By: Alyssa Proulx June 15, 2019June 15, 2019 OPINION, WOMEN'S HEALTHbody shaming, featuredLeave a Comment

I Need to be Thin: A Psychosocial Perspective

Of all the women I’ve known and loved, there is an underlying effort that is, for the most part, unsaid. Among the bravest of us, a few voices on body-image dissatisfaction have started to ring in the air and find their place in the research and literature around the pressure for women to be thin.…

By: Prathigna Yerakala May 29, 2019June 15, 2019 CULTUREfeaturedLeave a Comment

The Perfect Percent

On red hot mornings, we drink masala chai. As the sun rises, we rise with it. Vendors trudge through the bustling streets with a vigor unlike any other. The sound of car horns and restless rush hour victims echo through the ivory walls. Downstairs, my aunts are ringing bells inside the pooja room and the…

By: Jacia Gibson April 3, 2019June 15, 2019 EMPOWERMENTEncouragement, featured, Natural HairLeave a Comment

Dear Me: A Journey To Embracing My Natural Hair

Dear Jacia (Age 15-17), During your matriculation in college at Clark Atlanta University, you will understand the enriching dynamics of your natural hair and how negative stereotypes will change to positive ones. The beauty, manageability, and biology of your hair will take a front seat to become your confidence. Your natural hair journey will not…

ABOUT

WHO ARE WE? Reclamation Magazine is a digital publication committed to amplifying the voices of the marginalized. We attempt to give the communities and the people whose perspectives have been cast off in the mainstream a platform to express themselves — to showcase their vulnerability, to stand tall in the face of adversity, and to…

Liza

By: Elizabeth Ajose July 17, 2019July 17, 2019

THE ARTSLeave a Comment

Liza is the name of the sun goddess of West Africa. Here is my interpretation of her. A vision came to my head to make a woman bigger than life to sit on top of the sun. She’s wearing beautiful yellow clothing and who better to be ruler of the sun than a woman?! And…

Hair We Go Again: My Relationship With My Body Hair Through The Years

By: Saachi Gupta July 17, 2019July 17, 2019

CULTURE, FEMINISMbody hair, FEMINISMLeave a Comment

As a young girl, I would stare at the hair covering my legs, trying to wish it all away, imagining how smooth my legs would be without it. I would dream of the day when I would be old enough to start waxing or shaving, or do anything that’ll make my body hair disappear. My eyebrows were thick, I had what people loved to call a moustache (and have now simply started addressing as ‘upper lip hair’—surprise, surprise, it’s still a moustache) and my hands and legs were just as hairy.

identity politics

By: Meriem Sadoun June 23, 2019June 23, 2019

POETRY & PROSE, THE ARTSLeave a Comment

lip-kits thick with identity politics curves and thighs commodified as if they haven’t been desirable since the sun’s first shine on the Hollister skin trending back in the day well money doesn’t define worth ads and photo ops don’t make it all better look closely at the composition question do they stand there fettered? chained?…

Inspired by Representation

By: Mediatrice Dusabe June 23, 2019June 23, 2019

CULTURE, EMPOWERMENTLeave a Comment

When I was about 15 years old, I was watching the news with Papa. I had been living in Australia for 8 years, and I’d read more books than I could count. I had completely fallen in love with the English language, and I couldn’t wait to grow up and use what I’d learned in…

The Monologue of a Young Indian Man Struggling with Mental Health – Part 2: Love, Life, & Mental Health

By: Mohammed Arai June 20, 2019June 25, 2019

HEALTH & WELLNESS, MENTAL HEALTHLove life, mental health, The Monologue of a Young Indian Man Struggling with Mental HealthLeave a Comment

A sensible guy would simply reverse his car if he needs to pick up his right-next-door neighbour. But I don’t ever do that. I prefer to play it safe and drive around my block to pick her up daily for campus. None of my snooping and take-it-or-leave-it advice-giving Indian neighbours have noticed this peculiar habit…

Little Brown Girl

By: Elizabeth Ajose June 15, 2019June 23, 2019

POETRY & PROSE, THE ARTSLeave a Comment

Your Mother tells you you are as sweet as sugar Your father calls you a spunky little diva You are beautiful Little Brown Girl Ready to conquer the world Love the skin you’re in Love yourself from within Your natural hair is excellent the way it is Rock your Afro with pride Don’t fall in…

Like Father, Like Son

By: Elizabeth Ajose June 15, 2019June 23, 2019

POETRY & PROSE, THE ARTSLeave a Comment

There’s always been a stigma that black men can’t take care of their children. Not all fathers leave their children without a father figure. It’s important for fathers of black children to stick around emotionally and be around their space. Fathers need to be able to instill lifelong values to teach their child to tackle…

My Baby

By: Elizabeth Ajose June 15, 2019June 23, 2019

POETRY & PROSE, THE ARTSLeave a Comment

Black love is such a beautiful thing Like a butterfly about to spread its wings The union between two souls is unmatched That’s nothing but a fact You got me and I got you Whether skies are gray or when skies are blue Coffee and cream, tea and honey The way you look at me…

I Need to be Thin: A Psychosocial Perspective

By: Alyssa Proulx June 15, 2019June 15, 2019

OPINION, WOMEN'S HEALTHbody shaming, featuredLeave a Comment