Weight Watchers Launches New Program

Weight Watchers is launching a new summer program to fight childhood obesity. Although this may sound glorious in its intentions, I believe it’s quite the opposite. Admittedly, obesity is a very real dilemma, but I’m not exactly sure that dieting is the way to ‘cure’ obesity. We’re told by these programs that dieting is effective,…

A Simple Guide to Lead a Better Life

Hey guys! I haven’t written in quite some time, and I want to start out 2018 on a positive note. Recently, I started following a body positivity coach and activist by the name of Michelle Elman. I think it has been two weeks into following her account, and I genuinely have found her very helpful….

The Tobacco Industry Targets Mentally Ill Patients

Let’s talk about the Tobacco industry. Recently, I was exposed to an ad by the Truth Initiative that revealed how the tobacco industry targets mentally ill clients. According to their article, “Tobacco is a Social Justice Issue: Mental Health”, a quarter of the nation is diagnosed to be mentally ill, yet 40% of them smoke cigarettes….

Why Vulnerability Makes Us Beautiful

One of the worst problems society faces is vulnerability. Sociologist Brene Brown defines vulnerability in a TED Talk titled, “The Power of Vulnerability”, and explains her journey through a six-year intensive research study. She began by asking her interviewees about connection. Connection, as Brown states, is why we’re here. However, when asked about connection, people…

Immigration: Someone Had to Bring It Up

Recently, I started reading an interesting book titled “Enrique’s Journey“, which centers around issues regarding Mexican immigrants. Journalist and author, Sonia Nazario, grew interested in the immigration of children from Mexico to the United States. Over the past decade, California and Texas have received a wave of these immigrants, and Nazario was able to deeply…

Body-Based Oppression: An Intro

Throughout earlier articles, I have touched upon fat shaming. Although this is a very serious topic, we tend to pay less attention to other forms of body-based oppression.  Feminist activist, Melissa Fabello, recently posted a video on YouTube regarding body-based oppression. In the video, she talks about the oppression she faces having a “non-ideal body type”…

Human Rights: A Global Significance

The wonderful part about being human is that we usually feel a need to help other humans. Our desire can diminish if we have not experienced a specific event. Organizations such as the Human Rights Watch are built off of human sympathy. Non-profit foundations such as the Human Rights Watch are able to drive change with…

The Beauty of Melodrama

When we watch romantic movies, they are usually overflowing with cliche melodramatic phrases. This can be a total turn off to some people, however, a pleasing fantasy to others. Sometimes, we may even be embarrassed to tell our friends that we enjoy melodrama. We don’t realize that melodramas are not all gushy love stories. Of…

Understanding the BOPO Community

My experiences with body positivity have really enabled me to understand what this community does for people. At first, when I joined (and by joined I mean followed several BOPO accounts), I didn’t understand why the community completely ignored healthy foods. They advocated eating whatever one desired. To me, this seemed unhealthy because I thought…