STAFF PICKS
WHAT HAS A WOMAN YOU ADMIRED DONE TO SHAKE TABLES?
We all have women who've inspired us, and most likely they've ogtten in trouble for something. CY WHITE MANAGING EDITOR
18 | AUSTIN WOMAN | MARCH 2022
KRISNA MENIER DIRECTOR OF EVENTS AND BRANDING STRATEGY
Monogamous versus polyamorous. Fetishes. Why we cheat versus why we stay. All subjects that used to be so taboo that we were drowning in our own curiosity. Esther Perel has opened the doors to communicating, understanding, questioning and redefining modern-day relationships. Born and raised by Holocaust survivors in Belgium, Esther came to the States in graduate school to study the relationships of other immigrants. She asked questions no one dared to and wrote papers on subjects others only spoke about behind closed doors. Without hesitation Esther was on a mission to bring humankind to a better understanding of themselves, regardless of how many feathers it may rustle. “I wanted people to question themselves, to speak the unspoken and to be unafraid to challenge sexual and emotional correctness.” Many years later, Ester Perel has achieved her goal with multiple bestselling books, TED talks, podcasts and even a soldout game aimed at getting couples to tell each other their stories without fear of judgment. She has no plans for slowing down and continues her study on neuroscience, attachment theory, neuro-linguistic programming and psychodrama.
All photos courtesy of respective staff member.
One of my greatest inspirations is Queen Ancestor Eartha Kitt. Her entire life was lived in rebellion. The fact that she succeeded (in exceptional ways) is testament to her strength and unapologetic belief in herself. There are so many instances to draw from: her open expression of her sexuality, her fearless subversion of gender norms, the way she always spoke out against not just blatant racism but the microaggressions people tend to dismiss (a great quote from her: “When I walk into a church, I only see paintings of white angels. Why?”). But I’ll focus on her very vocal opposition to the Vietnam War. When she was invited to the White House by “Lady bird” Johnson (for her Women Doers Luncheon), she openly criticized the sitting President, Lyndon B. Johnson, for continuing a war that was then in its thirteenth year. As an advocate for the youth and having been very active in several youth groups, she understood the terrors of the war from the perspective of those who were being sent to Vietnam to essentially be unwilling casualties of war. “You send the best of this country off to be shot and maimed…They don’t want to go to school, ’cause they’re going to be snatched off from their mothers to be shot in Vietnam.” After this point, she was essentially blacklisted from Hollywood. But she never took it back and she never apologized. Just one of a million reasons why she’s one of my inspirations.
