Did you ever wake up one morning thinking about something you wish would change dramatically in the world? For the past couple mornings I’ve had something on my mind involving a subject that has been near and dear to me since my middle school days. For those who have followed my blog and/or my Twitter feed for some time know that supporting women is a social cause I’m passionate about. I grew up around women all my life and learned all that I ever needed to know about being an ally to women and women’s rights. It’s with this passion for supporting women that I thought: How great it would be if the world came to its senses and became a more empowering place for women?
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Dear Society, Stop Pressuring Women
It’s both sad and disturbing you continue to be grossly obsessed with a woman’s looks instead of the amazing talents she possesses to change the world. Take a seat and prepare yourself for what I’m about to say because either this won’t sit well with you or you’ll think I’ve been “brainwashed” (that’s laughable): everyone is physically made differently. There are tall people, short people, skinny people and heavyset people. Big deal. All of us celebrate body diversity – and you should too. It’s what makes the world so special. And that crazy notion of yours about a woman not being worth anything unless she’s a size 0 to 2? Sorry to rain on your grossly antiquated viewpoints but a dress size never ever defines a woman’s greatness. What defines a woman is what she does to follow her heart, take risks and courageously lead while inspiring others.
The Definite Theme Song For 2018
What an incredible, uplifting song by Anna Mae to start the new year, even though the past year has been a year of turmoil, tension, and disturbing attacks on women’s rights, people of color, and democracy itself. But I am hopeful for the future: that this raging storm of hate will pass and a new dawn of peace, sunshine, and happiness will come – with women leading the way as we all saw during the Women’s Marches last year. But for now, I will keep moving forward, living life to the fullest, and doing what I can to be the best supporter & ally to women everywhere.
Empowering Women Fail #1 – The Superhero T-Shirt
While on a trip to the Disneyland Resort earlier this year, I came across this “gem” of a t-shirt that I could not ignore. Really, Disney? And how is this suppose to appeal / positively empower your female demographic? By shoving a terrible message in her face saying she’s weak and needs a male superhero in her life because girls and women aren’t suppose to be strong and independent? NEWS FLASH! This is 2014 and the last time I checked all girls and women are superheroes too! Just saying…
Visiting The Walk of the Heroines
Yesterday, I took advantage of another Saturday adventure in downtown Portland to make a return visit to the campus of my alma mater Portland State University to visit a site that’s become my most favorite spot in all of Portland: The Walk of The Heroines. The Walk of The Heroines is a memorial dedicated to women of the past and present who have made advancements in society from technology to politics and more in the name of women’s empowerment. For this blog post, I’m going to let the images and quotes from the walk do all the talking.
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Applauding The #LikeAGirl Campaign
It was a week ago that Always came out with #LikeAGirl, a fantastic campaign for empowering girls and redefining what “like a girl” is in positive empowerment terms. During my childhood I heard this degrading insult thrown at all the girls at school and outside of school by friends and people I once but no longer associate with. As you can imagine it was the most awful thing to hear and see even to this day, and though I wish I would have done better to stop the ridiculing, many of these girls ended up triumphing over their bullies later in life in academics and sports. Thanks to Always for creating and sharing this absolutely moving campaign that I hope will inspire millions of girls so say they can do anything #LikeAGirl.
Brittany Gibbons & The Greatest TEDx Talk
In 2011, writer and humorist Brittany Gibbons gave one of the most empowering (and epic) TEDx talks known to humanity. Gibbons, who titled her talk “Courageous Beauty”, discusses about body image and her childhood struggles with bullying because of her weight. When I first saw this talk on YouTube, it touched me deeply — especially when Gibbons discussed about the cruel comments some people posted on her humor blog about her weight. It floors me to think that some people (men and women) go so far to troll and prey upon someone as beautiful as Gibbons just because if his or her own lack of self-confidence. Gibbons deserves endless praise for staying strong against her critics, loving her already-beautiful self and being a shining light to those who may identify with her in his or her own body issue struggles. I’ve said it today and I will continue to say it for years to come: “Courageous Beauty” is one of the greatest TEDx talks ever given.
Heather Hansen: An Artistic Genius
Everyone has their own definition of what art is. To the more conventional crowd, art is drawing or painting what one sees (still life, nude figure) on paper or canvas. But to others art is a way of liberating oneself creatively and expressing his or her inner feeling and emotions. There’s no debate here: most people would enthusiastically agree with the latter statement as the perfect definition of art. And there’s no greater artist that personifies this definition than Heather Hansen from New Orleans, Louisiana.
