women

For the first time in my life, I realized how much time I’ve spent tip-toeing around what I have inherently felt was a “man's world”: from the gym to simply being able to walk down the street knowing my body would be judged.

In 2015, to be a woman (and a black woman at that) among the general public means having to keep your defenses up.

[CN: ageism, sexism] What kind of screwed-up culture do we live in where young girls are considered to be sexual beings, but women over 40 are “too old” to be desirable?

And when you're multiply marginalized and know how much work there is to be done in the struggle for liberation, how few people are doing it, and that our lives literally depend on it, it can feel like you’re letting your people down.

The premise Newman puts forth is that being a perfectionist emanates from a core belief that either one is “not good enough… or that one is ‘unworthy.’” This can develop as a result of “parental criticism or parental indulgence (the latter being constant praise).”

It was at about this time last year that the Free the Nipple movement first gained steam, as women and male allies around the world responded to Lina Esco’s critically-acclaimed film of the same name by staging peaceful — and, of course, topless — protests.

Enter: Lemonade. [...] Beyoncé reminds us that she is as real a woman as the rest of us. She is a strong woman, yet made even stronger in her ability to start anew.

Recently, I was looking through some old pictures of myself.... Like every other person on this earth, I have my insecurities. As I was looking at these photos, I found myself picking out my faults, finding things that I would like to change, putting myself down for looking a certain way or not looking a certain way.