EQUALTIME Spring 2019
How two women learned how to love themselves again
BEAUTY CONSCIOUS
Five beauty products to love year round
Two women’s stories on family estrangement
ISSUE
nowing who you are is one of the hardest parts about life. There’s no manual or self help book to guide you. For me, accepting who I am hasn’t always been the easiest. I vividly remember the day I came out as gay to my parents. I was 14-years-old and it was a Sunday in April. I spent the day in the living room lounging on the couch watching The Hills while my parents were out for the day. I had always known I was gay, but never knew what it meant, and what the future would hold. In my head, I had made the decision to never tell anyone until I was 17, but there was something about that day that I just had to tell my parents. When my parents came home, I stayed away from them at first, but then went to my mom who was in her office. I told her and she looked at me with a small smile, her large brown eyes beginning to water. She was accepting - I always knew she would be. The one I was petrified to tell was my stepdad. My mom called him into her of-
fice and while clenching my fists out of fear, I told him. To my surprise, he ran over to me, hugged me and told me congratulations. I was shocked. For hours, my parents and I talked, and I’ll never forget the acceptance and ease I had talking with them, but most importantly, what my stepdad told me - “Being gay is only a small part of you, there are a million other things that make you, you. This doesn’t define you.” The point of this issue is to show that there are so many things that make us who we are - not just one single thing. Whether you’ve gone through a difficult breakup and you’re learning how to be alone again (p.22) or you’re transitioning from one gender to another (p.24), we all have different stories and identities that make us unique. Some of us might be disabled in ways we never knew (p.30), but we still are living, fighting, and breathing. With that, I say never give up and what happens in your life, happens for a reason. You are you, no one else.
Colton Madore @coltonmadore
EQUALTIME Editor in Chief
Colton Madore Managing Editor
Creative Director
EDITORIAL
CREATIVE
Micah Castelo Health Editor Liz White Lifestyle Editor Allison Ingrum Beauty Director Sam Berlin Beauty Editor Chandler Plante Features Editor Nabiha Asim Fashion Editor Sarah Felbin
CONTRIBUTORS Lifestyle Writer Samantha Perkins
Laura Angle Designers Sam Adams Dorothy Fang Grace Lively Jordan Schnitzer Photographers Sam Berlin Laura Oliverio Tori Sampson
SOCIAL Social Media Director Claire Mackman Social Media Assistant Caroline Bartholomew
PR
Features Writer Ashlyn Leen
PR Director Olivia Ly
Fashion Writer Betsy Hart
PR Assistant Caroline Bartholomew
SPECIAL THANKS Harriet Brown
Equal Time is not responsible for the individual opinions expressed within. Equal Time is published twice an academic year at Syracuse University. All contents within are copyright of the respectful creators. No content may be reproduced without the written consent of the Equal Time editorial board.
CONTENTS 6
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26
30
HEALING WITH ASMR
PIERCED AND EMPLOYED
MALE TO FEMALE
EMOTIONALLY DISABLED
Here’s what happens when you use ASMR for something else other than laughter
Years ago, visible piercings in the workplace was taboo. Is it still?
How two transgender women are conquering the world
One woman’s story of identifying as emotionally disabled
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Q+A WITH RACHEL TORGERSON This is what it’s like to be the fashion editor of Cosmopolitan
HEALTH
BEAUTY
LIFESTYLE
FEATURES
FASHION
4. The Burnout Generation Overworked and trying to make a living - the new millennials
9. Made with Truth Say goodbye to those unknown chemicals in your makeup and say hello to these fresh products
20. #SummerReading New and old - our favorite feminist reads
28. Walking Away The reality of family estrangement and how it affects individuals
34. The Rainbow Edit Our favorite colorful pieces for this summer
8. Owning the Stress Everyone gets stressed out. But what happens when you make use of your stress?
10. The life of a Beauty Influencer One influencer’s story of how she uses her power to educate others on beauty products 14. Dew me up The chic and effortless look of glowy eyes, cheeks, and lips for day and night
22. A new start Breakups aren’t the end of the world 24. Lost on Social Media This is what happens when you’re constantly comparing yourself to others
36. Bold Moves Stepping out in bright colors and fun prints never gets old
Health & Fitness
THE OTHER SIDE OF THE
BURN UT GENERATION
For some millennials, intersecting identities redefine what burnout means
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BY MICAH CASTELO | ILLUSTRATION BY CLAUDIA MCCANN
hinwendu Nwokeabia, 21, seems like your typical college student. They’re leading numerous organizations at their college in Maryland and taking six classes in their last semester, all while feeling anxious about their post-graduation plans. But Nwokeabia is facing burnout — not only because of the stress from their school work, but because of their identity as a Nigerian, queer, and androgynous person. Because of these intersecting identities, the pressures they feel seem greater than others, ultimately leading to them feeling burned out. “I’m just tired all the time,” Nwokeabia says. “There’s constant expectations for me to do really well, especially from my family.”
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Burnout isn’t anything new, but younger generations seem to be feeling it more than others. There is no clear definition of what burnout is, making it difficult to diagnose and understand how common it is, according to the National Institute of Health. However, it’s usually considered as feeling extremely exhausted, overworked, and unable to cope in difficult situations due to having a highly stressful lifestyle. Earlier this year, Buzzfeed news reporter Anne Helen Petersen wrote a piece describing how millennials have become the burnout generation, hitting on issues like “errand paralysis” or the inability to complete simple tasks because of burnout. The piece
went viral, pushing numerous news sites and blogs to cover and reflect on millennial burnout — what it is, who gets it, how people deal with it, and ultimately, whether it’s a valid problem millennials are facing or simply a term that encapsulates the feeling of being fatigued after a long work day. According to a 2018 Gallup study, 28 percent of millennials said they feel frequent or constant burnout compared to 21 percent of workers in older generations. Although there’s very little research on how millennials experience burnout, experts have pointed towards emotional exhaustion, perfectionism, and the blurry line between work and personal
life as some of the causing factors. Those factors extend for people of color, particularly those who bear various intersections of identity such as sexuality, gender, and socioeconomic status. After Petersen’s story blew up on social media, many were critical of the lack of diverse voices in the conversation. This drove Tiana Clark, an American female poet, to respond to Petersen on Twitter and write about what burnout was like for black millennials. Her published piece on Buzzfeed, “This is What Black Burnout Feels Like,” also went viral. Nwokeabia understands exactly what that’s like. They come from a Nigerian family, which they say adds a lot of pressure on their studies. “Nigerians value education a lot,” they say. “My parents have really high expectations for me grade-wise. But also, if I don’t meet them, I feel like I disappointed them.” For instance, their mother continues to talk about other Nigerian students who are graduating around the same time as them. “My mom likes bringing up that they’re going to medical school or pharmacy school, but then she still wonders what I’m doing,” they said. “I don’t have a plan, and even though I know it’s okay to not have one, it’s still scary that I don’t.” This kind of cultural pressure has taken over Nwokeabia’s life in some ways. Often times, their time is solely focused on things they need to get done for classes. It’s hard for them to return emails or do small tasks like returning packages they ordered because there’s so much going on in their head already. They push back anything that’s not an immediate task, including looking for job openings or filling out fellowship applications. “I have so many things on my to-do list, and I feel like I never get to the point where my to-do list is completely finished,” they say. Sometimes, it’s hard for Nwokeabia to feel as if their
burnout is valid. They explain that, due to their culture, they have their own internal pressure to do well or else they’ll be a huge disappointment. As immigrants, that feeling carries a lot of weight for them and their family. It’s also difficult to talk about their mental health and daily struggles because it’s not something that is often addressed in their culture. They explain that being queer adds to the stress because they haven’t told their family about it yet. “I feel like I can’t really be my true self around them because of that, and I feel like there’s this tension, especially when I’m at home,” Nwokeabia says. Natalie Gillard also feels that not being able to be her true self has been a contributing factor to her burnout. The 35-year-old is the creator and facilitator of Factuality, a board game and 90-minute crash course on structural inequality. Before Factuality, she worked in higher education, overseeing diversity programs at institutions in Maryland where minority representation was minimal. It was at that time in her life when she felt the onset of her burnout. “I would feel resistance towards my blackness, towards me being a woman, towards my sexuality, if that came out in any regard,” she says. “That lead to tremendous exhaustion — mentally, physically, and emotionally. I found myself in a position where I had to figure out an alternative because I really felt like I would compromise my mental health if I stayed in an environment that challenged my very being.” For instance, Gillard says she had to deal with microaggressions and the reactions to how she handled them in her workplace. There was one point when a white senior administrator told her to “keep it real” without any context whatsoever, she says. As a black woman, she felt bothered by it, but her white colleague didn’t understand why and refused to see it as problematic. She adds that she also had to liste
to students who dealt with similar experiences as part of her job doing diversity work, leading her to be the sole recipient of all the racist or sexist things everyone else was going through. Listening to those experiences and dealing with her own led to her burnout — from the inability to get out of bed to feeling aching sensations in her back and shoulders. “It feels like this invisible but very apparent weight that you’re carrying,” she says. Gillard says going to therapy and prioritizing self-care has helped her deal with her burnout. She says it was also important for her to be vocal about her experiences because she couldn’t keep it all inside her. “I needed other people to be aware of what was going on because in many instances, I was the sole minority or sole marginalized identity in the room, in the meeting, in the auditorium,” she says. Meanwhile, Nwokeabia says spending time alone or with their friends sometimes helps them deal with the stress. They say most of their friends are going through a similar thing, coming from marginalized backgrounds. They say there’s a sense of solidarity and camaraderie in that. Yet, transparent dialogue is what Gillard and Nwokeabia yearn for the most. Gillard says there needs to be more opportunities where structural inequality can be unpacked and where marginalized identities can be understood. “I wish there were more open conversations or spaces that allow people to show up as their authentic selves and not have to be the impostor,” she says. “Just trying to keep up — even if you’re not a victim of racism or sexism — and not having to be yourself contributes to burnout.”
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More Than Whispers ASMR may seem like a joke, but for some, it’s a way of life. BY CHANDLER PLANTE | ILLUSTRATION BY CLAUDIA MCCANN
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ideos of manicured nails tapping against metal, hands fluttering across the screen, whispers exhaled from a stranger as if they’ve known the viewer for years. These types of videos spark parodies and skits and YouTube trends, but upon closer inspection, there’s a lot more to them than mainstream media lets on. It’s a phenomenon known as ASMR, or autonomous sensory meridian response, but it’s better explained as the tingles in the brain that react to certain auditory or visual triggers. It’s a reaction that develops purely out of comfort rather than sexual pleasure. “It’s sometimes described as warm sand being trickled down the back of your neck,” says ASMR artist Jocelyn Briones, also known as Jocie B to over 16,000 YouTube subscribers. “It’s almost like a therapy.” Although limited research has been done in relation to the psychological benefits of ASMR, researchers at the University of Sheffield and Manchester Metropolitan University in England found that there is scientific proof behind the tingles these ASMR artists describe. According to the researchers’ study, participants who were exposed to ASMR had drastically lower heart rates than those who were not. Additionally, participants who watched ASMR reported feeling more relaxed and having increased feelings of social connection. For Briones, ASMR is all about creating a world of positivity and
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mindfulness in order to combat the kind of negative anxiety that she has experienced herself. “I just start getting into these cycles of negative self talks, and I think it’s really important… [to] break those cycles,” Briones says. “Any ASMR can reroute the attention, but when you’re doing an ASMR that’s [about] mindfulness or meditation, it helps redirect [negative attention] into positive thoughts.” Another ASMR artist, Sarah Toth, or more commonly known as Karuna Satori to over 676,000 YouTube subscribers, understands the kind of healing power ASMR can have. As a survivor of sexual abuse and drug addiction, she found ASMR to be a safe space; one that provided not only relaxation, but also a kind of personal intimacy that helped her go about her day-to-day life. “For myself, coming from addiction and everything like that, to find something that actually can put me to sleep at night rather than a pill or any types of medication… it’s incredible,” Toth explains. After realizing that ASMR was what caused the comforting tingles she had experienced on-and-off throughout her entire life, Toth decided to lean into the ASMR community in order to fight her anxiety and addiction. Now she makes videos of her own to help people just like her. Despite the evidence behind ASMR, it still doesn’t have the best reputation. It’s been labeled as a joke, a sexual kink, and something to be ashamed of by people who don’t have all the facts.
But in a sea of college students constantly looking for ways to improve their mental health, it’s a phenomenon that could result in real, tangible improvements. If anyone is looking to get into ASMR, Briones suggests giving it time and finding out what works best for them. “[Know] that it is going to be intimate [and] that you kind of have to explore a little bit to see what it is that you like and what you don’t like, just like everything else,” she says. It’s something a little new and a little bit confusing at first, but ASMR has real benefits — powerful enough to help people get to bed before a final or to help calm them down during a panic attack. For individuals who are already ASMR users, they should take pride in knowing their feelings are valid. For those who are not ASMR users, it might be time to give it a chance. A real one this time.
Making Stress
Your B*tch Everyone gets stressed, but for some, it’s a way to get things done. BY SAMANTHA PERKINS
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llegra Craver is stressed. Her mind is a whirlwind of thoughts after attending classes for the week and addressing her multiple priorities. Among her concerns are typical college student things, such as homework assignments, projects and other deadlines. With a schedule that doesn’t allow for any slack, she wonders if she’ll have time for it all. “Most things manage to stress me out,” says the 21-year-old Syracuse University junior. “I’m a Type A person, I need mostly everything to be planned out. I get more stressed if my life doesn’t have structure.” Craver is not alone. According to a 2018 study conducted by Harvard Medical School, researchers have found that 75 percent of college students report being stressed at least once during an academic year. Stress is often seen as something negative, but it can actually be beneficial. In fact, according to what is known as “The Yerkes-Dodson law,” one’s performance increases with mental arousal, more commonly known as stress. But when this level of stress becomes too high, performance begins to decrease. “Stress is healthy, to some extent,” says Marcella Craver, a counselor from
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New Jersey. “Performance stress, for example, helps us do well in our daily tasks.” In simpler terms, performance stress means that you might do better on an exam or play better in a soccer game if you’re under a little pressure. Chrystina Obleschuk, a 20-yearold junior at Muhlenberg College in Pennsylvania, is one who uses stress to her advantage. “Schoolwork frequently stresses me out, especially essays,” she says. “But I’ll usually do an assignment faster and more efficiently when I’m stressed and have limited time. Stress helps me get my work done.” Stress only stops being helpful when it starts affecting your performance, says Marcella. “If you’re not able to sleep or if you’re excessively thinking about something that’s stressing you out, that’s when stress becomes a problem and you should try to step back,” says Marcella. To keep her stress in check, Obleschuk always makes time for breaks during her more stressful assignments. This way, her work never overwhelms her. “I’ll take some time to make food or go to the gym,” she says. “I’ll even go to bed early if an assignment’s getting the better of me so I can wake up with a clearer mind.” Obleshuk’s mindset is great and luckily there are even other ways to
take stress off one’s mind. In fact, even faking a smile for 30 seconds can help cool down the brain and bring one’s mood back up, says Marcella.
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Stress only stops being helpful when it starts affecting your performance For Craver, if she feels overwhelmed, she likes to watch a funny video on YouTube or take a walk in her neighborhood. This allows her to take a break and come back to her work with fresh eyes, she says. “I also like to edit the book I wrote or write my new book, just so I can get away from stress to do something I enjoy.” But for right now, she takes out her planner, begins to schedule out her next few days and tells herself everything will get done. “As long as I’m productive, my stress won’t get the better of me,” she says.
Pretty Sustainable
Beauty
Five beauty products that are not only kind to your skin, but the earth, too.
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BY MICAH CASTELO | ILLUSTRATION BY GRACE LIVELY
he natural beauty industry has grown immensely from being more transparent about how products are made. According to a 2018 Nielsen report on the beauty industry, consumers want to know what’s in their makeup and skincare products.
Consumers are also increasingly motivated to buy products with sustainability, ethics, and environmental issues in mind—from the use of non-plastic packaging to transparency in labor practices. In fact, the natural beauty sector is projected to double its market size of $11 billion by
Odylique Organic Mineral Lipstick Price: $34
Handmade in the United Kingdom, this mineral lipstick is the first of its kind to be certified under Soil Association and Fair Trade standards. Its organic plant oils and butters, like jojoba and shea, make it super moisturizing. Plus, it comes in a recyclable case, a compostable box, and a variety of colors.
The Body Shop British Rose Body Butter Price: $6 for 1.72 oz
The Body Shop is a popular natural beauty company, but this body butter is one of the first they’ve advertised as having ethically-sourced ingredients. The rose essence that enhances this moisturizer comes from roses grown on a local farm in Herefordshire.
2024, according to Statista, a portal for market and consumer data. Interested in this growing trend? Here are five consciously-made beauty products that will help make your beauty routine more environmentally-friendly and ethical.
Elate Cosmetics Foundation Price: $32
Single-use plastic is a huge problem when it comes to the beauty industry, so Elate Cosmetics is changing the game by opting for reusable packaging. This foundation, which has 14 shades, comes in a glass bottle with a recyclable plastic pump and a compostable bamboo lid.
Cocokind Eye Makeup Remover Price: $14
Based in San Francisco, Cocokind is a small, woman-owned skincare company that works to bring clean and consciously-made products to the market. Their eye makeup remover is gentle and nourishing due to its organic and fair trade oils, and is certified vegan.
Lush “Feeling Younger” Skin Tint Price: $14.95
If you’re looking for a clean highlighter that’ll give you a youthful glow, this is it. “Feeling Younger” has pigments that reflect light beautifully, thanks to its concoction of jojoba oils and Fair Trade organic cocoa butter.
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One Beauty
Influencer at a Time Emily Wolf’s story of using her power as a beauty influencer during a time of countless beauty brand controversies. BY BETSY HART PHOTOGRAPHY BY TORI SAMPSON
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young woman sits down at her vanity and gets out a large colorful palette. Taking a brush and dabbing it into a shade, she applies it to her eyelid. At first glance, this appears as though it could be any woman’s typical beauty regimen. But something is different. In front of her is a camera and a bright ring light. She talks to the camera as if it is her friend and goes over each step she takes to apply her makeup. To many, she is known as a beauty influencer or beauty vlogger. Beauty influencers are known to be young women, or young men, who set trends in the beauty industry. They regularly upload videos to YouTube on makeup and hairstyling techniques with thousands, or even millions of followers. According to a study from the Public Relations Review, beauty influencers may often be referred to as third-party endorsers who shape audiences attitudes through the use of social media and promote a brand or organization. One of these third-party endorsers is Emily Wolf, a beauty influencer with over 96,000 Instagram followers and 5,600 YouTube subscribers. Wolf understands the impact that YouTubers may have on their audiences. She uses the two social media platforms as a space to not only show beauty skills, but to also promote ethical beauty. “I have seen beauty influencers directly impact brands’ decisions about products. For example, a cruelty-free
and vegan influencer featured a brand that was nearly all vegan but had one non-vegan product,” Wolf says about a fellow influencer. Once the video from the influencer was out and her fans spoke out about their disapproval of the brand’s product, the brand removed the non-vegan item, she says. This is what led Wolf to use her power to influence and advocate for cruelty-free cosmetics. She believes that her commitment to researching the cruelty-free products of brands she works with and promotes makes her an expert on the topic that people can trust, she says. “I work hard to spread education and awareness regarding animal testing on cosmetics,” says Wolf. Before working with a brand, Wolf will do research, she says. On her blog, she outlines the three steps she takes before working with a brand: directly discussing their cruelty-free status, talking to fellow ethical beauty influencers, and consulting the Leaping Bunny list, a list of cruelty-free certified brands. While animal testing is her main focus, Wolf also uses her social media platforms to discuss the small range of shades of foundation and concealer shades. To her, speaking about this issue is extremely important, she says as there are not enough shades for women. In January of 2018, beauty company Tarte Cosmetics was heavily criticized for excluding many people of color with the 15 shades of their Shape
Tape foundation they released. Tarte eventually commented on the issue in an Instagram story on their official account, apologizing for the situation and saying that they had a wider range of shades in development even before the original launch. Influencers like Wolf are sure to stand out. Lindsey White, a 19-yearold from upstate New York, is one avid watcher of numerous beauty YouTube channels and commends influencers like Wolf. The fact that there is a platform for these individuals to speak out about issues such as shade ranges of cosmetics is inspiring, she says. She also believes that an influencer has a strong impact on what is good and what isn’t. “To me, a good beauty influencer is someone who is very truthful and honest when testing products,” she says. “When a beauty influencer tests out a product that I’m interested in and likes it, I am more likely to go buy that product than if they didn’t like it.” Even though controversies are no stranger to the beauty industry, it’s a chance for Wolf to discuss and address the issues, with hopes of bettering the community and educating others. “I firmly believe in using my platform to uplift and educate,” Wolf says. “I don’t see the point in having a platform if you aren’t going to use it to help others.”
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While facial piercings may becoming the new norm, some women are still facing unease in the workplace. BY CHANDLER PLANTE ILLUSTRATION BY CLAUDIA MCCANN
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hen Holly Knutson started working at Ventana Vista Elementary school in Tucson, Arizona, she didn’t think her nose piercing would cause too many problems. Unfortunately, people quickly began to talk and she gradually became uncomfortable. First, the third graders in her own classroom began to ask questions, innocently wondering, “Why do you have an earring in your nose?” Then came the parent-teacher conferences, which led to more pronounced judgments and eventually pressured Knutson into removing her piercing for good, she says. “There’s still a lot of rules, you know? I still know a lot of people who have to cover up their tattoos or take out their piercings when they’re at work,” Knutson says. But the fear that comes with wearing facial piercings in the workplace isn’t just based on petty comments and dirty looks. According to a study from European Psychologist, researchers found that participants with piercings were found to be less intelligent than people without piercings — a finding that proves perceptions about piercings may not be as evolved as one may like to think. Before they became popularized,
piercings originated in underground groups of people who were unable to express their true selves in their daily lives, says John Joyce, owner of Scarab Body Art in Syracuse, New York. The act of piercing started off as a bonding activity for secretive LGBTQ communities, then as something for members of the sadomasochism (S&M) scene to play with, and finally as acts of rebellion for children of the punk movement to embrace, Joyce says. As a result, piercings have generally become associated with deviant behavior and rebellion. Fast forward to today, and a lot has changed. After their initial popularization in the 1990s, piercings have become pretty mainstream. According to a 2017 Statista report, over 66 percent of Americans have between one and three piercings. But despite the numbers, piercings have yet to shake off their bad reputation, especially in the workplace. McKenna Moore, the Assistant Audience Engagement Editor at Fortune Magazine, remembers fearing her post-graduation nose ring for when she started her first job. “I didn’t know what job I was going to be doing or where I was going to be working, so I didn’t want [the piercing] to be any issue for an employer,” she says. After getting her job at Fortune, however, she was relieved to find
that many other employees had visible piercings as well. Moore says she thinks this kind of acceptance is due, in large part, to the creative nature of her job. “Cracking down on creative expression personally isn’t really fair if you’re asking for creative expression professionally,” Moore says, clarifying why piercings might be more normalized in her industry than in others. To Knutson, despite some initial progress, she believes there is still have a long way to go when it comes to accepting body piercings in professional settings. However, Joyce says that patterns in piercing demographics show that the workplace is becoming much more accepting of body modifications than it has been in the past. “We do nostrils more than anything now, and we do them on women between 30 and 45 probably more than any other demographic. And it’s very much professional women in the workforce who can get away with it now,” says Joyce. The bottom line is that professional people with real jobs are becoming less afraid to get visible piercings, and it looks like the workplace will have to start accepting that. Body and facial piercings don’t send the same messages they used to, which means it’s time to start embracing them as a form
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Glistening eyes, cheeks, and lips aren’t a fantasy. You too can rock the dewy, glowy look, both day and night. PHOTOGRAPHY BY SAM BERLIN
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Model: Bria Huff
Model: Hawa Soumounou
Model: Nadia Suleman
Model: Zoe Stern
Lifestyle
Our Five Favorite Feminist Reads New, old, and in between, these five books are sure to make your summer more enjoyable. BY ALLISON INGRUM Secret book worm? Lucky for you, our lifestyle editorial staff have found some of the most radical books for your bit of spare time this summer. Whether it be on your morning commute or during a vacation, take one of these feminist reads along with you for a worthwhile mental break.
Becoming by Michelle Obama What is not to love when it comes to our favorite lady, Michelle Obama? Her compelling memoir takes readers on a journey through her life from her childhood on the South Side of Chicago to her time as First Lady of the United States. She continuously defied the odds as a woman of color, and has since inspired her readers along the way.
Bad Feminist:Essay by Roxane Gay This New York Times bestseller is comprised of a collection of essays by Roxane Gay, one of today’s most admired cultural critics, as she comments on the current cultural landscape through her own experiences and observations. By giving readers an insight into her progression as a woman and as a feminist, the book helps us examine society and leaves readers with a call to action to do the same.
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Lifestyle
From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor The award winning book by activist and scholar Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor examines both historical and current racism and structural inequalities against people of color such as mass incarceration and unemployment. Situating on the current struggle to overcome police brutality, Taylor argues the #BlackLivesMatter movement has awoken a new generation of activists, potentially reigniting a larger push for Black liberation.
Black Brown Yellow and Left, Radical Activism in Los Angeles by Laura Pulido Laura Pulido contextualizes Southern California’s third world radicalism of the 1960s and 1970s by comparing the similarities and differences of how African American, Chicana/o, and Japanese American groups began to realize their ideas of race, class, gender, as well as multicultural alliances. Through her research and interviews, Pulido sheds light on their activism and shows readers where they are now.
Headscarves and Hymens: Why the Middle East needs a Sexual Revolution by Mona Eltahawy Written by journalist Mona Eltahawy, Headscarves and Hymens continues her activist work by condemning the political, cultural, and religious forces which repress millions of women today. The book, comprised of hope and anger, is an unapologetic call to action on the behalf of the women she met through her travels across the Middle East and North Africa, critiquing the culture.
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Flying Solo Breakups can be hard, but when your lives begin to blend together and become one, it can be the end of the world. BY SAMANTHA PERKINS | ILLUSTRATION BY GRACE LIVELY
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helsea Hathaway spent the last few months of college planning a future with her boyfriend. After dating for over three years, it made sense to them that their next step after graduating would be to move in together. The couple decided to move to a small city in Massachusetts that was close to her boyfriend Shawn’s* new teaching job. They settled into an apartment together in July 2017 and were excited to start their post-grad lives together. Four months later on a Sunday afternoon, Shawn sat next to Hathaway on the couch, took her hand, and told her that he was unhappy. He wanted to break up. With just a few sentences, the life the two had built and the future Hathaway expected shattered. “I was totally blindsided,” she says. Hathaway took the breakup very hard. The two continued to live together for two weeks until he found a new apartment, which made the breakup even more difficult to deal with, she says. Ending a relationship after investing years into it is never easy and nearly always hurts both parties involved, says Dr. Joseph Fanelli, a marriage and family therapist and instructor at Syracuse University. “Reactions to the ending of a long-term relationship can range from ‘relief’ to ‘heartbreak,’ and while some of it may depend on who broke up with who, there’s a definite impact on both sides,” he says. “You’re both contending with the grief and loss that comes with a breakup.”
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For Hathaway, it took time before she went through the five stages of grief, but some were long than others, she says. “I was initially in denial, thinking he’d wake up the next day and everything was going to be fine. But a few days later I heard him talking on the phone about how he thought he’d found a new apartment and I was shocked. Then there was a lot of anger and a lot of crying.”
“
I was able to do whatever I wanted without having to explain myself to anyone Like Hathaway, Stephanie Otis built a life around her ex-boyfriend, Max. The two began dating in 2006 during her senior year of high school. After nearly a year together, Otis decided to attend the same college as Max. “I chased the security and safety I thought he offered,” says Otis. The couple dated for nearly four years, until they eventually broke up. Otis remembers many of their problems developed from his jealousy and her disinterest in having to change her friend group to accommodate him, she says. Even though their breakup was
somewhat mutual, it was still difficult to process for Otis. “We essentially had been one another’s best friend,” she says. Over the four years, the couple began to grow together as one. Their lives seemed to even blur together. When it came to the breakup, it seemed unfathomable to cope with being alone, says Otis. After their breakups, both Otis and Hathaway had to give themselves time to heal before making future moves, something that Fanelli says is key to moving on. “It sounds cliché, but giving yourself time holds so much importance,” Fanelli says. “You have to get through it and learn from it and grow because of it, but the process is often gray and murky. There isn’t one way to navigate healing.” One of the steps Otis decided to take to help her move on from the break with Max was see a counselor. Together, she and the counselor would work on what Otis could do next. Otis eventually overhauled her life with the help of her counselor. “I realized I had lost myself inside the relationship,” she says. “Breaking up opened me up to new friendships and opportunities. I was able to do whatever I wanted without having to explain myself to anyone.” Now, nearly a decade after her breakup, Otis is happily teaching high school students and is newly married to a man who respects her need for independence.
As for Hathaway, learning how to be alone was a more difficult journey. “I was devastated. I wasn’t eating a lot, I wasn’t my usual upbeat self,” she says. “The person I’d been talking to every single day for the past three and a half years was gone.” Hathaway reconnected with old friends and made plans every weekend to stay busy, but knew she still wasn’t coping well, so she decided to contact a therapist in January 2018. After starting therapy, she finally began finding things she enjoyed that had no ties to Shawn. “I found shows we didn’t watch together, I started going to the gym, and I really got into knitting,” she says. “I also found things to do alone. I went to the zoo alone, I went to museums alone, I went on hikes alone. That was kind of reclaiming myself because I spent the most formative years of my life with somebody else and I had to rediscover myself after being a partner with somebody else for so long.” After a year and a half of learning how to be her own person again, the 24-yearold is focused on her career, living in the moment, and loving being alone. “I still like to go to museums by myself and I’ll take myself out to lunch at least once a month,” says Hathaway. “I’m in a real-
ly good place and I’ve really realized being alone is not something to be ashamed of.” *The names of the males have been changed to protect their privacy.
For the Gram Social media may have taken over their lives, but for these three women, it’s to the point where they’ve become obsessed with controlling their image via social media platforms. BY ALLISON INGRUM | ILLUSTRATION BY GRACE LIVELY
S
tanding in front of a window, a girl holds her phone out in front of her face. She tries to find the best angle and lighting while scrutinizing her face in her phone’s camera. She takes several selfies, and then after deciding which one she likes, she adds a filter. She then adds the filtered selfie to Instagram in hopes of getting hundreds of likes. Hours later, the girl takes down the post. After not getting enough likes, she feels as though she will never be as beautiful as the other girls she follows. The next day, she begins the process over again, battling with herself and the demon itself - social media. Social media has become an outlet for anyone to curate their life to show others. Instagram, one of the most popular platforms, reported on their website that over one billion accounts are active each month worldwide. According to a 2018 report from the Pew Research Center, 500 million
24 | EQUALTIME Spring 2019
accounts are active each day and seventy-one percent are Americans ages 18 to 24 years old. Out of these 500 million accounts, one of them belongs to 21-year-old Danielle Annino. After checking a relatively new tool called “your activity” on the app, which tracks the amount of time spent on the app, Annino found out she spends an average of 12 hours a week on the platform. But for the Syracuse University senior, it’s a way of life. “I love social media,” she says. “I think it connects people in ways that weren’t possible before and mobilizes people quicker and more efficiently.” Annino’s love for social media includes the fact that it can help spread awareness on topics such as the March for Our Lives and the Women’s March. On the flip side, she has poor feelings about how social media can spread hatred faster than word of mouth and how it can consume one’s
time, she says. But it can also lead to constantly scrutinizing oneself based on other’s posts. The practice of comparing oneself to others dates back centuries. It is human nature to only tell people what you want them to know. No one wants to air their laundry because they know that others will be looking and comparing, says Dr. Shahram Heshmat, a professor at the University of Illinois at Springfield. Now, the practice has simply taken a new form thanks to social media. Even though Annino follows over 1,000 people on Instagram, including many beauty and fashion influencers, she believes she compares herself to her friends more than influencers. For example, if she and her friend are at a concert and the two share a similar picture and her friend will get more likes, she notices that she says. For others, such as 20-year-old Allie Slagter, simply getting more likes,
in general, happens to be the case. “Sometimes I worry more about the photo that will get the most likes, or have the best caption, rather than what I like,” says the Syracuse University sophomore. “I sometimes think of captions before events and will force things to happen purely for a caption.” Comparisons based on perceived attractiveness, wealth, intelligence, and success as portrayed through these carefully curated posts on social media can cause pain and anxiety. In fact, it can go as far as to change who one really is, as people are still shaping their identities during high school and college years, says Dr. Heshmat. Emily Canavan finds herself in this same situation. As a health and fitness coach, not only is she using social media to gain and impress clients, but she also finds herself using
the platform as a means to compare herself to other fitness coaches. Of course, it is interesting to keep up with others, but Canavan tries to rid her feed of the negative impacts. “If I come across a post that I don’t resonate with or makes me feel bad about myself, I tend to just unfollow them and I give this advice to everyone,” says Canavan. “If it makes you feel bad, why would you want to see that?” As summer quickly approaches, Instagram feeds will be soon littered with photos of colorful drinks, girls in new bathing suits laying out by the pool, and people laughing with deep tans. Instead of being one of these people - put your phone away and enjoy the moment. Social media is not reality.
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Features
CONQUERINGTHE
WORLD Two women’s stories on their transitions from male to female BY COLTON MADORE
Growing up, Rikki Price always felt different from her peers. In fact, Rikki Price was different -- she was Richard Price -- a feminine male uncomfortable in his own body. But, it wasn’t until Price was around 16-years-old that she realized how wrong and uncomfortable she felt. In fact, Price remembers the exact night she came to the realization that she wasn’t a male. She was hanging out with one of her closest friends and the two had been drinking. She was to the point where she started to cry and express her feelings about who she really was. “I remember telling [my friend], ‘I hate the way I am, I feel like if I was born a girl my entire life would be so much different,’” she says. “I was just so uncomfortable with everything.” Price is not alone. She is one of an estimated 1.4 million transgender individuals in the United 26 | EQUALTIME Spring 2019
States according to a 2016 report from the Williams Institute. This number nearly doubled from a 2011 report that claimed there were an estimated 700,000 transgender individuals in the U.S. Many researchers still believe both of these numbers may be underestimated as there are a limited amount of studies aimed at measuring the transgender population. Popular stories of celebrities and reality personalities such as Gigi Gorgeous, Caitlyn Jenner, and Laverne Cox and their gender transitions are no stranger to the media. A study from the Journal of LGBT Youth shows that many individuals admire celebrities who are open and share their stories as it creates a sense of comfort and and strength. For Price, she hopes to someday become one of these social activists. Although, just like many, her journey didn’t start out clear and it’s still developing. The 21-year-old grew up living with her grandparents in the Hudson Valley region in New York, where her and her grandmother
were very close. The two would often go shopping where Price would watch her grandmother try on boots and look at wallets and purses. She remembers the pain it caused her to want to have the things her grandmother could have and she couldn.t. “I thought they were so nice and I loved them. I really wanted to have those things, but I was never allowed because that’s not what I was meant to have due to society and how I was born,” she says. She continued to be a male and initially said she was gay. At the age of 17, Price decided to leave home. She remembers a night when she was fighting with her grandfather, where she accidentally told him she was gay. Her grandfather was very upset and expressed his disapproval and pinned Price against a wall. She decided to leave and move to Maryland where she then lived with a close friend. The friend’s family took her in with open arms, she says. There, she finished high school and kept her distance from her family, with minimal contact.
Today, Price lives in San Diego after always wanting to move to California, where she works as a makeup artist at Sephora and is taking part in Hormone Replacement Therapy. HRT as Price refers to it, is the three part transition from from one gender to another thanks to certain hormones, she says. Price has been taking part in HRT for almost one year. She started out on oestradiol, a form of estrogen that she must take everyday, she says. “Oestradiol will change your hormones and the way your mind thinks. It also changes how your body works, it changes the fat distribution in your body, and you’ll start gaining breast tissue,” she says. The second part is progesterone, which is prescribed several months after taking oestradiol, “It helps honestly going through your second puberty,” jokes Price. The third part, is spironolactone, a hormone that stops the production of testosterone, says Price. HRT is something that Price will take part in her entire life. She remembers learning right before her transition that one of the big warnings is that individuals become sterile while transitioning, she says. The cost of HRT may be expensive, but luckily for Price, her insurance plan covers it, where others may not. In five years, Price sees herself farther along with her transition as well as someone who is very involved with the LGBTQ and beauty communities, she says. Right now, Price recognizes all the hate towards the LGBTQ community, and she wants to be someone who younger people can look up to. She’d much rather have people direct their hate towards her than those who are still young in their transition, she says.
“This can show [them] I’m strong from this and I’m not affected by this, so you don’t have to be affected by it either,” she says. “It really is ok to be yourself and you don’t have to worry about all the negativity in the world. You are who you are.” There may be an underestimated number of transgender individuals in the U.S., but it is also something relevant overseas. For 36-year-old Louïz Artiste, the question of if she was a female never arose. The Reunion Island native knew she was a girl since she was little. “For me, it was normal. I played with dolls, I connected with female heroines in cartoons,” she says. It wasn’t until she was 26 that she actually put the label transgender on herself. It then took her a long time to accept the fact that she was transgender. Artiste has a somewhat similar activist message to that of Price’s. She’s written a french music album about being transgender where she tries to address to be yourself no matter what others say. Everyone only has one life. Living in Reunion Island, a French territory off the coast of Madagascar, is generally accepting of being transgender, she says. Luckily, her family and friends are very accepting of her and her transition too. They may have a hard time understanding some aspects, such as the medical transition, but they have been a great support system, she says. “They didn’t always understand why at different moments I needed them by my side,” she says. “But, I don’t hold it against them as they don’t live it daily, and so it’s quite normal they didn’t realize I was going through. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, I’m sure about this now!”
Features
FOR ME IT WAS
NORMAL. I PLAYED WITH
DOLLS
I CONNECTED WITH
FEMALE HEROINES
IN CARTOONS.
Louïz Artiste mag.syr.edu/equaltime | 27
BY CHOICE Family may be forever, but sometimes it’s best to cut ties with the ones who share the same blood as you. BY COLTON MADORE | ILLUSTRATIONS BY DOROTHY FANG At the age of 15, Sarah White* sits in her bedroom one night crying. She recently started going to therapy after having suicidal thoughts. She’s overwhelmed with a homework assignment, struggling with drama at school, and trying to understand her feelings. Out of nowhere, her father kicks open her locked bedroom door and starts yelling at her. He tells her that no one cares if she is suicidal, and if she is that weak of a person and needs to cry, then she should just kill herself.
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It wasn’t until White was 18-yearsold that she decided to cut ties off with her father, but eight years after that night, the incident still haunts her. The lifelong mental abuse mixed with his alcoholism and drug abuse was more than enough for her. “The cut wasn’t until college because I didn’t feel like I was safe to do it until then,” she says. White isn’t alone when it comes to breaking ties with a family member, which can be a voluntary or involuntary decision. In fact, one out of two and a half people experience family estrangement, says Shari Coltune, a Master Certified Integrative Life Coach based in Florida. “If one person isn’t going through it personally, then maybe their extended family is,” Coltune says. “It really is a silent epidemic. No one goes around telling others they are estranged from someone.” This phenomenon is nothing new. For years, it has been found in literature, films, and even music. Coltune defines estrangement as a break, but individuals may experience estrangement in different ways. It can be between family members, friends, or even business partners, and it can last a lifetime. In other terms, it is the loss of one or more family members
or friends due to conflict, emotions, or differences, according to a report from the University of Newcastle in Australia. Even though White may not have told anyone about the night with her father until years later, there were times when others witnessed his obnoxious drunken antics in public. In one instance, she remembers having to carry him home from a restaurant while on vacation in Ireland. “He got so drunk and fell asleep at the table,” she says. “My brother and I had to carry him back to the hotel.” She even remembers holidays like Christmas, when she and her brother would have to wait for their father to wake up late in the morning, most likely with a hangover and aggressive behavior. The pair would sit with their mother in silence, anxious to open their new gifts and watch Christmas movies, but also scared to make a sound and kindle his anger. Her mother and father divorced when she was nine years old, but she still had to spend every other week at his house. Her mother remarried a man who she now calls her father. She refers to her biological father by his first name only. To this day, White says she still has weekly nightmares about bumping into her biological father in town or at a store. Coltune says this is completely normal. Running into a family member may create a lot of fear, but if you are able to make peace within yourself and find care for yourself, you may be
able to forget the other person. Then, the possibility of running into your estranged member might not be as daunting, she says. For others, family estrangement may appear out of nowhere. Twentynine-year-old Margot Chandler left her childhood home the day after her father’s funeral six years ago, cutting ties with her mother, sister, and brother. The England native was close with her father, while her sister and brother were close with her mother, but she never noticed the oddity until his passing, she says. Growing up seemed fine if you looked at her family’s life from the outside — it was the white-picket fence stereotype, she says. Immediately after her father’s passing from bowel cancer, her mother, sister, and brother started to ignore her. She recalls the day of the funeral where she stood with her aunt, uncle, and boyfriend while the three others stood separately. “I had started to really realize that I actually maybe wasn’t being treated very nicely for most of my life,” she says. “Even though, on the outside of things, it all looked perfect.” The day after the funeral, Chandler decided to pack up her things and leave for good.
even tried making amends with her mother multiple times and confronting her about her feelings towards her. In her last year of college, she had her final art exhibition of her photobook and dissertation which took two years to create and finish. She invited her mother, who eventually came but she made the whole event about her, Chandler says. “Every page she flipped, she’d say how bad my dad was, and every other page she’d say how amazing my sister was.” Chandler remembers feeling angry and upset because her mother didn’t come to see her work, but to pity her. As time passed and Chandler attended multiple therapy sessions, she slowly came to terms with forgetting her estranged family members. She even got to ask the burning questions she always wondered. One day, she saw her mother driving past while she was coming out of the grocery store. Chandler flagged her down and had strong words with her. Finally asking the question she always wondered: Do you even love me? Chandler remembers her mother just staring forward, not answering the question. Before slamming the car door shut, Chandler shouted, “Go fuck yourself.” In a sense, this made her feel
As years passed after the initial break, Chandler found that she would still have to come face to face with her estranged family members at several other funerals and other events. She
better. “I got that closure. I asked her if she loved me and she couldn’t even say yes.” Luckily for both White and Chandler, the two have found ways to cope
with their estrangement. White has entered the field of psychology and mental illness while currently getting her Master’s degree in Massachusetts, where she resides. Chandler, on the other hand, focuses on building her life with her boyfriend, her dogs, working out to clear her mind, and centering on her work as a fashion photographer and illustrator. Even though the two have moved on and are achieving happy and healthy lifestyles, both expressed how they never want their estranged family members at future events such as weddings, birthdays, or the birth of a child. “I don’t want to have him be part of any enjoyable part of my life,” White says of her father. “Because he took so much joy out of my life. Why should he experience anything good that has come out of my life?” *The name of some of the individuals have been changed to protect their privacy.
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When Emotions One woman’s story about the long road to identifying as emotional disabled and what it means. BY ASHLYN LEEN
B
renna Clark* spends the majority of her time taking care of other people. During the day, she is a special education teacher. In the evening, she does laundry, washes the dishes, helps her son with his homework and sometimes cooks dinner with her husband. Taking care of her family is her main priority, but she’s also living with something that can get in the way of this -- she identifies as emotional disabled. Although there is no exact definition of having an emotional disability, the Virginia Department of Education defines it as an unwelcome mood of unhappiness or depression, consistent or chronic inappropriate type of behavior or feelings under normal conditions. Those with an emotional disability can also have displayed tendency to develop physical symptoms, pains or unreasonable fears associated with personal problems. People who live with a mental illness may choose to identify as having an emotional disability when they find it difficult to function in a particular environment. For Clark, she was diagnosed with premenstrual dysphoric disorder six years ago, a mental illness that causes
30 | EQUALTIME Spring 2019
severe irritability, depression, or anxiety. It happens in the first two weeks before a woman’s period starts and subsides two to three days after her period begins, she says.
“
You can’t see mental illness on an x-ray, it’s not a broken bone The two most prevalent symptoms for Clark are irritability and irrational thinking. These are usually directed at members of her family, she says. They may even happen out of nowhere. “You don’t know what’s going to be the trigger and it’s usually not what you think,” she says. She’s found that when experiencing PMDD, the things that make her happy may trigger her symptoms. This often causes fights and puts a strain on her relationship with family members. Clarks remembers a time when her husband was cooking dinner, which usually makes her happy because it
takes the stress off of her from the day. But one time, she realized she was suddenly angry with him without knowing why. “It’s hard because I don’t even realize what I’m doing when it happens, but it’s hurting the people I love most,” she says. It wasn’t until after the birth of her first child that she experienced PMDD. Unfortunately, she never got a formal diagnosis until 10 years later despite seeking help from three different psychiatrists by request of her family. It was only when she went to the gynecologist and mentioned her ongoing anger that she found out. The gynecologist immediately knew what was wrong, she says. “That was a huge relief, to finally have a reason for why it was happening,” she says. She immediately was prescribed Zoloft to help her symptoms. Like Clark, many people with disabilities such as mental illnesses go undiagnosed. “You can’t see mental illness on an x-ray, it’s not a broken bone.” says Dawn Catucci, founder and clinical director of Mental Health Counseling for Emotional Well-Being in Pleasantville, New York. Catucci explains that mental illnesses may go undiagnosed and untreated when people don’t come forward and seek
Run High go undiagnosed and untreated when people don’t come forward and seek help because of stigma or a lack of education. For Clark, she feels that both her age and financial status growing up has changed how she views mental illness and why she chooses to identify as emotionally disabled. As a child, she experienced anxiety and was taken to a psychiatrist, but because of her family’s financial instability, she didn’t want to continue getting treatment. Instead, she was determined to manage it on her own. After her PMDD diagnosis, Clark had the same approach, to “control” her disorder on her own, but found it difficult. “Something bad would happen and I would look back and think that could’ve been avoided if I had just taken the medication. And that was a hard pill to swallow - literally” she says. She also believes that the view on mental illness is a generational thing. Younger generations are trying to normalize and educate people on the mental illness, but hers didn’t have that, she says. The stigma and language surrounding mental illness and disabilities can also prevent people from
seeking help, says Catucci. It can also prevent them from gaining access to resources, or sharing their disability with others in their life. These misconceptions are perpetuated by the language surrounding mental illness. According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, words such as crazy, mad, and insane have historically been used to oppress and abuse those living with an emotional disability. Diane Wiener, founding director of the Disability Cultural Center at Syracuse University, addresses some of the social violence against emotionally disabled people by choosing to reclaim words, she says. She is also involved in movements like Mad Pride and International Crip Day which help empower disabled people, encourage pride, and aim to break down stigma and negative stereotypes. The only issue is that some words used for reclamation can still be used against members of a community. “Calling myself a ‘dyke’ is different than someone yelling at someone else out the open window of a moving car, ‘Hey, you dyke!’” says Wiener. Wiener uses the words “dyke,” “crazy” and “crip” as a way to identify and empower herself, but these
words, she notes, are still often offensive when used by outsiders -- those that are not members of the community that they are referring to. As for Clark, she still experiences symptoms of her emotional disability, but she is taking measures to better herself. She currently still takes medication and has even started communicating with her family about her irrational thoughts to manage them. “It’s hard because after living with it for so long, you begin to consider it part of your personality and you don’t want to lose that,” Clark says. “At the same time, I’ve realized that it’s an illness and something I should be conscious of and continue to work on. It’ll never be perfect, but then again who is?” *The name of some of the individuals have been changed to protect their privacy.
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Q + Fashion
Five minutes with Cosmopolitan’s Fashion Editor, Rachel Torgerson The real lowdown on what it’s like to be a fashion editor, come up with story ideas in an ever-changing world, and staying true to a publication’s voice. BY COLTON MADORE
Sitting at the hair salon and thumbing through the latest version of your favorite magazine may soon be something of the past. Especially since everyone is glued to their phones and needs be in on the latest news. Thanks to this, many print magazines are ceasing to exist. Rest in peace Teen Vogue, Glamour and many more, we miss you! Luckily, one of the magazines who is still standing afloat - both in print and digitally - is Cosmopolitan. The magazine has undergone many changes within the past few years. So, I thought I’d reach out to an editor to see what’s up - especially in an area that I’m passionate about - fashion. Check out the interview with Fashion editor, Rachel Torgerson to the right!
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Colton: What is your average day like as a Fashion Editor? Rachel: It really spans a lot of different paths and roles. We do both online and digital at Cosmo. I might be editing stories that are either shopping galleries or lightly reported features, essays, or testimonials about things people are really loving right now. We also might be planning a big photoshoot with an influencer or celebrity and I might need to help come up with the mood board for the shoot and think about what styles we want to have the person to wear. I might even be preparing for a big pitch meeting in which I want to impress our Editor in Chief with really thoughtful, cool, and strikingly visual ideas. C: There are a lot of publications that are switching to digital. What is it like working for a publication that still has print issues? R: I actually was the fashion editor for just digital and this year we merged both digital and print. So, now I do both. It’s been really interesting to transition to both because our philosophy around print has really changed, especially because our new Editor in Chief was previously the site director for the website. Many things that we do for print are informed by the relationship that we have with our readers online who are engaged with us through Instagram or Facebook. Everything that we do now is very part and parcel of the digital world. Working for digital is really cool, it’s what drew me to this position in general because that’s the position I applied
Fashion
for. I really love working in the digital space and I love getting feedback from readers in real time. People who will follow me on Instagram or Twitter and say they really appreciated a styling trick I told them about, that’s really rewarding for me. C: I saw that you worked for both Redbook and Cosmopolitan at the same time for a while. Did you ever have difficulty trying to keep the voice of one publication away from the other publication? R: I think Cosmo has a really fun and unique voice and it was more so hard to keep that fun energy out of some of the things I would be writing for Redbook. Which, obviously has a bit more of a conservative older audience. I would have to write a first pass and then tone it all done a little bit. C: How do you get story ideas? R: I find that some of my favorite ideas come from just real life conversations because that also means that people out there in the real world care about it, and we only ever want to be talking about things that people want answers to or would organically be talking about themselves. C: The magazine has been going through a ton of changes lately, especially with new Editor in Chiefs. Is there anything you would change about the magazine? R: I think a lot of the changes I would like to see in the magazine are cur-
rently happening. With our latest Editor in Chief switch, she is really trying to make the magazine more relatable and something that you’d want to pick up. Almost like your big sister talking to you or your friend talking to you, instead of coming from a perspective of someone telling you what to do. She’s trying to lean away from that type of feel where you can almost feel insulted when you read a magazine sometimes. That’s what I want out of a magazine experience - I want a delightful, awesome, reading time when I’m reading one. I don’t want to be told I’m doing something wrong or some trend I like isn’t cool anymore. I just want to have a good time and I think with every issue, our magazine is becoming more delightful to read. C: What would you say is the most enjoyable part of your job and why? R: The freedom I have to be creative. Whether that means actually getting to write the way that I speak in real life, or expressing personality through the kind of clothing that we pick for the shoots and the celebrities we’re excited about featuring. In past jobs, it’s something that hasn’t been freely offered. I feel like this is the most creative role I’ve been in and people really trust [the editors] to do amazing things.
They’re really fun, especially with my coworkers. We just did a photo shoot that was really fun because we were laughing on the set, we were talking about all the pieces involved, and it was very organic. Definitely one of my favorites! C: Have you always wanted to be a fashion editor? R: I have always been really interested in fashion and I always knew that I wanted to be a magazine editor. I thought it was very glamorous and I definitely wanted to be glamorous when I grew up. The fashion editor thing kind of goes hand in hand with my interest and likes and that glamour aspect. I don’t know that I always knew I would be a fashion editor, but now being one, it makes all the sense in the world!
C: What’s your favorite memory from your current job right now? R: I have a lot of really great memories, especially with photo shoots.
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THE SUMMER OF
RAINBOW Trade in your basic garments for these five updated and stylish rainbow basics. BY SARAH FELBIN
THE TEE
THE PANTS
Change up your usual summer routine and say goodbye to your boring, plain, white tee. Channel your inner beachy vibes and pair this tee with patterned shorts or keep it classic with a pair of mom jeans. Add heels to make a statement or choose sneakers to stay more casual. With its boxy cut, fun design, and pompom trim, this tee is sure to be a hit at every summer soirĂŠe!
Retro spring is in full swing with these checkered crop pants. A wide-leg silhouette is universally flattering and is perfect for those crisp, in between weather days. Rock them with a denim shirt for a contemporary look that’s anything but boring, or try a cozy pastel sweater for the perfect spring palette.
Price: $16.95 (on sale) Where to find it: Ban.do
34 | EQUALTIME Spring 2019
Price: $95.00 Where to find it: Madewell
U
sually, rainbow represents Pride, but the fashion editorial staff believes anyone can express themselves in these fabulous hues. These updated basics will be staples in your wardrobe once the warm weather hits, so stock up now and pass this season’s style test with flying colors.
THE SHOE
Price: $68.00 Where to find it: Madewell
A white sneaker is this season’s most flexible footwear. Dress them up or down, wear them for just a few hours or the whole day… Your options are endless. This pair has an extra rainbow stripe to elevate it above your average sneaker. For a subtle pop of color, these can’t be beat.
THE PURSE
THE EARRINGS
Price: $24.00 Where to find it: Anthropologie
Price: $38.00 Where to find it: Macy’s
This adorable purse is a conversation starter - perfect for those Fourth of July barbecues where you only know one person. Throw it on over a t-shirt dress and add a denim jacket for an instant style upgrade! Or bring it with you to your favorite festivals and concerts this season for an easy, hands-free way to keep everything close.
These eye-catching studs will dazzle in the spring and summer sunlight. Think of them as your summertime neutrals, since they already go with every color in your closet. Wear them with just a tee shirt to turn a few heads or pair them with your favorite show-stopping jumpsuit and instantly become the life of the party. Either way, these earrings are sure to generate compliments from now until school starts again.
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Who doesn’t love a good Target run? Especially when you can add these fun, fashionable, and affordable garments to your cart! PHOTOGRAPHY BY LAURA OLIVERIO
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Model: Feryal Nawaz Wearing: Top: Short Sleeve Scoop Neck Rib Little T-Shirt ($7), Dress: Strappy Knit Dress by Wild Fable ($20), Shoes: models own, Earrings: SUGARFIX by BaubleBar Colorful Resin Hoop Earrings with Druzy ($12.99)
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Model: Keelie Hotchkiss Wearing: Top: Short Sleeve Square Neck T-Shirt by Wild Fable ($7), Jacket: Acid Wash Destructed Denim Jacket by Wild Fable ($32), Bottoms: HighWaist Zip Front Bike Shorts by Wild Fable ($12), Shoes: Freshee Sneakers by Wild Fable ($25) ,
40 | EQUALTIME Spring 2019
Model: Skyler Hall Wearing: Top: Cropped Scoop Neck Tank Top by Wild Fable ($12), Bottoms: HighRise Jean Shorts by Wild Fable ($12), Clear backpack (might be in other shots by itself): Mini Flap Backpack by Wild Fable ($25), Hair Clips: Epoxy Glitter Covered Metal Snap Clips by Wild Fable
42 | EQUALTIME Spring 2019
Model: Rob Bellman Wearing: Top: Floral Print Short Sleeve Mesh Button-Down Shirt by Original Use ($20), Bottoms: 9� Mid-Rise Jogger Shorts by Original Use ($18), Shoes: Ricky Slide Sandal by Goodfellow & Co. ($12.99), Rings (if you can see them): models own
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44 | EQUALTIME Spring 2019
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EQUALTIME YOUR STUDENT FEE