I identify as a feminist. That is: “A person who believes in the social, political and economic equality of the sexes.” —Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie I am unafraid of other definitions, often thrown around by folks who are directly threatened by...
I spent a sizable part of my life obsessed with the notion that something was horribly wrong with my body. Specifically, that it was too big, and I needed to be smaller. Leaner. Skinny. It felt like that message was...
It had been a long day in the trenches of mothering, working, striving to hit that ever-so-delicate balance of doing everything and feeling as though I’m losing. I stumbled a bit walking across the living room and out of my...
To those who need it, In the wake of the Stanford rape case, a lot of difficult feelings have arisen for me. Whenever this topic surfaces in a powerful way, it unearths my own trauma in a fresh way. I...
Note from GGS: Often women ask Erin for advice on how to handle this conversation with their daughters. But it goes without saying that this advice applies to daughters and sons. At some point most (if not all) kids will...
When I was obese, I encountered my share of body shaming. I was oinked at. My food choices were scoffed at. I was presumed to be lazy... among many other things. Some people even defended their hurtful words by saying...
By society’s standards, it seems there’s very little a woman can ever get “right.” As women, we’re supposed to be a perfect combination of features… many of which require possessing a certain set of genetic attributes. Though this arbitrary list...
I’ve spent most of my life obsessed with my size. For a long time, I wanted to get rid of all of it. It felt disgusting and wrong to be big. It felt like I was failing at being beautiful....
What if I fail? What if I can’t do it? What will everyone else think of me? It’s easy to nurture insecurities and talk yourself out of taking action by contemplating questions like these. “Self-confidence” is not a buzzword of...