Growing up in a Catholic family and going to Catholic school for primary education and high school shaped my foundation on the values of openness, community, and hospitality. “Safety” is a word I would use to describe it.
The first instance of gender inclusion – or rather, exclusion – that I experienced was when our parish priest came into our classroom in second grade.
Read MoreI tried to think of moments where I experienced gender inclusion.
I really haven’t.
I’ve had tiny moments of it. Usually they are disrupted. Almost always by a cishet man. Not always, but usually.
Read MoreTo me, gender inclusion comes in two bits: a recognition of everyone’s unique experience, and intersectionality.
Read MoreI have always stood out. I was a fat kid that could not fit into girl clothes because they were not made for my body. Then I became the fat adult that basically said, “Gender is oppressive and life is too short to care about it.”
Read MoreI easily confuse people when talking about my mom. Mostly because I rarely fully explain who my mom is. My mom’s name is Jerry, and he is a transgender male.
Read MoreClothing is a part of our everyday lives. Aside from being an instrument of modesty, it is a form of self-expression. We’re often quick to judge someone based on their choice of apparel because our style is a public statement about who we are. For many of us, shopping is our favorite stress-relieving activity. We all love a little bit of retail therapy, which is understandable. But our shopping habits can have detrimental consequences. Have you ever thought about where your clothes come from?
Read MoreWhen I was asked to answer the question, “What is beauty?” I knew I had to write a love letter to all my fellow dark-skinned women. To the girls who’ve been called names over black skin that’s “too black” not only by those outside of our race, but by those within it.
Read MoreAs women, we often feel the pressure of the world on our shoulders: the pressure to look good, to act a certain way, and to fit into a suffocating mold. If we don’t fit into that box, we fall into the trap of feeling inadequate and unseen. Those moments, as tough as they were and as embarrassing as they are to look back on, taught me a valuable lesson.
Read MoreEvery year, I was a bystander, an observer, an admirer. My hometown of Mansfield, Ohio, has hosted Miss Ohio Week for as long as I can remember, and every year the occasion brought the community together. I’d watch the parade from afar as the women slowly drove by in their convertibles, waving at the crowds of people with their giant Kentucky Derby-style hats and the biggest smiles.
Read MoreNamaste: the light within me honors the light within you. As yoga instructors, we often make references to various forms of light, acknowledging the beauty we each hold within us. Breathing in the light, being the light, sharing the light. Throughout history, however, women have been conditioned to believe they are beautiful only in their “lightness” – through their speech, their actions, their bodies, their skin. We are to reach for our light like a delicate branch reaching for the sun, silent and still.
Read MoreConfident and decisive are two words that I would definitely not use to describe myself. I’m infamous for dragging out decisions about everything from what I wear to the grocery store to what I should “do with my life.” I second guess everything.
But in the face of my usual method of agonizing over every decision, I decided to get my hair chopped to a pixie cut on a Sunday, and I got it done five days later.
Read MoreWomen of Cincy is thrilled to announce the launch of our podcast series, "What Is a Woman?" in early 2018. The series will be a project of curiosity; we're looking to uncover new meanings, new layers, and new empathy. We’ll celebrate the ways womanhood is at once a shared experience and a diverse one.
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