Saying goodbye is never easy. It’s a moment filled with mixed emotions, where the joy of new beginnings intertwines with the sadness of parting ways. As I sit down to write this blog post, I find myself grappling with these conflicting feelings, as it’s time for me to bid farewell. It’s a poignant moment, but…

As many of us expected Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk of the Northern District of Texas ruled that the abortion pill (Mifepristone) was incorrectly approved by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration). He “issued a preliminary ruling invalidating the Food and Drug Administration’s 23-year-old approval of the abortion pill mifepristone, an unprecedented order that — if…

Almost all of us are familiar with the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which is a comprehensive healthcare reform law that was signed into law by President Barack Obama in March 2010. The ACA, also known as Obamacare, has/had the goal of increasing access to affordable health insurance coverage for Americans, particularly those who had previously…

Abortion, reproductive health, and general sex education have been highly politicized issues in the United States for years, and there have been ongoing attacks on reproductive health services, providers, and policies. These attacks can take many forms, including attempts to restrict access to contraception, abortion, and other reproductive health services. I was in disbelief when…

Today we celebrate International Women’s Day which is celebrated globally on March 8th March every year. On this day we celebrate women’s social, economic, cultural, and political achievements. The day also serves as a call to action to accelerate gender equality and the empowerment of women. Today is also a day to celebrate progress, raise…

I have enjoyed attending drag shows for as long as I can remember. The very way these events challenge the ideas we have of gender and the amazing performers that display their talents is something that leaves me in awe every time. Drag shows have been a form of entertainment for decades and have offered…

If you have been reading the news or been on any other blogs lately you have probably seen ChatGPT, DALL-E, or OpenAI discussed or brought up. These platforms, and their parent company, OpenAI, are taking the AI world by storm and have been the talk of the tech town for a while, including my partner.…

Sunday, January 22, 2023, marked the 50th anniversary of the supreme court’s monumental ruling in Roe v. Wade. Although this should have been a moment for celebration, instead it was a day where people all over protested and marched to make it known that our bodies are ours, and only we can make the choices…

In our society today we often hear how being “fat” is bad and makes the person “ugly.” This is never more evident than at the start of the new year when everything around us revolves around new year’s resolutions. When we go online, enter a store, or even talk to our friends we are bombarded…

On December 3 I traveled back home to El Paso, Texas for my godson’s 3rd birthday party. I was excited to be going back home and to see my family whom I had not seen since the summer. As I was getting off the plane, I was happy and eager to celebrate, however, that would…

With YWCA Greater Austin’s upcoming end of year event, Solidarity: Beyond the Male Gaze, it is important to break down the history of the male gaze as well as the progression of the idea first coined by Laura Mulvey. In 1975 Mulvey published “Visual Pleasure in narrative Cinema” which began a new conversation in film…

Earlier this year we celebrated the International Day of the Indigenous Peoples and with that, we celebrate the many contributions, successes, and fierce history of the Indigenous nations. With Thanksgiving day fast approaching, I thought it necessary and vitally important to revisit the importance of Indigenous peoples and their representation. As written previously, the film…

YWCAs across Texas are on a mission to encourage you to prioritize women/girls, trans, non-binary, and people of color with your vote this year. Through a get out the vote video project, YWCAs across the stare are wanting you to vote with Texas women, rans, non-binary, and people of color in mind. Women are the…

HISTORY OF DDLM Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is a Mexican holiday where families welcome back the souls of their deceased relatives for a brief reunion that includes food, drink and celebration. “In Mexico, death rites date from pre-Hispanic rituals represented in murals, painted pottery, monuments, and artifacts, which shows how the Day…

On June 28, 1919, the Texas legislature approved a resolution ratifying the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote making Texas the ninth state in the U.S. and the first state in the South to ratify the amendment. Throughout the years we have seen many changes and new challenges for women. This year,…

As Hispanic Heritage Month begins, I reflect on the terminology and language we all use to identify ourselves. Every day we hear people referring to themselves as Hispanic, Latino/a, Latinx, Mexican American, etc. Often, language is used to exclude or include certain populations, make assumptions, and place judgment. This makes is more important than ever…

Having the right to vote is not something that was just given to us. Through years and years of struggle, our ancestors fought and struggled so that we could have a voice today. At the start of this country, voting was limited to white male property owners, which in turn limited much of the population…

This month we celebrate National Black Business Month, which is a time organizations, businesses, individuals, and communities recognize Black businesses across the country. However, as we celebrate this very vital and important month, we must also reflect on our country’s history of violence, hate, and deep seeded racism. Our country was not always in a…

Recently I was reflecting on all the media I was exposed to as a child and quickly realized that there were no real characters that showed me myself. I had a mainly nondiverse group of characters to watch and was never able to look at the tv and say, “she looks like me.” Realizing this…

Yesterday we celebrated the International Day of the Indigenous Peoples and with that, we celebrate the many contributions, successes, and fierce history of the Indigenous nations. One such recent example is a new film. On Friday, August 5, 2022, the new Predator franchise movie Prey was released on Hulu and quickly became the most watched…

Today marks 3 years since the terrible mass shooting in El Paso, Texas. Having grown up in El Paso this truly devastated me. I can remember waking up that morning as if it was any other day, but upon commencing my morning routine of checking the news I saw something that would shake my world.…

Video gaming has often been seen as a world dominated by a male audience, viewership, and consumerism. However, more recently there has been a surge of women who are consuming this form of media at a rapid rate. In the late 2000’s, Anita Sarkeesian came onto the scene and changed the way we look at video…

Click here to read the Washington Post article, “How Green Became the Color of Abortion Rights” by Samantha Schmidt

The YWCA of Greater Austin has received a $1 million dollar donation from MacKenzie Scott. The donation is part of Scott’s $4.2 billion-dollar philanthropic effort to support organizations serving underserved communities during the pandemic.  MacKenzie Scott is a novelist and philanthropist committed to supporting organizations working for social issues such as racial equity, LGBTQ rights,…