I obviously have a lot of feelings this week. It’s hard to process what actually happened last Friday. The ripple wave effects of it all are still hitting me in new waves every day. It’s left me pondering a lot of my experiences growing up in Catholic school, which, I hated.
That was an initial sketch I drew before settling on this idea:
Those who attended Catholic school who were not boys understand this experience. Young girl’s bodies were(are) constantly being policed in schools, we weren’t even allowed to wear ankle socks because it was too suggestive, but I don’t recall a single rule the boys had about their appearance other than “pull your pants up!” and believe me, that was no hardship. When we make a point of regulating girl’s clothing and appearance at such a young age, it’s like inserting the idea into their brains that there’s something inherently wrong with them just for having a female body. Needless to say, if I have kids, they will not be attending Catholic school.
Following such a tumultuous weekend that tried to ruin Pride (you can’t rain on their parade, thank god!!!), it was the Primaries this week in New York. Results just came out as I write this and I’m at least happy to see my state assemblywoman Emily Gallagher kept her majority over her opponent, who quite frankly, I found disturbing even if he is probably a very nice guy (if you know, you know).
I know that right now voting is not what will actually help people who need/are going to need abortions in trigger states, but it doesn’t mean we should forget about it. But still, I feel helpless in what we can actually do to fight back. I found this IG live video from AOC to be helpful. It feels insane that only a couple months ago I was sitting in a theater for the premiere of The Janes, a documentary about a group of women who built an underground service for women seeking abortions in Chicago in the 60s and 70s (you can watch it on HBOMax now), and now here we are witnessing the overturn of all these activists’ hard work.
Quite frankly (and I know you know this) this is all completely depressing, but we can’t let the world take away our will to live. We must fight back! Even in small ways, like doing this dance move.
… or buying a new outfit to boost your spirits (which I did).
Or ya know, watching dogs run around. I was thinking this would be a great image for a tattoo, if anyone wants to do it!!!!
As one of my favorite creator’s wrote in her newsletter this week, it’s ok to be upset right now. There’s always talk in the mental health community about achieving this level of “being stable,” but quite frankly, I’m not always stable and like… how could I be? I’m alive!
But like, I’m not as unstable as I used to be, so that’s cool. I’ve been reading a lot of old work and going through diaries lately, in order to write my new book, and I’m quite shocked to find how sad I used to be, how little I valued myself (perhaps because of Catholic school… no??). Reading some of the things I wrote down really broke my heart, but at the same time I was like okay… growth, much? I’m so different now!! What a relief for everyone, especially my parents.
The one thing I still struggle with (and especially in times of psychotic social unrest) is phone addiction, doomscrolling, and obsession with notifications. And I know I complain about this a lot on here, it’s certainly not some rare-unique-totally-fascinating issue to have, but it ain’t going away!
I try so hard to ask myself, when I get stuck in these moments, what the hell do I think I’m going to find? What is it that I really need right now? Because it’s not the comment on my instagram post that says “I feel seen.” What I actually need is probably just a hug, or a good phone call with my mom, or walk along the pier.
Here’s a few scenes as of late:
I hope you’re able to get out into the world this weekend and see the positive things we have around us, outside of the assholes on the Supreme Court. And for your pleasure, I’ve made a Pro-Choice Playlist, that’s helping me get through rage.
Finally, here’s a recent list (before Roe fell):
Thank you for reading! New posts every Friday!
p.s. I might be a little quiet in July because of traveling and teaching summer camps but I’ll surely pop on to say hello and share my toons when I can!
ANNOUNCEMENT: I’m teaching 2 cartoon summers camps in Northern California! Sign your kids up!!
Song on repeat: Sheryl Crow’s Strong Enough
Obsessed with: Distracting myself with The Avril Lavigne is dead theory??
Recently watched: The Pelican Brief
Order prints and more on Etsy!
You could be in my next book: Tell me your fav snack!
Have you read Murder Book? I’d love to hear from you!
I share your SCOTUS sorrow. Listening to AOC is uplifting, but I believe the blame and rage should be focused on those who voted for Trump in 2016 because “They didn’t like Hillary” (not you!😁), and those who didn’t vote blue in Federal, state and local elections in 2020. We need to get their votes in November!
Rant over.
Puppy videos. Lots and lots of puppy videos!