The Empowerment Project

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  Leaping into the weekend like Sunisa Lee winning gold at the Olympics! Well, not quite because she's a badass athlete at the top of her game, but celebrating her victory is something we love to do! She made history by becoming the first Hmong-American gymnast to medal in the Games. She was also the first Hmong-American to compete in Olympic gymnastics. Sunisa won the gold medal in the women’s gymnastics all-around competition, and called the experience “surreal.” Sunisa's win came after teammate Simone Biles withdrew to take care of her mental health. Speaking to NBC after winning, Sunisa addressed all the critics who hit out at Simone with vile racist and sexist remarks, saying, “We don’t owe anybody anything,” she said. “We don’t owe you a gold medal. You’re not the one competing.” It should also be noted that the viral video of Sunisa's family celebrating her win was an important one, as they have experienced some tragedy over the past year. Sunisa lost an aunt and uncle to COVID-19. She even contemplated quitting at one point. But she persevered. So today we celebrate not just her win, but the symbolism of her making history for Hmong Americans, and for the way more and more athletes are taking a stand for themselves, pushing back against unrealistic and harmful demands of them. They are human beings and deserve to be treated as such. Not to mention she is so young! Congratulations on your win @sunisalee_! You deserve this! 🤸🏿‍♀️ #sunisalee #gymnastics #olympics #tokyo #asianamerican #hmongamerican #gold #athlete #badass #friday #friyay #shedidthat #history #instagood

  3 days ago

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  Medical professionals often use the 4 vital signs - body temperature, pulse rate, respiration rate and blood pressure - to determine what might be wrong with us and give us the best advice. But what if there was another vital sign that could help us? As it turns out, some gynecologists believe MENSTRUATION is an important way to help especially womxn be empowered to take charge of their own health. And now a new collaboration between 2 health experts - hormone expert Alisa Vitti and gynecologist Dr. Alyssa Dweck - and global women's healthcare company @intimina, is working to demystify what our bodies and menstrual cycles are telling us about our health. By implementing do-it-yourself biology, the brands’ aim is to amplify new intimate and self-care habits. “Women’s cycles provide valuable hormonal biofeedback that each woman should be monitoring to understand how her ratio of estrogen and progesterone is responding to the foods she is eating,” said Alisa Vitti. “Menstrual health can be thought of as a quick window into one’s general health, often referred to as a “vital sign”. It’s incredibly important for women to learn about what’s typical and what’s concerning as it relates to menstrual health starting at a young age,” said Dr. Alyssa Dweck. Intimina also recognizes the importance of breaking down menstrual stigma which still exists in so many areas. “If we look at popular culture, depictions of periods have ranged from wildly inaccurate and unsympathetic to being the subject of jokes and derision. Our goal to bring menstrual health conversations to the forefront gets us a step closer in ending period stigma and normalizing women’s health topics in everyday life,” they said. Learn more about the 5th vital sign and Intimina's campaign by clicking the link in our bio! #menstruation #periods #uterus #healthcare #womenshealth #hormones #vitalsigns #notanad #bodilyautonomy #intimina #stigma

  4 days ago

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  “It’s OK to not be OK” We’re all about two of the worlds greatest athletes OF ALL TIME prioritizing their #mentalhealth over the expectations and pressure of others. Thank you @simonebiles and @naomiosaka for normalizing this issue the way you both have. You are true role models and heroes to so many. 💆🏾‍♀️ Posted @withregram • First image via @ariannahuff. Second image via @time In an exclusive essay, @naomiosaka details why she puts her mental health first. "Perhaps we should give athletes the right to take a mental break from media scrutiny on a rare occasion without being subject to strict sanctions. In any other line of work, you would be forgiven for taking a personal day here and there, so long as it's not habitual," Osaka writes. "I also do not want to have to engage in a scrutiny of my personal medical history ever again. So I ask the press for some level of privacy and empathy next time we meet." Read more from her essay, including her plans for the Tokyo Olympics, at the link in bio. Photograph by @williamshirakawa—@august_image #breathe #wellness #selfcare #health #priorities #simonebiles #naomiosaka #olympics #tokyo #ok #instagood #WCW

  5 days ago

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  Today we're featuring a powerful and necessary guest blog post by author, activist and feminist @sijdah, whose book @redsugarnomore we have previously featured. Sijdah writes about the epidemic of "honor" killings and their prevalence in Pakistan, her home country, where more than 15,000 cases were recorded between 2004-2016, according to government data. She lists some of the more high profile and heartbreaking cases that have been in the news, while also calling out the Prime Minister for paying lip service to this urgent issue. "Even though Pakistan criminalized marital rape in 2006, such incidents still go unreported most of the time. I am angry. Because while we can’t do much, the government can, the police can, the court can. However, the most we see come out of such incidents is victim-blaming and ‘hang the rapist’ chants. How is that going to help us have safe futures? How is that going to help us get over the trauma such news brings to us every single time? It’s like a scar so deep that it keeps getting opened, yet we see no one doing anything about it until a national outcry reaches the PM’s ears and he acts like he cares for a day or two and then it’s back to radio silence again." Every year, people gather for the Aurat March, or Women's March, demanding justice for the victims of honor killings, such as Noor Mukadam, Quratulain Baloch, Bushra Ali, and more. All whose lives were cut short due to men they knew acting in rage toward them. Sijdah offers a call to action for people in Pakistan, and globally, to raise the alarm and not allow those in power to ignore this issue. "The only request I have to the men and women in my country is to call out misogyny whenever they see it. The narrative should no longer be ‘Why she was there? What type of woman was she” it should be ‘Why did he do this? Is justice being served? What are we doing to ensure it doesn’t happen again without locking women in their homes?’ Do something. This is not the time to stay quiet." To read the full piece, head to the link in our bio. ✊🏾 #honorkilling #genderviolence #pakistan #misogyny #auratmarch #womensmarch #womensrights #justice #instagood #change

  6 days ago

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