Bodies

It is absolutely OK to be whatever size you are, including hella fat. It is absolutely fine to not be “healthy” or “strong” by whatever definition. (Image Credit: Instagram/body.brave)

We Must Stop Making These Mistakes About Health & Body Positivity

Suggesting that there is some weigh at which we are no longer allowed to love our bodies is fat-shaming and oppressive. Suggesting that you should have to achieve some level of “health” to love yourself is healthist and oppressive.

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“I will try to maintain some sort of normalcy today, regardless of what is coming out of me," I assured myself. (Image credit: Flickr/adifansnet)

To Anyone Who Doubts The Awesomeness Of Women, Here's What A Period Is Like IRL

I’m tired of men in suits making decisions on behalf of my lady parts. If you want to control my reproductive system, then you better go ahead and start controlling ALL that that entails, including supplying me with an unlimited amount of tampons.

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The small tearing and wearing down of the red skin between my thighs reminds me of something I crave. Something that temperate weather and pristine places just don’t give a body.

Take The Cake: That Louisiana Chub Rub

Leaving Louisiana means going back to a place that’s colder — climactically and culturally. My chub rub will appreciate the cool down, but I am not looking forward to returning to a place that’s so dry. There’s something about New Orleans, so hot and haunted, that pushes me into my body and the precious tenuousness of my humanity.

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Less access to quality treatment and resources is deeply concerning given that those that are available already lack understanding about cultural identities and how mental health conditions affect minorities. (Image credit: Instagram/tothebonemovie)

Netflix's 'To The Bone' Is Just Another Example Of Struggle Through A Privileged Lens

Netflix’s latest drama 'To The Bone' just emphasizes the inequity in eating disorder treatment options. The main character, Ellen, is a white, 20-year-old woman who is struggling with a serious eating disorder. I watched as she entered yet another inpatient treatment center and her loving family stood by her. Frame after frame, I saw myself and grew angry for the people who were suffering and wouldn’t be able to identify, whether it was because of their race, support system, or lack of resources.

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"After trying to avoid completely ceasing communication with both my mother and grandmother, I realized I had come to the end of another road."

Take The Cake: Breaking Up With My Family, Part 2

There had only been room for a persona - a sunshiney child-parent. My mother and grandmother had always fixated on my childhood. It finally made sense how the happiest time of their lives could be my darkest.

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My parents wanted our family to be in high-threat mode because it kept us closer.

Take The Cake: Breaking Up With My Family, Part 1

More than lip service to an unlikely situation, I needed accountability from my family. Small things that required less bravado, but more work. Just before Christmas, I experienced the moment that made our breakup crystallize.

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No matter where I am weight-wise, this isn’t a fat suit that I can take off, and I can’t rely on it to keep me safe — that’s something I have to do for myself.

My Fat Doesn't Protect Me; I Have To Do That For Myself

Sexual assault doesn’t discriminate based on body weight, and none of us should take our safety for granted. My fat doesn't protect me.

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Reporters should be able to dress, at the very least, in accordance with the dress codes of their actual employers.

Question For Paul Ryan: Should Female White House Reporters Have The Right To 'Bare Arms'?

Recently, Paul Ryan decided that “appropriate attire” for women will exclude sleeveless dresses and open-toed shoes, and pretty soon thereafter, several women reporters were refused entry to the Speaker’s Lobby for showing their arms.

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