Category Archives: Sexism

Equality, Gender, Inequality, Sexism, Women

“Smack That Ass!”

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Yesterday evening as I was walking with my friend, Robert, by the river, two men in a motorboat passed by heading the same direction.

One called out: “Are you two a couple?”

No.

“Are you related?”

No.

“Then smack that ass. You better smack that ass!”

I immediately turn to keep walking and ignore them just as Robert yells, “Why do you want her to smack my ass?” as he gets in front of me and bends forward slightly. “Like this?”

So I did. I smacked his ass.

But the end of the story is not what made me nearly sob today when I remembered the interaction.

Continue reading “Smack That Ass!” →

Charis, Episcopal Church, Equality, Gender, Inequality, LGBTQ, Love, Politics, Relationships, Role Models, Sexism, Women

My Queer Story

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Elementary school:

+I’m on the school bus sitting behind an older girl. She is playing with her hair and I stare at her, intrigued. She turns around and says, “What are you staring at, white girl?” I blush deep red and look away, unsure what I did wrong.

Middle school:

+I still wear my brother’s hand-me-downs. I’m comfortable wearing shorts that reach my knees, jeans with holes in the knees, and shirts multiple sizes too large for me. But I begin to feel self-conscious because the other girls and some of the boys bully me. I am pressured to start dressing more like a girl and I begin to wear tighter jeans and shorter shorts.

+A new boy moves to town and he becomes my boyfriend. We kiss behind a building during a school field trip. We ride bicycles and play soccer together.

High school:

Continue reading My Queer Story →

Equality, Gender, Sexism, Women, Women's Rights

Trailblazing Ranger Women and Girls Playing With Boys

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This Friday, October 16th, 2015, Major Lisa Jaster, the third woman to make it through the grueling Ranger School, is expected to graduate and walk away with her well-deserved Ranger tab.  I’m no Army woman. I’m no fan of war or the need for a military.  In fact, I’m a complete pacifist.  But that does not keep me from being proud of trailblazers like Major Lisa Jaster, Captain Kristen Griest and 1st Lieutenant Shaye Haver to remind the world that we – women and men – are more alike than we are different and we [should] have equal access and opportunity in the world.

These women, these fantastic rangers, are each “one of the boys” you could say.  Or not. Continue reading Trailblazing Ranger Women and Girls Playing With Boys →

Advocacy, Black Lives Matter, Current Events, Equality, Inequality, Politics, Racism, Sexism

Standing in Solidarity: Black Lives Matter

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I didn’t plan on writing this piece about #BlackLivesMatter.  I wanted to watch how it all played out without getting too involved. Truthfully I was afraid that I would say something wrong that would make me look unintelligent and uninformed. Then I realized that by being silent about it, somehow I was allowing more damage to happen.  I write this from a place of vulnerability, love, and hope.  I’m willing to be brave for those whose voices are drowning in fear. I hope to amplify the voices of my black brothers and sisters as they scream, even when it seems no one is listening. I hope to be corrected, as needed, by those whose lives are in danger and whose shoes I can never occupy. I will keep listening.

Continue reading Standing in Solidarity: Black Lives Matter →