How Does Fashion Impact Mental Health?
Picture this —you are getting ready to go out for a Girls Night. It is late and part of you would rather skulk into a giant t-shirt and cuddle up to Netflix. But you promised your friends. Rummaging through your…
Carnival Ready Or Not, This is the Body You’re Getting
Carnival celebrations are an immense part of Caribbean cultural traditions both on the islands and in our diaspora. Each festival is embedded with its own individual histories, characters, and customs. Before discussing one of the most widely renowned aesthetic parts…
Suicide In The Communities Of Color: Not Just A Pigment of Your Imagination
There are days when you wake up, and it appears to be a blessing. There are also the other days when it may feel as if it would have been better to not wake up at all. Many consider suicide…
Stigma In Mental Health: Being Diagnosed In Communities Of Color
Being diagnosed with a mental illness often seems to be the end of the world, a stain that you just cannot seem to remove, that everyone can see and judge you for. This is definitely true for communities of color….
Navigating Softness As A Black Women
Famous abolitionist and black women’s rights activist Sojourner Truth once said, “If women want any rights more than they’ve got, why don’t they just take them, and not be talking about it.” As I sat on my balcony staring at…
The Negative Impact Of Social Media On Relationships
I don’t know who I am. I have spent years trying to fine-tune my image as the soulful problem solver that always seems to have it under control. I’ve gotten many messages from online friends who claim to admire the…
I Want To Be Single: Fighting Expectations For Marriage And Children
Let us state truths. I am a twenty-something-year-old Black millennial woman with zero aspirations for a husband or children right now. I can see minds churning when I make this sentiment public knowledge. I must be damaged, still healing from…
Using Art Galleries As A Mental Health Tool
Gogh Look At Some Art One of the most underrated healing pastimes is attending museums or art galleries. An Art gallery purposefully provides safe spaces amongst communities. They’re nonjudgmental areas where artists display pieces expressing personal emotional significance while providing…
Social Stigma And Gender-Based Stigma Of Black Women?
Gender-Based Stigma According to Kristalyn Salters-Pedneault, Ph.D., stigma is “a perceived negative attribute that causes someone to devalue or think less of the whole person”. Now apply that to a whole people and we also have a stereotype/social stigma. Both…
Anthony Bourdain: Women Of Color Reflect On His Impact
As news of Anthony Bourdain’s death by suicide broke around the world, it was met with a wave of profound sadness. Bourdain’s colleagues and fans recalled the enormous impact he had made, not only as a Chef, Writer, and Television…