“We teach girls shame. Close your legs, cover yourself, we make them feel as though being born female they’re already guilty of something. And so, girls grow up to be women who cannot say they have desire. They grow up to be women who silence themselves. They grow up to be women who cannot say what they truly think. And they grow up–and this is the worst thing we do to girls–they grow up to be women who have turned pretense into an art form.”

-Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

(via Priya Balagopal)

“In my opinion having a tough skin comes with age. I get mine from the ‘Creative’. It doesn’t mean that one is impenetrable. It means that one has the ability to accept life as it happens with no regrets. From this stems nurture. From beneath this very skin lives acceptance and understanding. Creatures outside of self will always do exactly what they will. So do what you must, and take care of yourself.” -Gracie

Them braids, that neck piece, his sweet eyes are EVERYTHING!

Colorful peacock ladies. Our thighs straddle-maple. We tease’s with ease. Playful tongues of fur and feathers. Areola’s dangle to touch. Guava to taste. Like a sugary sand. And we nurture soliloquy’s dripping down our chins. Pungent smells from between thighs. We pin down to catch the feeling. We love-on transitions. At times mirroring our weakness, our fears, our inability to cope. Our expressions are safe here. We take from both past and present. Love is real here. No fear here. Sweat on sweet. Love or lust we feel so much aah. No time constraints just us giving all we got. From orange moons lined with red rivers. Cross the deep or submerged beneath it. We keep it-live. Alive from each others breath.  Women. Curved. Scarred. Strong. Thick. Bones. Garbed. High. Fly. Why? Cause I love em. Gracie

In a world in which the female body is always up for critique, Griner stands as very tall testament to how much we’ve changed in our attitudes toward difference, but also to the distance we have yet to travel. Hers is the story of how a 22-year-old physical anomaly with the energy of the goofy skater kid she is during her off-hours—leaving the arena, Griner worked her long torso through an open car window and sat on the door’s edge, hollering to a teammate behind us—is challenging norms of both sexuality and gender. “Gender is who you go to bed as,” says one specialist in gender identity issues. “Sexuality is who you go to bed with.”

http://www.elle.com/life-love/society-career/brittney-griner-profile

1950’s, brown corduroy vest, faded cream polo t-shirt, and adorned with 1920’s ‘first aide’ pin. Saved the day.

Made me smile today. 🙂