blonde girl. As I move closer, I hear them talking, laughing, flirting in that awkward early-teen way. I stop, catch my son’s eye, and give them their space. She clearly likes my son, and I can see him basking in the attention. I admit to some motherly … [Read more...]
Fellow White Women: We Learned To Be Complicit With Oppression — Now We Must Become Brave
This article was originally published on louisaleontiades.com as "The Cowardice of White Women: Learning to Resist" and is republished with permission. Some questions you don’t expect to have to ask in your lifetime, let alone answer. But with the rise of Trumpian fascism, a question has consistently rattled around my white woman’s brain: At what point would I put my own life … [Read more...]
Dear White Women: Why We Need To Stop Crying When POC Call Us Out
I was once in an abusive relationship. Few people agree that it was abusive, because I left him after he'd hit me a couple of times. But they weren't there everyday for a period of years when he cajoled me into having sex by saying, 'your body wants me.' I'd often reply, 'but my mind doesn't...' I felt that this was somehow important even if I wasn't 100% convinced. Not that … [Read more...]
When Is It #TimesUp for White Women Who Don’t Recognize Black Women’s Boundaries?
Editor's Note: This article was originally published on BlackYouthProject.com and is reposted with permission. I’m not a touchy-feely person. Like most humans, I appreciate having a say in whose fingers touch me, if I can help it. On New York City subways this seems almost impossible. But even when subways are crowded, it’s easy to notice people moving their bodies awkwardly … [Read more...]
When Spiritual Bypassing Meets Racism Meets Gaslighting
The original post appeared on Wake Up, Mama! and is reprinted by permission. I want to talk about something I witnessed last week in the online world. First, a little background. A couple of years ago, I became increasingly aware of a pervasive phenomenon in the (overwhelmingly white) women’s spirituality/ personal growth circles I move in. I noticed persistent … [Read more...]
Are You Culturally Appreciating or Culturally Appropriating? 3 Ways for White Folks to Self-Reflect
Not long ago I had lunch with an 82-year-old friend of mine who has been a social justice activist all her life. We are both white. My friend is a poet who has been published in several small literary journals. She listens to a broad range of podcasts regularly, reads widely, and continues to take a keen interest in the world around her. Her poetry focuses on the lives of … [Read more...]

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