Lifestyle
For the lives that we love, and everything that comes with it.
Things My Mother Told Me That Turned Out to Be True
Oh, Mommy dearest, how often did I doubt you. Not only did I think I was the smartest kid around who knew better than any adult, but back then I truly believed that everything you predicted and advised was wrong. From the boyfriend you assured me was bad news and the shoes you said would kill my feet to the bigger things in life like being a mother, a wife, and an intelligent human being, almost everything you said had some merit to it. That's right, Mom, you aren't reading this wrong, I am here to say the three words you so absolutely deserve to hear: YOU. WERE. RIGHT. Of course, many of life's lessons I had to learn on my own and I do believe that's how children should, but there are those few pieces of wisdom and experiences you lived through that you shared with such strong persuasion that I should have listened to. Here are just a few.
By Jus L'amore8 years ago in Families
The Craft of Contemporary Plus-Size Criticism
“You’re so brave.” “You’re pretty for a bigger woman.” Sadly, I’ve come across these double-edged comments and many more on plus-size women’s pictures way too often since I joined the social media community. They’re described as double-edged because although they appear to be compliments they are in fact hurtful to most. That’s just the tip of the iceberg for what us curvy femmes are used to hearing, or reading on an everyday basis from our followers, friends, and family, and bluntly, it has to stop.
By Nicole Enid8 years ago in Viva
Fred
This is Fred who sadly had to be put to sleep in October 2017. Fred found us on a cold November day. The sort of day when there is no sunlight, just clouds and rain that was carried through the air on cold biting winds that seemed to come from all points of the compass.
By Alan Russell8 years ago in Petlife
Owning The Space
A friend of mine just set out for a day’s shopping, but returned unexpectedly soon after having gotten splashed by a vehicle driving through a puddle. This has happened to me, and in similar circumstances. My friend saw the vehicle coming, and noticed how the driver sped up and swerved into the puddle. There was no doubt about it; this was a deliberate act.
By Katy Preen8 years ago in Viva
Sexual Harassment and the Male Gaze: How the Objectification of Women Obstruct Social Relations and How Women are Beginning to Challenge These Issues
In recent news and according to the New York Times article written by Jessica Bennett titled "The ‘Click’ Moment: How the Weinstien Scandal Unleashed a Tsunami," scandals of sexual harassment are becoming larger and frequent. This issue is not new and the outing of such experiences are also not recent. If our culture respected and integrated social laws that defended woman against social predators, this would not be accurate. Unfortunately, the hegemonic Euro-centric standard is what ultimately leads to a standard of beauty and allows women of color — specifically, darker skinned woman — to have less power and status to that of a lighter skinned woman, who faces her own prejudices. These standards are stereotypical of your Eurocentric features and lead to the obscurity of the relationships between men and women of color particularly of darker complexion.
By Traveling From Heavenly Places8 years ago in Viva
Two Women and a Baby
It's a daunting thing to accept when you realize you're a lesbian that having children may have well been either put on hold or taken completely off the table. That's what I thought at least. My girlfriend and I had been together for seven years when we decided it was time to expand our family. We looked around online at our options, and holy heck, we were out of our league. The prices seemed outrageous. What two heterosexual people, medical reasons aside, can typically do for free, or at least keep making attempts, would cost us an arm and a leg. We gave up hope for awhile that this would ever happen for us.
By Heather Martin-Miles8 years ago in Families
