To my sister struggling with an Eating Disorder

Dear Sister, I see you. I see the ways you keep track of your calories, skip meals, avoid fried food, sweets, breads.   I see how you pretend not to be hungry or occupy your time to avoid/ ignore the hunger.  I see you rush in and out of the bathroom after meals.  I see you…

Friends With Benefits

It was a summer in college and I wanted a boyfriend. To change things up, I created an okCupid profile, put my best photos and made myself sound amazing. After a series of first dates that didn’t go anywhere, I get a message from this charming and attractive young guy. He asked me to meet…

Leggings.

Imagine my shock when my psychology professor referenced Nelly in our college course. Wondering if I heard him correctly, I listened a little closer. He repeated: “That’s right, Nelly was onto something when he rapped about the waist-hip ratio.” I had grown up exposed to hip-hop culture’s fascination with the measurements of women thanks to…

What Every Girl Should REALLY Know

In 1916, Margaret Sanger published What Every Girl Should Know,  which addressed young women about their femininity and fertility. This book promotes a culture of “use”, where our bodies become mere instruments to be manipulated for whatever outcome we desire while masquerading under the banner of liberation and freedom. That book title made me think.…

We Have A Women Problem

How can women raise the standard for the way men treat women? There are few things as powerful as a woman who knows who she is and the beautiful love she was made for! Fulton Sheen says that: “To a great extent the level of any civilization is the level of its womanhood. When a…

Chastity? Let’s Get Real.

We spend a lot of time speaking on the amazing, heroic, live-giving virtue of chastity, which is great. But every now and again, I think we need to take a moment to come back down to earth and remind ourselves of the messy reality of living out this incredible virtue. Allow me to be blunt:…

Identity & Sexuality

Who am I? Even though our culture places a huge emphasis on sexual identity and attraction, the reality is that sexuality and attraction are a part of identity, but not the basis. Certainly, my identity is inseparable from my sexuality, because it is a significant aspect of my humanity and most definitely influences my experience…

Masturbation. What’s the Big Deal?

The other day I came across a magazine article by Cosmopolitan that popped up in my “Featured” feed on Snapchat that read: “8 Health Benefits of Masturbation.” Naturally, I’m always so shocked at the racy content that finds its way into my social media feeds, and how easily accessible it is even when I’m not…