Voices

I am so very afraid.

As reports of racially based harassment have increased over the past week since the election of Trump — even here in my liberal bastion of urban Ph

I am shocked, perplexed and a little bit dismayed over the amount of “good liberals” who have pushed my friendship to the point of no return over the term “white feminism." As a matter of fact, I would go so far as to say the cries over white feminism vs. intersectional feminism is the new #BlackLivesMatter vs #AllLivesMatter. You might not see it that way now but you will by next year. Trust me. I’ve been through this before and damn, am I tired.

These women are from all over the world. They are from different socioeconomic brackets. Their assaults took place during different times over the last 35 years. The victims are completely different, but the stories are all so similar. Victims of assault, rape, harassment, coming forward, being brave and telling the truth, and being stigmatized, ostracized, blamed, ignored, ridiculed. People they love, people they trust, people whose job it is to protect them, blaming them for their assault. It’s common. Almost expected. That women are assaulted, harassed by men, is a given in our culture. That women are blamed is standard procedure. Is it really any wonder that the majority of sexual assaults go unreported? Is it really shocking that a woman would want to save herself additional trauma?

This article originally appeared on

For years, my white father called my mother’s beauty an “exotic” beauty. When I started to come into my own, he began calling me “exotic,” too. It wasn’t until high school that I began to understand why this word bothered me. Though my father meant it as a compliment, the word “othered” my mother, younger sisters, and me.

In the hopes of finding a starting point to engage the complexities of the feminist spiritual experience, I interviewed feminists of different faiths: Hindu, Muslim, Judaism, and Christianity. And their thoughtful, introspective responses to my questions on the reconciliation of feminist politics and religious practice left me wanting to learn even more.

You’ve probably received an invitation to an online telesummit - fabulous speakers and it’s free, all you have give is your email address.