Feminism

#Blogalicious8: How to #SpeakBeautiful

luvvie-speaks
Photo by Artney of My Pretty Brown Fit

This weekend I’ve had the privilege of attending the 8th annual Blogalicious Weekend, the premier multicultural women’s blogging conference co-founded by Stacey Ferguson, a.k.a. Justice Fergie.

Yesterday’s agenda kicked off with a special talk presented by Dove and its #SpeakBeautiful campaign, which seeks to change how we talk about beauty online.

The presentation began with words from Luvvie Ajayi of the wildly popular blog Awesomely Lovely and author of the New York Times Best Seller I’m Judging You.

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Why You Must Share Your Story

every-woman

The women in my world are warrior women.

They are strong. They are brave. They are courageous.

They are not warrior women because they are flawless or because they live perfect lives or because they never fall apart.

They are warrior women because when they do fall apart they find the strength to write themselves back together again.

They are brave enough to share their stories. They are courageous enough to show their scars because they know their words can help heal other women’s wounds.

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Why I Won’t Shut Up About Being a Girl or Being Black

black-girl

Lady. Babe. Girl.

These are three of my favorite words,

but some of my fellow feminists believe I should expunge them from my vocabulary.

Yes, I am a feminist, which means I believe in the equality of the sexes, which means I want equal pay, equal opportunities, and equal respect.

This does not mean I want society to pretend I am not female.

Earlier this year a widely read blog for female creatives wrote a eulogy for the popular hashtag “#girlboss.”

“Would a man ever call himself a boy boss?” the writer asked.

Probably not. But who said I was trying to do business like
a man?

A reader of my own blog, SeeJaneWrite.net, took offense recently when I called myself a lady writer and referred to my personal notebook as my lady journal.

Look. I get it. I understand that “girl,” “lady,” and “babe” are all words sometimes wielded against women as a verbal weapon to put us in “our place.” But it was when I decided to reclaim and redefine these words for myself that I found the courage to take my place. I found the courage to take a seat at the table and, with all my girl power and lady might, flip the table over.

I don’t call myself a girl boss so I will be less threatening to the male ego. I call myself a girl boss because I want you to know I can take your job while wearing pink and flipping my hair, if that’s what I choose to do.

This is why I won’t shut up about being a girl.

I’m also not going to shut up about being black…

Read the entire article at B-Metro.com. 

5 Things That Made Me a Happy Feminist This Week: Rio Edition

1. #BlackGirlMagic in Rio

Simone-Biles-Simone-Manuel

Of course I’ve been over the moon about the medals on medals female athletes have been winning at the 2016 Olympics in Rio, but I’m especially giddy for all the #blackgirlmagic that went down Thursday night. Simone Biles, who is already being proclaimed as the greatest gymnast ever, won the gold medal in all-around gymnastics and Simone Manuel made history by becoming the first African-American woman to win a gold medal in an individual swimming event for the United States.

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