Appropriation can feel complicated (...sometimes). When it is so blatantly obvious, there is little hesitation in calling it what it is. And then there are the other times – you know, those moments where you catch yourself smiling, indulging in the initial overwhelming joy of seeing an aspect of yourself in an unexpected place (often a space that has felt unattainable), and then the complexity of discomfort sets in like a pit in your stomach and you aren’t exactly sure what to make of it.

Glad to be here? Please tap the little ❤️ icon above. It releases a flood of oxytocin in all women 21 and up. Enjoy! Another way you might release a flood of oxytocin: Listen to my interview on the Everything is Fine podcast. The co-hosts Jennifer Romolini and Kim France were exceptionally fun to talk with—and they’re terrific listeners. (The podcast is … ncG1vNJzZmiukaGys7XEpqanqp%2Bae7TBwayrmpubY7CwuY6pZq2vn2LAqrnPpZxmrKKqwam%2FjJqZqK2kYsCstc2cmKud

Is it okay to use sea sponges for your period? -Via TikTok Short Take No.  Share The Vajenda Go On... Sea sponges are aquatic animals. As filter feeders, water circulates through their pores and channels allowing the sponge to extract oxygen, bacteria and small particles and also to remove waste. When dried for commercial use, sea sponges are very absorbent and unfortunately they are often marketed for menstrual use as a “natural” tampon.

If you’ve ever visited a Mexican mercado you may have spotted a cone-shaped sweetener on aisle shelves called piloncillo. Piloncillo, as it is known in Mexico and Spain, is actually just one name for the raw unrefined, minimally processed cane sugar that’s used in countries around the globe. In Colombia, the sweetener is known as panela; in India and other Southeast Asian countries, jaggery.  Much of what you’d read about piloncillo would be in comparison to brown sugar.

Many of you were introduced to Barbara Fields in connection to Ken Burns’s Civil War documentary, which originally aired on PBS documentary in 1990. A few years ago I read her book, Racecraft: The Soul of Inequality in American Life, which she co-authored with her sister, Karen E. Fields. It’s a challenging read that offers an entirely new way to think about the history of race in America and the language we use to describe it.