Juicing While Black
I’m walking into a civic engagement training in Midtown Detroit when a white lady stops me, glances at my hand and asks, “What did you juice?” I have my workbag in one hand and a mason jar filled with...
View ArticleYour Sensuality & Sexuality: How Do I Get Him to a Couples Workshop?
DEAR DEVI, I’d like to attend a couples workshop with my partner, but he essentially says ‘no’ whenever I suggest the idea. Without issuing an ultimatum (which I know is not a good idea), how do I...
View ArticleWhen Black Isn’t Beautiful … And How Sexual Healing Told Me Otherwise
I learned from a very young age that black is not beautiful. I learned from all the childhood fairytales and Walt Disney stories which described the beautiful white princess with flowing blond hair,...
View ArticleWhat to do When the Monster Comes Roaring Out
Let me start with admitting that I recently lost my mind on a parking lot attendant … you know, the gatekeeper at a parking garage. It’s not a proud moment by any means, especially since the guy was...
View ArticleYour Sensuality & Sexuality: About Those Smells in the Lady Area
DEAR DEVI, I sometimes feel uncomfortable about having sex with my partner because of the way I smell “down there.” Is there anything I can do about the way my body smells? First, let me say that 99.9%...
View ArticleSecrets of Who’s Who Under Those Head Coverings
As a Muslim woman I choose to wear a headscarf, known as the hijab, because it symbolizes the core beliefs and ethics of Islam that I hold close to my heart. Having said that, I’ve always known that...
View ArticleHow to Be on the Ground Floor of Taking a Stand (Even When it Sucks)
I winced – even though I saw the question coming. I recently got a text from a colleague in New York asking if we could have a phone call because she had a quick question about our upcoming work...
View ArticleHow Roger Ebert’s Clarity & Courage Helped Me Redefine My Son’s Disability
I distinctly remember the moment Roger Ebert became much more than just “my favorite movie reviewer.” I was listening to the radio when the reporter announced that Roger had agreed to grace the cover...
View ArticleYour Sensuality & Sexuality: What’s Your Relationship Worth?
DEAR DEVI, Everything I’ve read about Tantric sex approaches involves hours of lovemaking. With jobs, kids and everything else in life – my partner and I don’t have the luxury of lounging around like...
View ArticleWhat Will Be Your Random Acts of Kindness?
With the recent act of violence in Boston we thought it was helpful to our hearts to remember Joanne’s post following the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Now more...
View ArticleWhy Detroit and YOU Are so Much Alike
In Pune, India where I was living just a few short months ago, every well-to-do neighborhood is surrounded by a ring of slums that provides the labor to make upper-class life possible. A walk of any...
View ArticleYour Sensuality & Sexuality: Unveiling the Mystique of the G-Spot
NOTE: This article contains explicit and graphic material that may make some people uncomfortable. DEAR DEVI, I keep hearing people talk about “The G-Spot” in women. I can’t seem to find mine, and...
View ArticleMy Mother’s Warning: “You know if you put it on, you can’t take it off”
I remember sitting on my parents’ bed as a kid and trying to wrap one of my mom’s headscarves around my head. Standing on the bed, looking into the mirror that sat atop their dresser, I saw myself take...
View ArticleHow to be a Loving Daughter to Hard to Love People
My parents refused to let me be at the hospital when my mother was scheduled to have extensive surgery on her spine. “You’re busy,” my mother said. “I don’t need you there,” my dad told me, almost...
View ArticleThe Foot-in-Your-Mouth Approach to Adoption
My mother was silent all the way through dinner. I was out with her, my stepfather and sister when I broke the news – right in the middle of the restaurant. “Joe and I have decided to adopt,” I said...
View ArticleMy Young Mother’s Secret Miracle (Me!)
My grandmother would always tell my mother, Bridget, “If you ever have a baby, I’ll kill you!” That came from a woman who was strict about the rules of her home and the expectations of our current...
View ArticleStop Corrupting Mothers Day!
Traditional Mother’s Day has been a stick in my craw since 2004 when I discovered the true roots of the holiday. Mother’s Day began as a women’s peace movement, not as the biggest Hallmark card day...
View ArticleA Tailor-Made Mother for a Child with a Disability
When I was young, other kids occasionally made fun of me for being short or walking differently or using a wheelchair. My mom helped me emotionally and intellectually understand a world that could be...
View ArticleYour Sensuality & Sexuality: About That Vibrator
NOTE: This article contains explicit and graphic material that may make some people uncomfortable. Dear Devi, Do vibrators make a woman less sensitive to touch? I’m able to orgasm really easily when...
View ArticleShouldn’t We Respect Pregnant Women & Their Fragile State?
Society has a problem. A major problem. Anytime news outlets and pop culture fans deem it okay to talk about pregnant women and their children in a negative way, there’s a definite issue. While...
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