This originally appeared on Dana Norris’s website. Republished here with permission. To the guy who rode past me on his bicycle last night telling me to “Smile, pretty lady,” here’s what you need to know: 1) I don’t take orders from you. 2) I’m not going to smile just because you tell me to “smile.” […]
Emily Rapp discusses forgiveness, a religious ethics course, and why she finds it harder to forgive herself than others. Forgiveness is a big word designed to cover a great deal of ground in many areas of life. You can be forgiven a loan, your sins, a misstep in a relationship or at work. “I forgive […]
From the end of the so-called Mommy Wars, to the decreasing acceptance of fat-bashing, Lynn Beisner shares what she’s looking forward to in the year ahead. Optimism is my default setting, but I find myself particularly optimistic about the new year. It seems to me that we saw some pretty great things growing in 2012 […]
New Year’s isn’t about punishing yourself for past mistakes, says Emily Heist Moss. It’s about taking the time to think about what you truly need in the months to come. Resolution season brings with it discount packages at the gym, overloaded yoga classes, annoying advertising puns about “fresh starts” and “new beginnings,” and a host […]
On this New Year’s Eve, Emily Rapp says change can only be truly transformative if you take the past with you. I’ve always found New Year’s Eve, the last hurrah of the holidays, a disorienting and irritating end to the already “out of time” feeling of the season. Now, instead of sweet advertisements about beautiful […]
Jenn Leyva’s tired of all the plucking, waxing, and shaving, so she’s letting it all go—because she says it’s not her job to make you feel comfortable. I’ve been spending more time and attention on my lips lately. I spent two hours browsing Sephora and trying on different lipsticks, liners, and glosses. I notice the […]
This originally appeared on Everyday Feminism. Republished here with permission. It’s pretty common for us to worry about how women, especially our own daughters, are put into gender boxes and encouraged to engage in behavior that hurts them, simply because they’re female. It’s far less common for us to worry about men, including our own […]
Emily Rapp didn’t always speak up, but finally finding her voice was thrilling and liberating. If I had to choose a word to describe a large portion of my current life it would be “aloud.” I talk a lot. In front of a classroom, on the phone, to students, to friends, to my long-suffering therapist, […]
