EMPOWERMENT, WOMEN'S HEALTH

You’re Doing Brown Skin All Wrong

Featured Illustration: Dissirama Laba As brown girls, we have to come to the basic understanding (and agreement) that our skin care needs are on a completely different playing field than caucasian skin. Everything about it is different; skin conditions, issues, concerns, and even genetic makeup. Before this one beautiful invention called the smartphone, it was […]

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EMPOWERMENT, LGBTQ+, MENTAL HEALTH

An Exciting Life for the Depressed Mind

Trigger Warning: Mentions of suicidal thoughts and depression . . . My depression began at the age of twelve. I remember looking up one morning after I had washed my face wishing I were dead. It seemed that a tired dejected little Black girl’s face followed me around. Only her face has now grown into […]

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EMPOWERMENT, FEMINISM, LIFE

Voices Leak Identities: On Speaking Up

Featured Illustration: Camila Rosa Voices leak identities, someone told me recently when I confessed to being terrified of public speaking. I had been asked to present a lecture on the cultural aspects of slavery, for an online seminar. In spite of feeling confident about the topic, I was aware of a familiar pervasive feeling of […]

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CULTURE, EMPOWERMENT, FEMINISM

Of Kulfi and Kajals: How One Beauty Brand is Bridging the Gap Between Tradition and Innovation

Featured Image: Badal Patel Kulfi Beauty is as sweet as it is disruptive. While inclusivity is necessary for any industry, this upcoming NYC-based beauty brand is set on exploring something more — self-reflection and celebration. Through intentional storytelling, Kulfi boldly confronts colorism, classism, and patriarchal norms that have been historically embedded within the South Asian […]

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CULTURE, EMPOWERMENT, POETRY & PROSE

brown skinned girl

Featured Illustration: Phung Banh Brown skinned girl Coconut wet black curls. Pigment in that burning gaze Could light any candle that holds your space. Speak with those honeyed and remedied lips Sway into the night with your ancestors’ hips. Never let them take your cinnamon sighs For a sign of defeated cries. Across the palms […]

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CULTURE, FEMINISM

The “F” Word: Feminism in Pakistan

Pakistan is a predominantly Muslim country — Islam itself has given Muslim women many rights and so has Prophet Muhammad (may peace and blessings be upon him), but why does the nation fear feminism so much? When the word feminism is even uttered many roll their eyes, but such people have only have seen and […]

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