ON & INDEPENDENCE by Kori Hyer
T
hat day I was feeling powerful. I had just wrapped up aphotoshoot featuring a preview of my senior collection. I was frantically trying to find my keys so that I could leave the set to give my boyfriend a ride to the airport. I looked up to see one of the models walking towards me. “You can just leave your outfit here after you change,” I said. “I have to run because I told my… friend… I would drive him to the airport.”
"truthfully there’s an essential part of me that won’t be fulfilled if I don’t have the independence that comes from pursuing one’s own dreams regardless of the rational, financial, logistical reasons to settle."
It’s hard enough maintaining a romantic relationship throughout the wonderful chaos that is college. I’ve also found a challenge in representing myself as an independent feminist woman while in a relationship. The moment the word, “boyfriend” leaves my mouth in any conversation I feel oddly exposed and somehow... weaker? Why is that? At this point, I would like to recognize that it is a privilege to be in a heteronormative relationship where I don’t feel threatened in expressing my relationship status. I also doubt this feeling of weakness associated with being in a relationship is limited to straight women. I recently had a conversation with my mom talking about my
