Posts Categorized: Uncategorized
Birth Control in My Community
By: Anna Beth Peters My personal experience with the birth control pill has been a roller coaster; I originally started taking the pill in high school to regulate my period. I have tried a few different options, and I have had incredibly varying results. I have struggled with mood changes, depression, hormonal acne breakouts, cramps, and difficulty getting my prescription from pharmacies. Despite all of the issues I have encountered with birth control, taking the pill greatly enhances my life by regulating my period and giving a sense of normalcy to my cycle. People take the pill for many different reasons; some take it for period regulation, some take it to lessen cramps, acne, or the chance of infection, and some people take it solely to prevent pregnancy. No matter… Read more »
What OTC Access to Oral Contraception Means to Women
By: Kaitlyn Germann To me, and to many young people, access to oral contraception is incredibly important. Although it can be accessed through a doctor’s appointment, in person, online in some states, or even with a prescription from a pharmacist in some, it still remains something that isn’t accessible, as daily forms of oral contraception are not currently available over the counter without a prescription. The only contraceptives accessible without a prescription, are labeled as “emergency contraceptives,” not made for regular use, and only, as the name implies, for emergencies when other contraceptive methods failed or were not used. Even with this, not all emergency contraceptives are available over the counter, such as Ella (ulipristal acetate), an emergency contraceptive which is both more effective overall, and specifically more effective for… Read more »
Weight, What? How Fatphobia Impacts Reproductive Care
Fatphobia, the institutional bias against plus-size bodies, is rampant in the way we view ourselves and each other. Popular culture depicts the slim woman, (size 6 at most) as normal, despite sizes 16-18 being the true average women’s size in the US. Anyone outside this cultural norm or skinniness is deemed undesirable—as literally taking up too much space in society. This can be seen in the othering and separation of plus size clothing or models, the cultural obsession with dieting and weight loss products, and the fetishization or degradation of fat women on social media. Everywhere we look, we are flooded with false messaging telling us that to be fat is to be different and unwanted. Fatphobia is perhaps at its most harmful when it influences healthcare. Weight bias in… Read more »
We Are Gay & We Are Pregnant: How Unpregnant Combats the Stigmas Surrounding Abortions
***SPOILERS MENTIONED. This past weekend, while in my humble dorm room eating a bag of frozen cotton candy grapes, I decided to start my 7-day free trial on HBO and watch the recently released movie Unpregnant starring Barbie Ferreira and Haley Lu Richardson. I remember quite vividly when the trailer first came out and based on my initial reaction and Twitter’s; I thought I had an idea of what type of movie I’d soon be watching; another coming of age film that’s centered around teen white girls. And yes, it was precisely just that. But I wasn’t entirely disappointed. In this movie, we follow 17-year-old Veronica (played by Haley lu Richardson,) as she and her friend, Bailey (played by Barbie Ferreria), travel across state lines to the nearest abortion clinic…. Read more »
Race, Food, and Justice: Decolonizing the Collective Black Relationship to Land
*Part I of a potential series* With lockdown and social distancing in effect due to quarantine, time was in abundance. We were all forced to travel inwards and explore our repressed and procrastinated passions and projects, whether that be home renovations or baking bread. I was no exception to this and took time this summer to finally invest in a skill set that has been on my heart for many years: farming. I set up my little “Black Eden” in my backyard, tilling the soil, sowing seeds, and tending to my okra and tomatoes. I saw my own hands amongst the blackness of the Earth and smelled the freshness of the soil, and I would feel inspired. Of course, there was a learning curve, but eventually, my farm ended up being… Read more »
LinkedOut: Why “Professional” Social Media Makes Us Hate Ourselves
LinkedIn is the most toxic social media site on the internet, and this is a hill I’m fine with dying on. As was the case with many people around the world, I found myself unemployed earlier this year and like any reasonable millennial-gen Z cusp, the first place I started job hunting was LinkedIn. Having seen no real reason to log on while at my last gig, I had lots of clean-up work on my hands. Connecting with former colleagues, updating my job descriptions with semi-truths, and finding a new profile picture that strikes the balance between attractive-yet-buttoned that’s quietly necessary for women on the internet. From there I clicked on the “jobs” tab, defined my criteria, pressed that bright blue search button. To my surprise, the only results to… Read more »
Jezebels, Mammies, and the Dehumanization of Black Women
Popular culture informs much of our understanding of the world and the people around us. For better or for worse, we rely on stereotypes—created from both personal experience and depictions in media—to interact with society. This power can often be used for good by introducing majoritarian individuals to the experiences and existence of marginalized people. Too often, however, popular culture’s influence only serves to perpetuate racist, bigoted stereotypes about marginalized people. This is especially true in how Black women are depicted in the media. From movies to tv shows, music videos to theatre, depictions of Black women tend to fall into one of two categories. The first, the hypersexualized jezebel, can be seen in portrayals of the sexually active, sassy Black woman often used as a foil to a more… Read more »
Is Liberation “High Vibe?”
We’ve all seen it a million times. Maybe on somebody’s mother’s Facebook cover photo or a tacky Forever 21 hoodie: “Good Vibes Only”. What does that really mean, though? What exactly constitutes living a #highvibe lifestyle, and where exactly does this fit within our reimagined, liberated futures? I consider myself to be very spiritual, although not too strongly aligned with any one doctrine. I deeply value my own faith and connection to God (Creator, Oneness, Universe, Source, etc.) and my ancestors. I pray regularly, meditate, honor my spiritual beliefs, and practice as much as possible while giving grace for my human errors. I also consider myself to be a community organizer with a strong commitment to actualizing anti-racist, anti-capitalist, sex-positive, and gender-expansive, liberated futures under a transformative justice framework. With… Read more »
Save Yourselves And Leave Black Women Alone
“Strong,” independent,” “resilient.” There was a time in my life where I saw these characteristics as noble and empowering. An affirmation that was important for young girls to hear multiple times throughout their life. However, I quickly realized that these characterizations had their own separate meaning when referring to Black women and girls. Lately, especially on Twitter, I’ve been coming across multiple posts reinforcing the same tired message that Black women will save the United States; that we will right the oppressive past of this country and create an equitable future for all. In light of this, I want to reiterate what has been said by Black women before me and will be said by Black women after me—we are not your mules. We will not “save” this country, we… Read more »
In Defense of Pete Davidson
We can’t claim to be pro-mental health if we don’t work to de-stigmatize the “scary” illnesses This year, at my small socially-distanced birthday gathering, we placed our chairs 6-feet apart in my backyard and set up the projector to watch the only movie I’d been looking forward to all year: The King of Staten Island. The film, written by and starring Pete Davidson, centers a twenty-something named Scott who struggles to accept his mother’s new partner after the sudden death of his father, a firefighter, years prior. Considered to be semi-autobiographical, this film sparked much conversation amongst film critics—with one noting that the film seemed to serve almost as “an explanation for Davidson’s actions over the last few years.” It’s fair to say that Pete’s public perception since his 2014… Read more »
