Today the line for my soy latte was longer than normal, and the only answer I needed came from the eyes of those waiting behind me. The world stayed up late to watch the fate of our nation, 15 billion eyes glued to their TVs, taking mental notes of what will inevitably be one of...
I’m a therapist. My job, amongst other things, is to hold space for others. To offer a safe, nonjudgemental place for clients to cry, grieve, and process. I sit as empathic as possible, being reflective and supportive, without judgement. But today was different. Today, I threw out everything I’ve learned in grad school. We are...
I recently took a trip back East to visit some family. Three of the family members I saw all said the same “compliment” to me within minutes of seeing them: YOU LOOK SKINNY. While generally most people would be thrilled to hear this and take it as a compliment, I find something extraordinarily aggravating about...
In response to the recent news coming out of Indiana’s “Religious Freedom Law”, I have decided to brainstorm what it might look like if LGBTQ folks also decided to discriminate against people they deem “religious”. Some of this brainstorming might be deemed stereotypical (and thus maybe offensive) but my intention is to make a point....
Over the last several months a theme has arisen with many of my clients: they are afraid to take up space. As cisgendered women, we discuss how we have been socialized to take up less space. We sit with our arms crossed and legs close together on a bus, or even worse, in my office....
Recently I saw a commercial for a new movie entitled “The Duff”, which, apparently, stands for “designated ugly fat friend”. Without even seeing the movie, this bothered me on so many levels. First off, they casted Mae Whitman to play the “duff”. But here’s on problem: May Whitman is neither ugly nor fat (both of...
As I was scrolling through my Facebook feed this morning, an old co-worker had posted an interesting post that piqued my curiosity. The post was a picture of an anonymous woman’s post, discussing why expensive gifts (iPads, new bikes, etc) should not come from Santa. Originally, I found myself slightly annoyed at the audacity of...
On more than one recent occasion I have heard, in reference to an overweight woman, “she has such a pretty face”. Although these words are likely intended as compliments, they infuriate me. Because what you are actually saying is that were her head on a different body, she would be attractive. Like people cannot be...
For anyone who knows me, I am pretty difficult to offend. I am an open book, and you can ask me anything. And, I’ll take it one step further; not only can you ask me anything, but I will answer honestly, probably in much more depth than you ever expected, anticipated or even wanted. Despite...
