I wrote a piece over on Tagroom.com today to not just raise awareness about equal pay for equal work — because duh, it totally does — but that we as women in the workplace should speak up and demand more, to inquire more. If wages were made public — not via a Sony hack — would you speak up for a pay increase? Why or why not? Lemme know in the comments! Oh, and be a doll and read the full story here!
source: Bloomberg
I’ve always loved P!nk because her music is powerful, her performances are full of beautiful, dare devil aerial antics and her bold girl power prowess knows no bounds. So when twitter gave her ish for looking voluptuous in a black dress while attending a cancer benefit rather than, you know, giving focus to the cause at hand: cancer. She responded to the hate in a way more of us should—she spoke up! Ohhh girl, did she!
— P!nk (@Pink) April 13, 2015
Ugh I love you and I love this picture xo https://t.co/vvUhNL99ZA
— P!nk (@Pink) April 13, 2015
You two are gorgeous. This pic makes me so happy https://t.co/qhXjtdzKCr
— P!nk (@Pink) April 13, 2015
And my personal fav…because it really is all about balance
That’s called balance! Happy birthday! https://t.co/PQp7ClklMk
— P!nk (@Pink) April 13, 2015
source: HelloGiggles.com
P!nk concluded with, “So, my good and concerned peoples, please don’t worry about me. I’m not worried about me. And I’m not worried about you either,” P!nk concluded. “I am perfectly fine, perfectly happy, and my healthy, voluptuous and crazy strong body is having some much deserved time off.”
As we continue to celebrate women’s accomplishments and look toward the future of progress and make change, this campaign is trying to make dollars…$20 bills to be exact with the face of a woman from our history…or should I say herstory.
Women on 20’s campaign, founded by Barbara Ortiz Howard, hopes to change the face of the $20 bill by year 2020, ousting Andrew Jackson’s 87-year reign and replacing him with an impactful woman in herstory. More than 150,000 people have cast their ballot in the primary for selecting their top three replacements. This total far surpasses the number of 100,000 to receive a formal response from the White House.
Run on over to RunHaven.com where I wrote a story about how important it is to put down the latte and back away from the fitness magazines splattered with sales pitches making it seem possible to get a six pack in six minutes. Hint: it’s not.
So kick the miracle drugs and workout plans right in the gonads and instead try these steps instead!
In case you didn’t know International Women’s Day is today, Sunday March 8, 2015 where the world celebrates females and brings global awareness to women issues.
I wrote about this day two years ago in a positive light and though I still view it as favorable, I want to know what’s being DONE about finding solutions to these issues. How are we preventing the kidnapping of women and selling them like objects into sex trafficking? How are we leveling the financial playing field on the field and in the boardroom? How are we going to make sure our girls grow up to understand that they belong in the engineering, science, government careers just as much as the boys, if not more? WHAT ARE WE DOING TO MAKE EQUALITY A REALITY? And not something that’s just talked about, donated to or rallied upon?
According to the International Women’s Day website, each year 1,000+ International Women’s Day events are uploaded by corporations, women’s groups, schools, governments, charities and individuals from around the world. Only 1,000 recorded? And only about 175 for the U.S. — I find this a bit disappointing.
There are events all over the world that are raising money and growing awareness, but are they lobbying the governments? I’ve been beating myself over the head for several years because I’m not understanding if all this money is being raised and all this awareness is being amplified, why is there little to no change? Maybe one solution: have more women run and become elected officials in government so they can look out for our uteruses’ well being, our pocketbooks stability and our overall safety.
Donating money and heightening awareness is all fine and well, but if corporations, for example, took money they were donating to these women’s rights organizations and instead gave their female employees a raise to catch up to the men in the company, would result in a greater and more instantaneous impact on equality. Just a thought, though I do encourage donating to some of these organizations. And I realize there’s not one solution to answer my eleventy-hundred questions.
However, what I do know is we have to stop attacking those who are using their public clout or “celebrity,” to bring about awareness. We have to stop making it a race issue or religious issue, instead we have to make it about coming together for the sake of equality in all its forms. If we keep attacking the millions who are speaking up, soon enough they’ll get tired of dodging the darts and start shutting up. No thank you, I quite like that people in the public eye are finally speaking out for the betterment of today’s society. We must empower each other and stand together in order to make change.
When I saw this ad my initial reaction was, “can’t we just let this damn dress debate go? Seriously?” Until I saw the ad the Salvation Army in South Africa just released and it might just be the most gut wrenching, but powerful take on the viral phenomenon — in the form of a domestic violence PSA.
agency: Ireland Davenport
“Why is it so hard to see black and blue?” reads the headline as the model in the photograph is clad in the white and gold shaded dress covered in bruises. The copy then reads: “The only illusion is if you think it was her choice. One in 6 women are victims of abuse. Stop abuse against women.”
(the original version of this posting appeared on tagroom.com)
A great follow up from my “Losing Your Voice” post about how girls’ voices plummet along with their confidence as they age and discover the cultural and societal (and cruel) norms.
I’m loving that Always is combatting this idea by airing their #LikeaGirl commercial during Sunday’s Super Bowl. I’m also sad this is still a thing and curious about what happens to us females who overtime start to fall into the fold and believe in these ever-grained stigmas of girlhood as being silly and frivolous. I mean, do you remember running like you had two broken knee caps as portrayed in the commercial? No? Me neither. I just ran and ran as fast as I could for as long as I could.
It’s time to end the stigma of being a girl. It’s time to flip it on its head and show the world we are all strong. As for those societal “norms”—get gone, you have no room in this new generation of strong girls!
It’s time to be bolder, older. The complex navigation of the “in between stage” is something we all go through, some of you might be there now, and others have come out on the other end, thriving.
There’s this new phenomenon, OK not new just now being talked about (finally). It is the “losing their voice” phenomenon that is muting girls in the adolescent phase through to adulthood as they become more astute to the culture and societal, albeit ridiculous, standards infiltrating their psyche.
Does this really happen? Absolutely, I’ve been a witness to it time and time again through friends and young girls I interact with at the dance studio. Does it have to happen? No way! And here’s why…
When I was young, I was the girl that hid behind my mother’s legs in elevators, never uttering a peep until I got into the house or car with my family—my “safe” space, while other kids were running around giving their unfiltered opinion of the world around them. Today, I’m a more confident woman, who is bold and isn’t afraid of voicing my opinion, something that has developed over time and really escalating in the last few years, post-college. Who do I have to thank for that?
The real world: It’s complete with an all-too-often male-dominated (we’re working on that!), career driven environment forcing me to be ballsy and step out of my comfort zone.
My mother and other positive female role models and entrepreneurs in my life: They encourage me to be vocal, go after what I want (no matter how big the dream) and never bat an eye at the haters (because haters gon’ hate..hate..hate..)
How can you encourage those girls and women currently idle in this “in between”? Well, Fast Company published a well-articulated article to encourage women to not be comfortable fitting in the feminine and often “passive” role, but to instead be confident, fearless and wildly obsessed with their lives and own their opinions!
Here’s my commentary on Fast Company’s list on how to pump up the girls and women in your life (p.s. you’re included in this!):
1. Encouraging their interests
If it’s boxing, snowboarding, dancing, or putting together vision boards lift them up. Step into their world, be curious and ask questions, who knows you may learn something yourself. Never ever, shrug it off or tear them down for being into something that’s not your mug o’ joy.
2. Call out and monitor the media, which includes user generated social media (Instagram, I’m looking at you) and be avid in smashing the stereotypes into smithereens through discussions 😉
3. Watch your own talk
OK, THIS IS THE HARDEST. If I’m having a downtrodden day, we all have them, and overall feel “bleh” about my body, I try to spin it around and find something positive about myself, rather than intoxicating my social feeds both online and IRL with my “woe is me” messages, that inadvertently girls and women are reading and listening to which leads to the appearance dictating self-worth in their subconscious, similarly to those Photoshopped teen magazines that show the unrealistic beauty standards. This is a great practice for all you mothers and sisters out there who are constantly around your favorite girl!
4. Create a safe space for them to express themselves
For me, growing up, my expression was in the dance studio, which looking back is strange because I think dance has a stigma of being body obsessed. I was fortunate enough to grow up in a studio that believes dance is for everyone (shape, size, color—all are welcome!)
5. Bring awareness to the “loss of voice” phenomenon!
Sometimes talking it out (or writing it out) and helping others see that this does happen at their age—but it doesn’t have to—if you’re surrounded by the right people with the right uplifting messages you will forever build your voice to new decibels.
I believe every one is entitled to his/her opinion, moral stances, religious beliefs, the works, but I also believe every one (man and woman) should have full authority of their body and being.
My body has no room for government, employers, or anyone else for that matter putting their nose (or anything else) where it doesn’t belong. After all…my privates — my privacy.
As Roe v. Wade marks its 42nd Anniversary today with hundreds of wonderful activists celebrating at the Supreme court this afternoon, these women and men of the feminism movement are standing strong as the House of Representatives votes on the HR7 bill, or the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act”—a bill that would make it nearly impossible for women to access insurance coverage that includes abortion. I’m proud to be apart of this movement and the steadfast approach to protecting what is rightfully mine, which includes, but is not limited to, whether or not I want to birth and raise a child.
Objections to Roe v. Wade are nothing new. Even 42 years later, states have been putting figurative chastity belts on laws allowing a woman’s right to choose. Some of these overly complex mandates include a mandatory “waiting period” that force women to make regular clinic visits (and spend more money), unnecessary regulations on the facilities that often force those clinics to close their doors, and bans on insurance coverage which increase the out-of-pocket cost of the procedure—many of them, an average women cannot fulfill (because of the ever-present wage gap, another conversation for another day.)
Take action to protect our private parts, they’re private for a reason!
Now, I know this is a rather radical post here on the Shattered Slipper, but an important one nonetheless. Let’s continue this conversation in the comments.
Today’s teens have run rampant on the Internet with their shares and over shares through photos, mindless tweets and hormones. Oh…the hormones. But seeing what these teens share on their social networking sites is embarrassing to their older selves.
All I’m saying is I’m grateful that I joined the digital world in the early 2000s when the Internet was dial up, (“Mom, get off the phone I want to use the Internet!”) AOL AIM was the new cool way to communicate with your friends because your razor phone didn’t have texting, and Twitter just simply meant you were a “twit” x 2.
Unfortunately, teens don’t have the luxury of Facebook being exclusive to the college crowd with those legit .edu emails, but instead they have the freedom of expression when and wherever they feel the urge to share. YAY FREEDOM! But as former first lady, Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “with great freedom comes great responsibility.” Responsibility…that pesky trait that is thrust upon us (most of the time) with age. When I was a teen, I was carefree and the only thing I was “responsible” for was completing my homework on time, acing that test, being a good friend, and the occasional laundry load. Now, at an earlier age, teens are responsible for their adult future the moment they create their first online profile.
Social networks make sharing a feeling, thought or angst too easy. Have a feeling? Type it out or snapshot it and put it out into the world. BAMZINGO. Easy Peasy. No second thoughts or maybe even first thoughts needed. It’s not like Facebook asks you, “are you sure you want to post this hateful message about Caroline to your timeline,” before you post said hateful message. Sure, for some period of time there’s a feeling of relief or a sense of pride and importance. Because today popularity is based on how many people “like” your selfie picture you just shared on Instagram, never mind the fact that many of your followers are trolls, bots or worse yet, sex offenders.
An article published in The Washington Post regarding how FLOTUS, Michele Obama, and how she is educating her daughters, Malia and Sasha, to navigate this Wild Wild Web era.
“I think they are [some] of the first kids in the White House growing up where everybody’s got a cell phone and everybody’s watching, Michele Obama said in a 2012 interview with women’s magazine, iVillage.
“We just have to have real conversations even now, it’s: ‘You can’t go off on somebody. You can’t act bratty. You may be having a moment but somebody could use that moment and try to define you forever.’”
The “forever” part is what many teens (and even college coeds) skip over. Even if that angsty tweet included every shade of profanity is deleted, it’s still there. The Library of Congress has it in their archives, seriously, (MWHAHA) and it can and will come back and rear its ugly truth when you’re interviewing for your dream job. Because just as you are defining who you are IRL (in real life), with every posting, comment, or “like” you’re defining who you are online—your persona.
With that, I give you 7 Keys to “Social” Security
1. Don’t follow for the sake of acquiring more followers.
Quality over quantity, people.
2. Avoid posting random thoughts that no one, including you, will understand tomorrow.
That’s what a private journal is for after all, your private thoughts, complaints about friends, family, and boyfriend.
3. Think. Think some more. Then Post.
As this becomes a more digital age, digital personas (whether true to your IRL persona) will play a role in how you’re viewed offline: Future employers, college admissions, significant others, etc. will care how you behave (or don’t) online.
4. Don’t post for the sake of posting.
Post because what you’re saying has a why!
5. Don’t have usernames like “faggotbaby” and “nookiecookies”.
Just don’t, be more creative (a.k.a. less profane), or if you’re not the creative type, simply go with your name or a version of it.
6. Refrain from posting, tweeting or retweeting images (even if you didn’t take them) that could land you in jail.
“Valentine’s day is coming up…” [insert photo of a heart-shaped candy box, but instead of chocolates it’s clumps of fresh weed…]
Seriously, I found that in a teens feed!
7. Sharing is caring.
Tell a friend that they’re tweets about so-and-so “being a hoe” is not only online bullying, but also will show up again and again when they’re application is sitting in the admissions office of their dream college or when they’re on an interview for that dream job.
How are you protecting yourself, your siblings, friends, or for you parents out there, your children.