Death and Social Media

Over this break, we Fast and Furious fans were devastated by the loss of Paul Walker in a fatal car crash.

A Bra That Fits!

When I went over to my friend’s house this afternoon, the first thing she said to me was “help me measure myself!” No, she’s not on some sort of diet or fitness regimen. She was trying to figure out her real bra size from this fit guide.

I was curious to see if I have been wearing the wrong size all along, and my suspicions were correct. Instead of the 38C I thought I was, I ended up being a 32J (32GG in UK sizes)!

I have yet to see if this new size is valid or not since only a few handful of stores carry sizes DD and up (have you ever heard of a J cup? I hadn’t until today!). When I finally take a trip down to Nordstrom to try on a couple (very expensive, ugh) bras in this size, I’ll report back to you, but I figured I’d leave the guide here for you all. The results may shock you!

The guide also provides information about how to determine if you have a wide or narrow breast root, if your breasts are shallow or projected, or if they are fuller on the top or bottom. After you have figured out what shape your breasts are, the guide provides a list of stores and bra models that fit best for your breast shape. I found it to be an extremely helpful read.

No Shave November: A Reflection

So this year, I partook in my first ever No Shave November. If you haven’t heard of this, it’s a month long event in which participants forgo shaving their body hair. I am not sure of the event’s origins, but have heard of several different reasons behind it, one of them being to raise cancer awareness. However, I think it has come to be understood as more of a personal challenge for people to undertake.

It is much more commonplace for men to partake in No Shave November, but the event is not exclusive to men. Still, it has generally come to be viewed as an exclusively male event as men are largely the only participants to document their experience on social media. This could be due to the fact that for men, No Shave November usually means growing out facial hair, and it is much less shocking for a man to share a photo or story of growing out his facial hair than it is for a woman to share a photo or story of growing out her armpit or leg hair. I think the stigma surrounding female body hair has helped perpetuate the idea of No Shave November as an exclusively male event.

Darn tootin’!
Courtesy of sassyecards.com

I had never thought of partaking before this year. In fact, my participation this year sort of happened by accident. 

Cisnormativity: here, there, and everywhere

Sometimes, it’s tough to keep inclusivity in mind. I get that; I really do. When you’re talking about breasts, breastfeeding, bras and breast cancer, women are put front and center — and hey, wouldn’t you know it, most people with breasts are women. (At least, that’s the mentality.) Similarly, you’ll find that talking about vaginas — I’m looking at you, Vagina Monologues — and penises and other gendered body parts similarly revolves around the one gender designated to have those parts. Fair enough, right? Discussions of men vs. women, boys vs. girls, “both” sexes, and being attracted to the “opposite” sex; each of these things sound pretty much par for the course based on what our society as a whole knows and acknowledges. I usually am inclined to give folks a free pass, to hold my hands in front of me defensively and say “alright, alright, you don’t know, it’s whatever.”

Except, it isn’t something that should just be shrugged off. Not really.

Trust your body

About a month ago I went to visit my Doctor for the first time in about 5 years. I found after a certain age my primary physician was replaced by my gynecologist.

In general I think I’m healthy other than once a year getting the common cold or flu. Since the beginning of this semester I hadn’t been feeling my normal self. I had been suffering from stomachaches constantly, feeling exhausted even after a full night rest and suffering from headaches daily.

Lets Make Girls Unstoppable

Have you heard about Dove’s campaign called Lets Make Girls Unstoppable? It aims to help girls build self esteem. I first heard about this on Access Hollywood’s morning show when Jess Weiner was a guest on the show. Please take six and half minutes to watch the clip from the show.

It will be ok….

Let’s call this a fallow up post! In my previous post I talked about my experience as a female leader and how different and sometimes difficult  that is. That how I experience ignorance in my position from the people that I am in charge of because of my gender. This mostly ( and I can even say only) happens when I am working with my cultural group as the president, and mostly the guys of the group .  I truly believe what they have been thought and seen in their families influences the way they look at a female being a leader, and in other words “being in charge of them” .