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halliemthompson

Policing Female Bodies through Sports                             

Posted on July 11, 2023 by Eco-Friendly

Introduction

I would roll my eyes as my mom desperately tried to tame my fly aways before a soccer game. She would offer to braid them, or at least pull them back into a head band, but I would refuse. Out of stubbornness, I would rather attempt to see through my tangled hair than risk “trying too hard” to look good for a sports game. Every time she tried, my dad, sister and I would tell her “It’s not a fashion show”. So, I grew up looking down on my teammates who would roll their shorts three times, wear mascara and try to find the perfect sock length that made them look equal parts cool and cute. When I started watching professional sports, I decided quickly that I HATED Sydney Leroux, forward for the US women’s national soccer team in 2012, because she wore far too much makeup, she curled her hair and honestly was just frustratingly pretty while she played. I complained that she was attention-seeking and wished she would just play the sport. As I have grown up, I have come to love feminine expression in sports. Two things that subconsciously I thought did not go together, strength and femininity, presented in conjunction is something I now seek out. Megan Rapinoe dies her hair purple, Brazilian soccer player Marta wears red lipstick, and Sha’carri Richardson is the epitome of this badassery with her acrylic nails, makeup, hair dyed and styled, jewelry and lightning speed at every race.

               My complicated relationship with gender performance in sports pushed me to research it further. I will be analyzing the policing of women’s bodies that occurs within female sports and how this contributes to gender performance in sports. I am interested in where this narrative comes from and to what extent it is a reflection of a patriarchal society that favors men and to what extent it is the athlete’s choice to exist in an either feminine- or masculine-presenting way. I will look at the realities of “choice” and how it differs between men and women as a result of misogyny meant to keep women inside gendered norms. I argue that women who participate in sports are stepping out of those norms. Lastly, I offer sports and strength in women as a sense of empowerment that could allow women to break free from misogynistic violence. Sports is a traditionally male-dominated field and female athletes undergo sexist scrutiny and policing of their bodies. Women who are strong and athletic pose a threat to the myth that the patriarchy depends on: All men can physically dominate all women.

Why This Matters

At first glance it may seem silly to give so much attention to women athletes and sports oppression, however how female athletes are treated bleeds into everyday life and perpetuates racist, homophobic, and sexist ideology. Professional sports also offer incredible potential to change the narrative of women’s abilities and treatment as it is one of the highest consumed entertainments worldwide (Ravat 61). If substantial change is made in this arena, it could then spread to other entertainment and become a reality. I am advocating for more than just equal pay for professional women athletes, but rather for all women and non-men to be physically liberated through sports and exercise. This work most logically starts at an elite level then ripples down as it is consumed so rapidly. Sports and especially women’s sports have never been apolitical, and we no longer should pretend it is or ever was. Who is given opportunities to play, who is being reported on, how they are reported, if they are celebrated and how they are celebrated, and much more are all politically charged questions. A woman who chooses to participate in sports in turn “serves to destabilize and renegotiate the racist heteropatriarchal basis of professional sports” (Ravat 68). Whether they know it going into it or not, they are deliberately going against the gendered norms meant to keep women meek, quiet, sensitive, and submissive. It is also important to remember that this physical liberation not only will benefit women but will also free men from inaccurate gender stereotypes. They will be free from being expected or forced to do physical labor and their masculinity would no longer be defined by how heavy they lift or how low their BMI is (Roth and Basow 257). Feminism is working to free all people from unfair and false gender norms and stereotypes, while women are the target, men are often in the crossfire. The LGBTQ+ and the BIPOC communities are often also stuck in this crossfire while also dodging their own unique oppression, working to change the narrative of what female bodies are capable of and reduce limitations, will do significant work to also liberate LGBTQ+ and BIPOC bodies that fall outside the “norm”.

Policing examples

               Misogyny works to keep women in their place through many different policing methods. These include infantilizing, belittling, othering, and more. This can lead to violence such as sexual assault, harassment, and rape as well. These tools prevent women from stepping outside of roles traditionally assigned to women, such as wives, mothers, and homemakers. Since physical strength is not seen as an important part of these roles, strong women are often on the receiving end of misogyny. Female athletes are “continually being policed, fleshed out, destroyed, and reconstructed to denote what is considered both a female body and an athletic body” (Ravat 61). Another common theme of misogyny in women’s sports is symbolic annihilation or when lack of representation impacts the psyche and renders them invisible (Ravat 62).

               Simone Biles, the most decorated gymnast of all time, is consistently belittled during competition. She is often referred to as “girl” or “little woman” due to her age and height (Ravat 65). Her success is often made less about her strength and athletic ability and more about her body’s size. She is also often called by her first name only, a common theme among female athletes. While initially this may not seem problematic and potentially could be Biles’ individual choice, or more generally a preference women have for less formal language. However, there is a hierarchical nature to this phenomenon. Men of color are the next most likely to be referred to by their first name only during a sporting event while white men are rarely ever (Jensen, Duncan and Messner 128). This is a more discreet belittling, but subconsciously continues to put women in their place.

               Sexualizing and fetishizing female athletes is also extraordinarily common. There is large debate among athletes and organizations about the purpose of increasingly small uniforms for women’s sports. This was recently seen a few years ago when the Norwegian beach handball team was fined for not wearing bikinis. This extends to all sports though, as there has been numerous conversations around viewership increasing if the inseam decreases. While some athletes may not mind catering to the male gaze if it means more pay, these conversations are taking away from the accomplishments of women by ensuring female bodies exist only for male consumption. This not only restricts women’s “choice” but also enforces heteronormative culture. Media coverage for female athletes consistently reinforces that they are female first. Their physical attractiveness is put before their athletic feats (Buysse and Herbert 68). This is seen in the massive number of athletes who also model, as well as how they are photographed for sports-related content. Often these women are not seen as “competent, elite athletes” but rather sexy, feminine women (Buysse and Herbert 79). This leads to increased feminine performance while competing as well because there is more leeway given to strong women who still look the part of feminine. By doing their hair and nails and wearing make-up they can dodge some of the misogyny. However, in some ways those who comply are just perpetuating the narrative of women’s existence is solely for men.

               These arguments begin crossing over into a gray area of what individual choice is if it cannot be removed from the influences of society. I will touch on this more later, but for now will demonstrate that if women choose to comply to the male gaze or not, either way they cannot do it with confidence. It is often encouraged in male sports to be confident. Muhammed Ali is quoted on multiple occasions calling himself pretty and Zlatan Ibrahimovic frequently comments on his perfection (both things that have nothing to do with athletic ability) (Ravat 68). This same grace is not given to confident women. Simone Biles was quoted saying “I am the best gymnast there is”, something that is factual and received tons of backlash on her cockiness (Ravat 63). This backlash is not unique to athletes. In the workplace self-confidence negatively impacts promotional opportunities and professional relationships (Ravat 62). Whether Sha’Carri Richardson breaks records in fake eyelashes or if Caitlin Clark lights up the court with no make-up on, they are both going to face ridicule for being too confident, a trait that in men is seen to set the elite apart. It is preferred if women shatter records quietly and humbly.

               In coverage of female sports athletic ability is frequently explained away or hidden behind other aspects of the athlete, such as their age, families, or personal struggles. Megan Rapinoe’s age was the biggest talking point as she accepted the Golden boot in 2019. That same year, after the USWNT won their second straight World Cup, media articles were quick to move the focus to players celebrating with their partners and families (Ravat 66). While this can be a constructive conversation that empowers women to see that they can be a good mother and strong at the same time, it is currently being used as a distraction tactic. It shows women that if they are a good wife and mother first, then they can also be strong and athletic and worthy of celebration. It again pushes out heteronormative and patriarchal ideology of what a woman is good for. Women should be empowered to be strong as an end in itself, not because it won’t prevent a healthy pregnancy or get in the way of breast feeding. This is where sexualization also comes back into play, “because sports offer women the potential for reducing physical power imbalances on which patriarchy is founded and reified, one way to limit and deemphasize women’s physical power and capabilities is to associate female athleticism with female sex appeal” (Roth and Basow 252). In some sports, they choose to write this into the rules as is the case for cheerleading, dance, figure skating and gymnastics. Women’s success is also often attributed to luck where men are given credit or their skill and drive. Men often fail as a result of their opponents’ skill where women fail due to their individual shortcomings (Messner, Duncan and Jensen 130). No matter what the result is always the same—preventing women from realizing their physical potential.

               Othering may be the most common tool used in sports to keep women down. Women’s teams are often marked as women’s while men’s are not gender marked (Jensen, Duncan and Messner 125). Examples of this is clearly seen during March Madness. If you were to have a conversation about the women’s tournament you HAVE to clearly state that, or it will be assumed that you are talking about men. Male sports are the default, the original and the superior version, while female sports are the lesser other. Gender neutral language is becoming more common in some instances such as player to player defense instead of man to man, however it will not work to fully switch, because it would only make female athletes and sports more invisible as male sports continue to be the default (Jensen, Duncan and Messner 126). Team names also reflect this as “lady” is often tacked to the front of a “masculine” team name, for example throughout my high school sports career I was a “Lady Bison” although little of what I did aligned with the traditional use and meaning of the term “lady”. Once again this is not exclusive to just sports, any position that is typically held by one gender is marked, for example male nurse, woman judge, woman doctor or male secretary (Jensen, Duncan and Messner 126).

               This othering slowly is becoming more extreme to the point of sex testing. After the 2011 Olympics where Caster Semenya won the 800-meter race she was questioned heavily about her sex due to her androgynous appearance (Ravat 61). Ever since it has become increasingly common for a successful female athlete’s sex to be questioned. This has also led to debates about how fair it is for women with naturally higher testosterone levels to compete in women’s sports. This conversation is not happening in men’s sports because testosterone is masculine and the more of it, the better. Once again women are othered, too manly to be a woman but too womanly to be a man—an other. In recent years trans-woman athletes have been a large debate, however the basis of the argument is not new, and the outcome will always favor white, straight, cis-gendered men (Bozada-Deaz 58).

Patriarchy versus choice

               An interesting element of the policing of female bodies through sports is attempting to distinguish between individual choice and the influence of the patriarchy. This is most easily seen in gender performance but can also go deeper into how women train and their belief of how easily they could gain muscle mass. I will first briefly describe the differences between sexism, misogyny, and the patriarchy as it pertains to female sports.

               Sexism is the justification for the mistreatment of women. This is often that women are weaker and biologically inferior. In sports, the muscle gap is significantly emphasized, however in the last 15 years it has been closing (Jensen, Duncan and Messner 122). Sexism explains the muscle gap as being biological, when in reality it is socially constructed. While there is some truth to cis-gendered men being naturally stronger on average, it has been enhanced by policing efforts to keep women from gaining muscle or desiring more muscle. Society has accepted it as fact that women are weaker, shorter, smaller, less muscular, can lift less and are slower, when there is a large spectrum of abilities between both genders (Roth and Basow 245). Just as there is significant overlap between the tallest women and the shortest men, it is the same trend for the strongest women and weakest men, however since height is much more visible than strength this overlap is typically not talked about or acknowledged (Roth and Basow 248). This belief is ingrained in young kids as boys are held to a higher standard in physical education classes in everything except agility despite girls scoring higher overall on the tests. The lower standards instill a belief in young girls that they are less capable due to their sex (Roth and Basow 249). As women get older, they do not unlearn this. Many claim that it is harder for them to build muscle than men while simultaneously claiming that they hold back to avoid looking bulky (Roth and Basow 250). Sexism lays the foundation, while misogyny perpetuates it by punishing anyone who does not fit the norm or the trend.

               In the previous section, I discussed policing or the misogyny that limits women’s potential. To build upon that I want to add the dangers of internalized misogyny (Pedersen and Kono 783). These include low self-esteem attributed to weight, body hair, acne and more. Interestingly, “watching one’s weight, exercising, shaving, and doing one’s hair and face are for the most part daily activities in which women seem to treat their bodies as objects” (Roth and Basow 249). For all athletes, this is a common thing to treat your body as an object, a means to an end to get the athletic results desired, however women face tremendous pressures to continue to maintain a feminine, desirable body at the same time. Bodies have large effects on your concept of self and self-esteem while also physically altering your brain chemistry if not properly taken care of (Proudfoot). It has also been studied that “men on low-calorie diets become passive, anxious, and emotional—all traits traditionally associated with femininity” proving that thinness not only produces “aesthetically appealing” results but also “feminine traits”—such as powerlessness (Roth and Basow 251). Lastly, the rape mystique is how the fear of rape controls women. Even if a woman has never experienced sexual assault of any kind or had any bad experiences with the men in their lives, they might still walk to their car with keys between their fingers (Roth and Basow 256). The rape mystique is further enhanced by women’s lack of faith in their ability to fight back. It is ingrained in them that they are weak, and it takes forever for women to build muscle. Women instead alter their lifestyles to avoid endangering themselves.

               Lastly, patriarchy is the whole system that allows all of this to happen simultaneously. To demonstrate this, I will explain the history of the sports bra. It was invented in 1977, not even 50 years ago, before these women were binding their chests in leather and string and in extreme cases, Amazonians were known to cut off their breasts to improve their archery (Pownall 5). The Jogbra, was the first invented in response to the running craze of the 1970s. Women were excited to have a way to be active and socialize, but quickly realized that the traditional bra is not made for movement. Jogbra became the first women-owned sporting goods business in the United States (Pownall 5). By simply creating clothing that allowed for comfortable movement, women were liberated and less restricted. However, once it was sold to larger companies like Nike and Champion, they began instilling fear in women over the unaesthetic look of a uniboob to market many different designs to women (Pownall 11). So, not only did it take until recently for the sports bra to be created, but it quickly was turned into a marketing tool that created a new fear for women. The patriarchy adapts at every turn to keep the status quo from being disrupted. Women exercising more comfortably is the first step to physical liberation that poses a large threat to the system. Within this complex system it is nearly impossible to distinguish between free-will individual choice and influences from a corrupt system. It then becomes rather sticky to prescribe solutions to problems many people do not even understand are happening as they do not see how their actions are linked to oppressive acts. This raises the question, if it is constructive to draw attention to these oppressive forces, or is ignorance a sign of progress? Gender performance within sports is one of the most visible ways this manifest since, women who choose to compete in feminine-presenting attire may find it empowering while it subconsciously perpetuates the ideology that she is female first and upholds heteronormative culture as a strong woman might be mistaken for a lesbian if she does not properly perform her femininity and in turn sexuality.

The Reality of Choice

As mentioned before, “what people often think of as “free individual choices” are actually choices that are shaped by social contexts” (Bozada-Deaz 67). Choice is often not as free as we think it is. Everything we do has repercussions and is influenced by outsiders (Sen 6). One interesting example of this is Brandi Chastain ripping off her shirt in celebration of winning the 1999 World Cup. This was seen as the sports bra’s outing. After 22 years in the closet, Chastain’s act brought it to the limelight. She received lots of comments on the act, some empowered by the act, some sexualizing her, and others disgusted. Some critics argued that it changed women’s sports forever with “the promise of bodily displays made women’s athletics enticing to otherwise uninterested sports fans” (Pownall 14). The split-second decision Chastain made while celebrating becoming the champion of the world has made tremendous ripples in the sports world and beyond. Choice is so much more than individual free-will, especially if you are a member of a marginalized community because you are watched and policed at every turn.

Along with this, feminine performance is often created as a result of homophobia in the sports world. Women with muscles are often categorized as lesbians, and to avoid this fate they do their hair, nails and makeup to prevent being labeled or outted as a lesbian (Roth and Basow 253). What may feel like free choice is often a reflection of a society designed to favor a select few. Everyone else is left to do what they can to get ahead. For some this is a little extra mascara, for others their survival entails avoiding standing out at any costs.

A study was done to better understand how “team moms” came to be and why it has stuck for so long. This study nicely shows the reality of “choice” that women face in daily life. Youth sports only functions through hours of volunteering and it is no surprise that men often take the high profile, public role of coach while women do the invisible labor of “team mom”, organizing snack schedules, team parties, phone calling, collecting money for coaches and more (Bozada-Deaz 50). As they dug deeper, they realized a lot was going into this phenomenon that from the outside could be summed up with a statement like “women prefer that work, they choose it”. The reality of it is that women are socially conditioned into accepting this role through gender language and stereotypes. Coaches often recruit team moms at the beginning of the season by calling them. It becomes an extension of the labor divisions seen in the workplace and families (Bozada-Deaz 55). Choice becomes a tricky realm to navigate as it can never truly be removed from the influence of society. It also becomes increasingly difficult to make choices without worrying about the aftermath as seen with Biles’s confidence and Chastain’s celebration.

Physical Liberation

               Sports and exercise for women can lead to physical liberation. Dismantling the myth that all men can overpower all women will crumble the foundation that the patriarchy is founded in. This will not be easy but can start with women owning their abilities, after years of being taught and conditioned to be meek, passive, and submissive. Confidence is a key tool of activism, especially within women’s sports (Ravat 64). This is something Megan Rapinoe has been doing for years. After the 2019 World Cup, she is quoted as saying, “I deserve everything”. On top of that she dies her hair purple, is loud, politically charged and unapologetically queer. While she receives backlash and hate often, she is fighting with confidence that cannot be torn down, a confidence that has won her accolades for decades (Ravat 65-66). While it may not be everyone’s cup of tea and in some cases may be detrimental to a woman’s success in their social and professional careers, adding self-confidence into a woman’s toolbox is the first step to physical liberation. Just as Carol Hay’s Panopticon metaphor shows that it does not have to be all men, for all women to fear them, it does not have to be all women, for men to give women their rightful place at the table. This is not a “reclamation of confidence, but a refusal to surrender the confidence in the first place” (Ravat 69). Women have been conditioned to leave their confidence at the door and resist praise, from now on, stop hanging it up with your coat.

               Second to confidence is dismantling the belief that men are stronger than women. Women need to stop self-limiting when it comes to their own strength and safety. When strength is measured in comparison to muscle mass, women could leg press 110% of what men could (Roth and Basow 249). Recent research also indicates that female athletes compete with male athletes at a comparable level. For example, when height difference is accounted for in running speed, Florence Griffith Joyner is faster than Carl Lewis by a relative velocity of 0.28 heights per second. Similar studies were conducted with swimming and the same results were found (Roth and Basow 254). While this does not necessarily mean that all women are going to be able to outrun or fight off all men, it does completely dismantle the belief that women are weak and slow. If women take their newfound confidence and internalize these facts, they may be taken seriously in their social and professional lives.

               Woman and non-men have so much to gain through physical liberations, “the intense association of masculinity with physical power as well as the male shame that stems from being beaten physically shows how much women have to gain from reaching their physical potential” (Roth and Basow 225). Sports has been attributed to women gaining confidence and a feeling of self-efficacy (Roth and Basow 255). If sports continue to be male-dominated and women are held back from their full potential, women are missing a valuable tool that is key to dismantling the patriarchy. Feminist activist often promotes nonviolent protest, however, “nonviolence is most effective when practiced by those who have the ability to be violent” (Roth and Basow 259). It is not enough to be nonviolent, instead they must learn violence, strength and self-defense before there is any choice to be nonviolent. Physically liberation gives women the chance to choose not to be violent. Sports is one way to teach women these valuable tools.

Conclusion

Female athletes face misogyny in their careers. Often, however, sports for women and non-men unlock their full potential to disrupt the status quo that is not designed to promote their success. The female body is constantly being policed and it is no different in sports. Women who are physically strong threaten the system, so they are punished for stepping outside of the norms. It can be difficult to distinguish between individual choice and patriarchal influence as they are not mutually exclusive which makes it hard to combat the issues that arise in female sports such as gender performance, sex appeal, and informal first-name commentating. Yet all of these have implications for viewers that reinforce the idea that these athletes are females first, feminine females at that.

That said, I still find Sha’Carri Richardson’s feminine expression, empowering and badass, but her feminine qualities should not outshine her athletic feats. I cannot help but feel a sense of pride to see women with jewelry on and bulging muscles. Sports have been a hyper masculine field for a long time and fighting it with hyper femininity seems quite fitting, yet I understand that it is likely a result of patriarchal and heteronormative standards. Female athletes who have gotten pregnant, given birth and returned to their sport at an elite level are also extremely empowering to me because this is an extraordinary athletic accomplishment and because it feels liberating that these women do not feel the need to put their careers on hold to raise a family. However, conversations often highlight these athletes as mothers rather than strong, capable people. Women can be strong without also proving that they can also uphold traditional roles as wives and mothers. For this reason, I find confidence and physical liberation so appealing, it requires women owning their abilities and bulking. It is unproblematic but revolutionary. If fake eyelashes, purple hair, or acrylic nails gives women the confidence they need then do it. For me, styling my hair in the popular bubble braid before every soccer game has become a ritual for me, I have found that rolling my shorts once and pulling my socks just above my knees is the perfect ratio of cool and cute. There is a large range of bodies, and we need to stop putting limits on the potential these bodies hold.

Works Cited

Buysse, Jo Ann, and Melissa Sheridan Embser-Herbert. “Constructions of Gender in Sport.” Gender & Society, vol. 18, no. 1, 2004, pp. 66–81., doi.org/10.1177/089124320 3257914.

Jensen, Kerry ; Duncan, Margaret Carlisle & Messner, Michael A. (1993). Separating the men from the girls: The gendered language of televised sports. Gender and Society 7 (1):121-137.

Messner, Michael A., and Suzel Bozada-Deas. “Separating the Men from the Moms.” Gender & Society, vol. 23, no. 1, 2009, pp. 49–71., doi.org/10.1177/0891243208327363.

Pedersen, Darhl M., and David M. Kono. “Perceived Effects on Femininity of the Participation of Women in Sport.” Perceptual and Motor Skills, vol. 71, no. 3, 1990, pp. 783–792., doi.org/10.2466/pms.1990.71.3.783.

Proudfoot, Michael. The Philosophy of Body. Blackwell, 2005.

Pownall, Kathryn. “The Material Culture of the Sports Bra: Supporting Innovation and Femininity in Athletics.” The Coalition of Master’s Scholars on Material Culture, December 17, 2021.

Ravat, Sabeehah. “I Deserve Everything: The Role of Confidence in 21st Century Women’s Sports.”

Roth, Amanda, and Susan A. Basow. “Femininity, Sports, and Feminism.” Journal of Sport and Social Issues, vol. 28, no. 3, 2004, pp. 245–265., doi.org/10.1177/0193723504266990.

Sen, Amartya. “Liberty and Social Choice.” The Journal of Philosophy, vol. 80, no. 1, 1983, pp. 5–28. JSTOR, doi.org/10.2307/2026284.

Why I am Proud to be an American

Posted on July 3, 2023 by Eco-Friendly

As we celebrate our independence, I am reminded of the rich history our country has  fighting for what is right. I am reminded of Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream. I am reminded of Susan B. Anthony’s fight for women’s suffrage. I am reminded of Eloise Cobell’s determination for indigenous rights. I am reminded of Rachel Carson’s crusade for environmental justice. I am inspired by these people who stood up for their rights and have made huge change for our country. I look back on the courage it took for our founding fathers to enshrine our rights.

I am proud of where we have come since 1776, but I can’t help being saddened by the complacency our country has become so familiar with. I wonder why the same country that prides itself in being a world leader continues to refuse to lead the world to a more sustainable future that offers justice for all. I look around and see a lack of compassion toward minorities that seems so out of place for a country that once was so proud of the melting pot and diversity it holds. I am willing to fight for this country because I believe we have what it takes to create a bright future for everybody.

I refuse to give up on this country, so I refuse to overlook the flaws. This country is far from perfect, and I am tired of pretending it is anything but working progress, but I have also grown tired of pretending that it is not worth defending and fighting for. I refuse to give up on the underprivileged Americans that do not have the same luxury I have of waking up and feeling safe in the country we both call home.

I live in a country where I had access to free public education where I was pushed and encouraged to unlock my potential. I was able to launch a business in high school because of the support I received from teachers and local business owners. Unfortunately, however this is also the same country where free education is the bare minimum when kids born into poverty are forced to drop out before receiving a high school diploma in order to start working and providing for their families.

I live in a country where I was able to pursue higher education and chase my dreams. But I will not look past the Americans that are unable to dream as reality has become a nightmare of just getting by.

I live in a country where I have been able to play sports my whole life and continue playing at a collegiate level. In this country I have been taught that I am strong, powerful, and explosive. Yet this is the same country that until recently, had more fortune 500 CEOs that were named David than are women.

I live in a country where I have been met with extreme kindness and compassion, where a random pedestrian might help me parallel park in busy downtown Minneapolis. Or where I might end up chatting in the St. Mary KOA hot tub with other vacationers until my fingers and toes begin to wrinkle. Or where two strangers might share dinner with me and pay, while exchanging traveling stories as we were all passing through Salt Lake City. Or where perfect strangers might stop at the Great Falls Farmers’ Market to congratulate me on my business.

The experiences I have had and the people that I have met have been predominantly positive, but I know what factored into each interaction is the color of my skin, my sexuality, my religion—my privilege.

So, as we celebrate, I also encourage you to demand better and push for the bright future we all deserve. I know we are capable.

What is my Personal Brand?

Posted on June 26, 2023 by Eco-Friendly

Hallie Thompson

Branding and personal branding has been a struggle for me in my business. I find it exhausting and I often feel fake when I make posts on social media or promote myself. This past semester I took an entrepreneurship class where one of the lessons was on personal branding. This lesson really helped me get thinking about what my core-values are and if they come across in both my business and in my personal life. I believe that my personal brand is thoughtful and passionate. I am very thorough in what I do and take pride in the time and energy I put into the things that I do. I rarely find myself half-assing things. I think this comes across loud and clear in my personal life, but after reflecting I realized I was not bringing that passion and thoughtfulness with me to Wholesome Hal’s. Starting this season this was a goal of mine, to bring these core-values with me as a business owner.

My natural tendency is quite reserved and being a small business owner at a young age has forced me to do a lot of self-promoting that butt’s heads with my typical style of staying backstage. In past years this has led to dread of posting on social media and/or refusing to. I felt fake and inauthentic, and it was causing a lot of distress and burnout. This lesson helped me reflect on why this was happening and realize that the growth I have made in my confidence since I was a sixteen-year-old starting Wholesome Hal’s is immense. I no longer have to buy into the imposter syndrome that consumed me at sixteen and instead can step into reality—that I worked incredibly hard to get to the point that I am at in my life, I took advantage of the opportunities that I was given, and I deserve to start seeing myself as a business owner.

I started this season intentionally. I realized there was rebranding that needed to be done because I am not the same girl, I was five years ago. This was not a dramatic switch in branding or even something a new logo could fix. Instead, it was a lot of behind the scenes work and rediscovering of myself. I have become more in tune with they way I work best and started to own my strengths while not being afraid to ask for help and receive support in the things I struggle with. I have worked to stop getting caught up in what I think I should be doing and start focusing on what I like to do. This year I have gained more followers than I ever have before while also having the most fun. I have been doing the things I like and am good at like designing a cute post, prioritizing my blog because I love to write, and having a plan and staying organized. I no longer feel the need to spend ten minutes crafting the perfect caption. I also have been having fun combining my passions in the little ways that I can. I love getting to incorporating photography into my business by taking my own photos of my bowls. I also had a lot of fun crocheting a bag for my giveaway this past week. And I love dressing up and wearing sundresses, so I find joy in this small detail of my work life (and coordinating outfits with my sister).

I have been working on incorporating quality into my business as well. In academics I rarely cut corners and I take a lot of pride in the work I produce. However, in the past with Wholesome Hal’s I found myself being half-hearted. I used the lack of effort as a fall back in case I failed. I thought that if I knew why I failed it was okay but if I put in the work and didn’t get the results, it would crush me. This year though, I have dedicated myself to ensuring I have the same pride I have for my schoolwork as I do for my business. I have made sure that my posts are thoughtful and not thrown together but also, I have ensured that my food is quality. Sometimes it takes a long time for my smoothies to blend, but rather than being impatient and giving out half-blended smoothies I ensure that I am proud to give out every item. I get stressed when customers have to wait awhile for their order, but I have been working to put quality over speed because that is authentic to me. It gives me peace of mind and improves customer satisfaction.

Adding the rice bowls to the menu was also a large step for me. I was working to distinguish myself from other business while also staying true to the heart of my business—healthy eating. I am a rice lover so, rice bowls came as a natural option for me. As I set out to test recipes and decide on which were worth of getting a spot on the Wholesome Hall’s menu, I got help from my family and friends but ultimately choose the ones that I loved and would have no problem promoting. Poke bowls have become an obsession of mine after moving to Fargo and discovering them, the Mediterranean bowl was lunch for me most days this last semester after stumbling upon a recipe and making a few adaptions and the burrito bowl is filled with almost all my favorite foods: rice, lettuce, cherry tomatoes, avocados and more. I truly have a hard time answering the frequent question of which bowl is my favorite as I really love them all. On top of that, the smoothies and smoothie bowls have always been a love of mine. I have had a smoothie and a rice bowl for lunch just about every day this summer and I truly believe that it is more than just food, it is also fuel. I have been doing collegiate soccer workouts everyday during the week while also working at least 40 hours a week (a majority of it out in the sun). Food that fuels you does not have to be taste bad. (Also, quick note: I made the decision to make two out three of my bowl with no meat because I feel strongly that cutting down the amount of meat, we consume is an easy way to reduce our impact on the planet. This does not mean you have to go fully vegetarian, but I wanted to help show people that a good filling meal does not have to be built around meat. There are many other protein options and cutting down meat consumption is not nearly as hard as you might think!)

               Another part of lesson I found powerful was finding a “personal board of directors” or people who will help you curate a personal brand that you are proud of. Whether you intentionally seek these people out or not, you can still learn from those around you by paying attention to your strength, what people compliment you on, what comes easily to you that others might struggle with, but also what brings you passion and happiness. I like this because branding is hard. I find it difficult to be true to myself while also “creating” in a way the image that I want people to associate with me. Having people supporting me along the ways is key to my success. Another line that stood out to me was “your vibe attracts your tribe”. It works both ways, by being yourself you will attract a tribe that will be positive and supportive. This has definitely been true for me. I find so much joy interacting with my customers and meeting so many kind people. I have found so many cheerleaders and supports through the years that have helped keep me going. Moving forward I will continue working on my personal brand and I hope as you watch my journey you continue cheering for me as I try to do for others!

The Importance of Inclusivity and Intersectionality

Posted on June 20, 2023 by Social Justice

Nature Poem by Tommy Pico is a book I read my Freshman year for an English class, Environmental Justice and Global Literature and it changed my perspective of what nature is and how to protect it. The book is 74 pages of raw, unfiltered thoughts about how to live on a planet that is dying while also just trying to fit into a world designed to privilege a fraction of the population. Everyone should read this book and hear his perspective as he demonstrates beautifully what intersectional environmental activism can look like and the important role it will play in solving the climate crisis while simultaneously making our world more hospitable.

Tommy Pico has mastered writing about nothing and writing about everything. He declares on page one “Ugh I swore to myself I’d never write a Nature Poem” and in that statement he sets up exactly what to expect from a book titled Nature Poem written by a city-lover. By refusing to write a nature poem Pico perfectly demonstrates why we must continue fighting for equal opportunities for all. He who describes “how freakishly routine it is to hear someone died”, who spent childhood learning “which halls not to walk down” to avoid getting beaten up for being gay, or “what to do when yr cousin high on crystal points a gun at you”, cannot spare much time worrying about nature.

This nature poem is at the heart of what environmental justice stands for. Not everyone has the privilege to be able to worry about the environment. When someone does not know when their next meal will be they cannot be worried about their carbon footprint. A large part of environmental justice is fighting for equal opportunities for all so that everyone can have freed up time and energy to focus on solving large issues such as the climate crisis, thus making the fight to end poverty and reducing pollution one in the same. Society as a whole will improve as less people are struggling to survive and fighting oppression around every corner. As Pico puts it, “it seems foolish to discuss nature w/o talking about endemic poverty / which seems foolish to discuss w/o talking about corporations given / human agency which seems foolish to discuss w/o talking about / colonialism which seems foolish to discuss w/o talking about misogyny” (12). Everything is so interconnected and when we start to see the world in this way, we can finally start to see necessary change. This is the root of intersectional environmental justice.

In my economics class we talked about the Kuznets curve and the environmental Kuznets curve. Which essential says that as the economy grows inequality will increase until we hit the peak of the curve, then it will naturally start coming down. The same thing is said to happen with environmental issues such as pollution. While this made sense to me, I found it very hard to listen to my professor talk about such large issues in such a passive tone. The first day of class my professor made it clear that economists can tell you what could happen but not what should happen. Personally, I think it is messed up to allow so many people to suffer at the expense of economic growth. Maybe if we start prioritizing people over profits our world could become a more hospitable place. What Kuznets’s did not understand was that those inequalities and environmental issues were the same problem—some people being viewed as deserving of mistreatment.

Pico made me feel foolish for thinking environmentalism is preventing glaciers from melting, or saving the bees, or the turtles. While this is an aspect of the movement, it is a luxury few can afford. Nature is not only majestic mountains, pristine water and endless big skies. It is us, and it is ugly. It is “Ray Rice punch[ing] his girlfriend unconscious on camera and drag[ing] her out of the elevator, and I am supposed to give a f*ck about pesticides” (7). It is every time someone is devalued, every time someone is oppressed, every time someone is viewed as sacrificial.

The nature I know is calm. I grew up with a supportive family, who took me to see the Glacier National Park every year since I was old enough to hike. Nature, to me, is walking through bear grass taller than me, it is Princess Grace and Princess Morgan bedtime stories in our small four-person tent after a long day of hiking, it is watching two cow moose and their three babies feed in McDonald creek as a swan slowly floats by, it is where I feel most whole.

The nature I know is rare. Many have become much more familiar with the kind that requires parents to wonder when they must teach their children how to interact with police officers, one where pepper spray is no longer reserved for grizzly bears but clutched in their daughters’ hands as they walk into the Walmart parking lot, where couples wonder if holding hands might land them a black eye if they walk down the wrong street, where land is fragmented and destroyed, water is not drinkable and air is unbreathable. It is suffocating to live on a dying planet.

If this is the first time reading or hearing about environmental justice, I have attached links to two articles that describe it way better than I ever could as well as a video of a spoken word poem and a ted talk.

Racism Is Killing the Planet | Sierra Club

Why environmentalists should support the Black Lives Matter protests | Grist

Zero Waste: Progress not Perfection

Posted on June 12, 2023 by Eco-Friendly

Hallie Thompson

June 12, 2023

This is based off an paper I did my freshman year of college titled “A Critical Look at the Zero Waste Living Movement.” When trying to accomplish radical, wide-scale change it can be scary and there is not one right way, but there is one wrong way—continued complacency. This post is about looking at solutions from all angles but, most importantly, giving yourself and others grace because no one is perfect and striving for perfection is hurting our ability to be successful activists.

Our World is Drowning in Waste

As our world drowns in waste and people continue to choose everyday conveniences over the future of our planet, activists are seeking new ways to make a difference. One movement that is on the rise is the zero-waste lifestyle. Many influencers have taken on the challenge of cutting out as much waste as possible, and they share their testimonies of how it revolutionized their lives on social media.

Individually, the advocates are taking huge strides to reduce their personal footprint. Unfortunately, collectively the movement does not yield positive results on the same scale as it does individually. The movement potentially plays into gender stereotypes, marginalizes minorities and the low and working class, as well as puts a tremendous amount of pressure on individual sacrifice and discomfort. On a larger scale, the movement depends on technology and intrinsically motivating people.

Many experts have begun looking into these flaws and deciding if, as a whole, the movement is productive. The individuals who have achieved zero-waste living–or close to it–reap tremendous benefits, but what about everyone else? Is it enough to create the radical change so desperately needed?

Background

The movement began in 2009 when Bea Johnson, a young mother from San Francisco, started sharing her journey towards zero-waste living on her blog (De Wilde and Parry, p. 5). By participating in conscious consumerism, her and her family produce only one mason jar of waste per year (M&S, p. 2). She urges others to follow her lead to reap the benefits of a changed lifestyle, but most importantly to reduce environmental impact.

The movement took off after Johnson’s first book, Zero Waste Home: The Ultimate Guide to Simplifying Your Life While Reducing Your Waste, was published in 2013. Throughout the book, she focuses on three main tasks that are particularly wasteful in homes: cooking, cleaning, and grocery shopping. She argues that by changing how households are run, a dramatic reduction in waste is possible. Since the book’s publication many activists have joined the movement and began blogging their own personal journeys towards zero-waste living (De Wilde and Parry, p. 2).

Johnson offers five Rs of zero-waste living: refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle and rot to guide aspiring activist. The five words are designed to aid consumers towards responsible decision making throughout their daily lives. The idea is to refuse anything that is unnecessary, reduce consumption whenever possible, reuse or recycle anything that can be and everything that is left over should ideally be able to rot or compost (De Wilde and Parry, p. 8).

While I personally love what Johnson has done, the movement is unattainable for the majority of people. It is dependent on influencers sharing their tips and tricks to a changed lifestyle. Many have blogs and social media accounts where they frequently post helpful information for those considering the lifestyle switch. The influencers are predominantly women, and their posts and ideas are generally aimed at women as well, specifically those of a higher class, typically white and middle aged. A common theme across some of the most well-known bloggers is a sense of entrepreneurial spirt as they share links to their zero-waste “must-haves” where they receive some compensation for the sales they make (De Wilde and Parry, p. 5-7).

As the movement grows in popularity many people have begun to wonder if zero-waste living is possible on a larger scale with government involvement. Could the household lifestyle change be applied to entire communities or countries? If so, what would it look like? This is not a new concept; during the 1950s through 1970s, Socialist Hungary attempted a zero-waste society (Gille, p. 39). The idea behind shifting zero-waste living from households and applying it to entire communities and countries is to re-envision how society is being run on larger scale (Song, p. 15).

One challenge of large scale zero-waste living is that it would be dependent on technology, as the waste problem is usually seen as a technical or management problem (Song, p. 15). Since advancements in technology have largely been the cause of the environmental degradation being experienced, many people are wary of depending on more advancements to save us. Shifting the focus from recycling to reusing can reduce waste and the chemicals need to break down plastic and metal waste as well as pollution caused by it. In Hungary waste was seen as valuable and was redistributed and reused continuously. This was common ideology especially during war time scarcity (Gille, p. 40). With that said, zero-waste projects are challenging and expensive. Therefore, prevention is the best course of action, yet this is less frequently mentioned in the movement, likely due to people unwilling to give up the luxury of modern conveniences (Gille, p. 41).

Zero-waste living is dependent on individuals choosing what to buy and how to dispose of waste. Therefore, a conflict exists between whether waste prevention or recycling is the best way to solve the problem (Cecere, Mancinellis and Mazzanti, p. 4). If it is left only to household sustainability then only a select few will engage in a zero-waste lifestyle, it will not be enough to make an impact of significant size. However, on a government scale, it is extremely challenging to get a large amount of people to engage in zero-waste living.

Flaws

Dependency on Technology

As the movement has begun taking off, with it has come many critics, many of which are concerned that zero-waste living is only achievable through an increased dependency on technology. This leads to hesitancy as technology and its convivences are largely responsible for the waste crisis we are facing now. A roadblock preventing zero-waste living from having a larger impact is individuals who are unwilling to give up modern conveniences. Depending on technology to achieve zero-waste living will allow individuals to enjoy a modern lifestyle while also reducing waste (Song, p. 21). Even clean energy will no longer be clean if overused (Song, p. 24). To truly make an impact we must as a society cut back and stop overconsuming.

One of the five R’s Johnson depends on to achieve zero-waste living is recycling. However, many of the materials frequently used are composed of multiple substances, making recycling increasingly difficult. To combat this problem, we must either stop production of these materials or advance technology to make recycling possible for mixed materials (Gille, p. 41).

Rot is another one of the R’s Johnson identifies as key to household sustainability. However, composting is dirty, gross and a lot of work. Making it easier for people to compost by creating large composting plants will make the gross task less daunting (Cecere, Mancinelli and Mazzanti, p. 9). Yet, with large waste reduction sites comes many negative health issues that predominately fall on underprivileged people.

Pressure on Individual

Zero-waste living creates a sense that small individual acts will add up and make a difference (Gille, p. 42-43). Waste reduction is typically private, unlike recycling. It is individuals making a conscious choice to cut out waste within their home for tasks such as cleaning, cooking, and shopping. Since waste production is private, little government compensation is offered which makes it entirely up to the individual and their morals to make these choices.

Financial situations and other factors can also affect a person’s decision towards responsible consumption (Cecere, Mancinelli and Mazzanti, p. 6). Focusing on individual reductions in waste allows larger corporations and polluters to receive little incentives to cut down their plastic production (Müller & Schönbauer, p. 419).

Individuals who are willing to take on the challenges of zero-waste living must receive support for the work they are doing within their homes to reduce the pressure. Currently, achieving a zero-waste household is a full-time job that few are capable of. While household sustainability is important, it is foolish to push on people while multi-billion dollar companies are not held responsible for the tons of waste they produce daily.

Gender Stereotypes

An interesting paradox has occurred due to increasing the pressure for household sustainability. This movement is being led by women, yet it is feeding into gender stereotypes that see women as homemakers. As women continue to fight for equality and win, they have more and more responsibilities piling up. They are now working full-time while still cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping and taking care of the kids. Zero-waste living makes these tasks a full-time job. Women cannot do it all, yet they are putting pressure on themselves to figure it out.

There is a continued gender gap in domestic labor, where women do the large majority of it. By targeting domestic labor as an area to reduce waste, the expectation is falling disproportionately on women (De Wilde and Parry, p. 3). Good mothers take care of their kids and the environment. The aesthetics of the movement is catered to women as they are more likely to be drawn to the hyper organization of the movement (De Wilde and Parry, p. 14). Buying food in bulk, storing it in glass jars, making cleaning products at home to keep your house squeaky clean and more is the aesthetic portrayed in zero waste activist’s social medias. In reality, it is hard, grimy and time-consuming work.

Most of the movement is white, middle-class females from the Global North (Müller & Schönbauer, p. 417). This is mainly because the movement has turned tedious tasks into a clean, minimalist, aesthetic that appeals to women more than men. While the 5 Rs have nothing to do with gender, it becomes a gendered issue as domestic labor is often invisible work done quietly by women.

Environmental Racism

Especially in the last few years after the murder of George Floyd, racial justice has been a major topic of conversation. Environmental racism is becoming a more popularized term to show that environmental destruction and climate change are disproportionately impacting racial minorities. The zero-waste movement is ignoring this aspect of the environmental movement (Müller & Schönbauer, p. 418). It is only focusing on individual action, while ignoring that few have the luxury of time, money, and resources to achieve zero-waste living.

Racial composition of a community is the most accurate predictor of a hazardous waste site such as an incinerator (Davies, p. 710). These are the people who are less likely to have political clout and have the power to keep these harmful factories out of their communities.

Refusing a receipt or proof of the transaction may be a simple way to cut out waste for most people, but for an African American man, could lead to potentially dangerous situations. Since people of color are more likely to live near toxic waste sites, they are also more likely to have unsafe drinking water. Something that may seem small to an upper-class white woman, such as refusing plastic water bottles, is impossible for those that do not have access to clean water.

Many intersecting social categories require attention such as race, class, and gender (De Wilde and Parry, p. 18). To tackle climate change and the waste problem, there must be a holistic view of the world and the problems being faced.

Environmental Classism

Low-income communities are threatened by air and water pollution as well as floods and other disasters. The wealthiest 1% own half of the world’s financial wealth and are doing little to help the underprivileged (Müller & Schönbauer, p. 418). It is important to also mention that the U.S. has the highest rich-poor gap of any country in the world. Often these problems are seen as only relevant for developing countries, yet it is happening here in our own country (Davies, p. 709).

The movement is exclusive to those who have time, money, and social or educational capital. It puts strain on low- and working-class women who are trying to do it all and are not receiving enough support (De Wilde and Parry, p. 16).

Environmental Justice argues that combining poverty, discrimination, and environmental degradation into one conversation is the most effective way to create a better tomorrow (Davies, p. 708).

Benefits

Individual Action

Since global issues are so tricky and widespread change can feel impossible, zero-waste living offers a solution to those who are able to significantly reduce their waste. Small personal steps towards zero-waste living can make people feel good about their contribution towards a greener tomorrow, even if it is failing nationally (Gille, p. 42). People are able to align their actions with their beliefs and for many people it is life changing.

Warm glow giving and the joy of giving are real. It is acceptable for someone to be proud of the actions they take and the sacrifices they make. Zero-waste living allows personal action to be the emphasis without worrying about the larger concepts of policy or science that can often be stressful and slow moving. Just do what you can personally do and feel good about it ( Cecere, Mancinelli and Mazzanti, p. 7).

Innovation

Much of the recycling and reuse that must happen to achieve zero-waste living requires creative and innovative thinking (Gille, p. 42). We cannot continue to do the same thing and expect different results. Living zero-waste is thinking outside the box. While it is not necessarily always feasible, it provides a foundation for the next movement to launch (Song, p. 24). New creative ideas are never a bad thing.

Large change and lofty goals require innovative solutions, both behaviorally and technologically (Cecere, Mancinelli and Mazzanti, p. 2). One way to acquire more innovative solutions is to gather a diverse group of people with diverse thought and background. Zero-waste living can integrate environmental justice into its philosophy, and could be the innovative solution that ends environmental degradation, discrimination, and poverty (Davies, p. 708).

Changing the Focus

Changing from industrial to ecological civilizations might be the only way to stop the damage being done. Taking the focus away from economic development and onto the health of the planet and the people is key to a sustainable future (Song, p. 23). People must stop viewing this as someone else’s problem. 

Feminine Empowerment

Another way to look at the movement’s intentions is to empower women to take back what it means to be a homemaker. As females lead with compassion and bridge the gap between household and collective action, it could be the innovative approach we were missing before (De Wilde and Parry, p. 4 & 17).

This does not mean that all women should be expected to take on this responsibility. Feminism is about empowering ALL women. Whether a woman wants to be a stay-at-home mom who is living a zero-waste lifestyle or working as an environmental lawyer with no kids at home, she should feel just as powerful and proud of her accomplishments. It is important to avoid creating an expectation for all women or people since this is not realistic for many.

Conclusion

Environmental destruction, climate change and the waste crisis are not easy tasks to tackle. They are intertwined with racism, classism and sexism that have transcended many generations. As environmental justice movements are gaining popularity, it can be easy to dismiss movements that are failing to encapsulate the full extent of the destruction and suffering caused by the climate crisis.

However, no movement is perfect, and progress must be recognized and celebrated. While the zero-waste influencers may not fully understand the extent of the suffering that is occurring, their personal actions are incredible and cannot be overlooked. We must celebrate their successes and simultaneously push these activists to use their platforms to uplift underprivileged people and voices while making a space that is all inclusive.

Ultimately, sustainability is at the heart of environmental progress. We cannot expect everyone’s environmental action to look the same. Sustainability means taking actions that you can with the time, money, and resources you have while avoiding burnout. Empowering people may be the most effective way to tackle the climate crisis.

While I dream of living zero-waste someday, I know that even being able to dream about such a thing is a privilege. I am also hesitant to strive for perfection. I am human, I make mistakes and I sometimes fall short. My business is far from zero-waste, but I do not let this fact take away from the action I do take. I buy biodegradable and compostable materials as much as I can and continue to learn and look for new ways to cut out waste. I choose to give myself grace and to give others the same. We were set up to fail, our society is designed around convenience and profit rather than people and the planet. It is perfectly reasonable to fail—our society depends on it. So, whatever allows you to wake up the next day and keep fighting is noble and worth celebrating. I am human and I practice imperfect activism and I encourage you to do the same.

Protecting Home

Posted on April 22, 2022 by Blog

Happy Earth Day! In the past on Earth Day, I have romanticized nature talking about the wilderness that I found to be most worth saving—Glacier National Park. I have talked about its immense beauty and how saddened it makes me that our actions are destroying what I believe to be the most beautiful place on Earth. While Glacier is still my favorite place to be, I have since realized while studying Environmental Studies at Concordia, that it is far from being the most worthy of protection and saving. I have always thought of nature as being a place I have to travel to see, something sublime and untouched by humans; however, William Cronon’s article, “The Trouble with Wilderness; or Getting Back to the Wrong Nature” challenged my perspective by urging me to see nature and wilderness as my backyard. This Earth Day I am looking to romanticize my home as much as I do Glacier. In the Park, I have no problem seeing grizzly bears from inside my car and feeling as if I am fully immersed in nature. I have no problem looking past parking lots and powerlines to see “pristine” lakes and majestic mountains. I am going to start doing that from wherever I am at.

 Cronon says the trouble with wilderness is that it has become a human ideal that we created. By creating civilization, we also created wilderness, or a place to escape “our own too muchness”. In creating the idea of wilderness, we created a separation between us and nature. In the environmental movement, this removes a sense of responsibility to protect this wilderness, as we “set too high a stock in wilderness, too much other corners of the earth become less than natural and too many other people become less than human, thereby giving us permission not to care much about their suffering or their fate.” Cronon argues that what needs to happen is a change in how we think about the word “home”. If we see our home as both our hometowns and as earth, it creates that much needed sense of responsibility to protect it.

As I often view Glacier as untouched and sublime, I overlook that it is in fact far from it. For one, it was once home to the Blackfeet and is now overrun by tourists. Yet it is still my idea of heaven. When I think about saving the planet, this is far away, and remote land is what I find myself most compelled to protect. I find myself defining my mission as preserving nature in its purest form. I now realize why this is so limiting and ineffective. Saving the glaciers is not something I can do on my own; however, I can compost within my house and use the compost as fertilizer for my vegetable garden. I can push to protect my local environment. Tuning into the wilderness surrounding us allows us to take responsibility, but also makes it much easier to make a difference.

The first time I experience the feeling of finding wilderness within my home was last spring. About a block from the soccer fields were five baby foxes. Every day after practice I would park across the street and watch them play for hours. A few times I even got to see the mom. I felt an overwhelming connection to these animals. I was so fascinated with them, not only because they were SO cute but also because I had found wilderness within my hometown—a block from where I play soccer, two blocks from my elementary school, ten blocks from my old house. At the time I had not realized why I became so obsessed with theses foxes, but about a month later, my family and I went to Glacier and saw another fox–equally majestic to the mother fox I spent hours watching. The only difference was that this one was hours, rather than minutes away from me. This wildness that I thought had to be remote and untouched was so close to me. It was both here and there.

I have started to incorporate Cronon’s view of wilderness into my fight for environmental justice. If we start seeing the wildness and naturalness within our homes, then maybe we can find the incentive to protect what is ours. Maybe we can reverse that “wilderness tends to privilege some parts of nature at the expense of others” and maybe someday we can experience “justice for all”. If everyone protects their own backyard, there is no place to dump toxic waste, no place to stick polluting factories, and no place or people being viewed as sacrificial. This starts by empowering others to stand up for what they deserve—clean air and water should be a basic human right. Today I vow to protect my home and demand better for the people of my community.

Castles of my Childhood

Posted on January 23, 2021 by Eco-Friendly

we have all seen plastic-covered beaches,

chemical clouds, consequences unimagined  

forests lying horizontal, it teaches

our generation time must not be wasted

but, I have witnessed aquamarine water,

jaw-dropping bear grass, glacier-carved mountains,

moose, grizzlies and nature’s beautiful color

sights everyone should see in their lifetimes.

when I take my children to see the magic,

there will be no more glaciers, only ghosts of 

greatness. our glaciers will be outlived by plastic

it is time to start caring, let’s choose love.

the castles of my childhood deserve justice

put our planet, just once, over convenience.

Dressember: A Fight to End Modern Slavery

Posted on December 31, 2020 by Social Justice

                For years I have feared human trafficking, I knew very little about it, but it still scared me. I do not like parking too far away when going to the store, I lock my car door as soon as I get in and have convinced myself that getting gas is a dangerous task. I read stories about missing people and am shocked that I live in a world where people are being forced into either sex trafficking or labor. 71% of the victims of human trafficking are female. Reading this stat makes me upset, it upsets me that I think about things like what I wear when I am alone in public, if my hairstyle is making it easier for an attacker to take me, and makes me change up my route home so I can’t easily be tracked.

                This December I joined the Dressember movement to raise money and awareness for anti-trafficking. I have worn a dress every day this month to serve as a conversation starter and to reclaim and reappropriate the dress as a symbol of freedom and power.

As I have done more research on the topic, I have realized that living in Montana it is statistically unlikely I would be a victim of trafficking. However, it has also come to my attention that Indigenous women are in some cases 10 times more likely to be involved in human trafficking than other races. Being from Montana this is especially alarming since 7% of our population is Indigenous. While I personally may be at lower risk of being involved in this terrible crime, it still scares me that people are being forced into modern-day slavery and wanted to do something to help the more vulnerable members of our population.

I have since done research on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW). There is a stereotype that Indigenous women just going missing, that there is nothing that could be done to stop it. Some of these cases are just dismissed due to accusations of substance abuse, involvement in prostitution and a lack of family pushing for investigations. None of these things justify allowing a missing person to go uninvestigated. If the cases are not dismissed there is a lack of media coverage and the cases are often lost between tribal, county and state law enforcement.

                The more I have learned the scarier it gets, I learned that traffickers look for vulnerable youth, people struggling with mental health or substance abuse, people who are homeless, people without good support systems. They are looking for someone who will not be missed, someone whose disappearance will not be questioned. It is upsetting that people are going missing and being forgotten soon afterward. That these people become cold cases or are assumed dead when in reality they are facing a life of slavery, whether sold to a brothel or being forced into labor.

 It also is terrifying that this is not a crime of desperation, this is not some way for the traffickers to feed their families, it’s a career. They are deceiving some of the most vulnerable members of our communities, making them feel understood, appreciated and gaining the victims’ trust. Then they are selling the victims for their own personal gain. These people must be stopped.

This crime must end. We cannot allow our communities to suffer as more and more people are being forced into modern slavery, we must fight back and demand justice for these victims.

It has been hard to do this research — it is stuff I wish I didn’t know. Especially during the month of December, a month that is so full of holiday cheer, a part of me wished I wasn’t researching such a dark topic. However, I am inspired by the donations I received throughout the month and am excited that I made well over my goal $500. It has made me realize that I’m so lucky to live in such a generous community and that this December I was able to make a difference because of the people around me. I am overwhelmed by the support Dressember has had here in Great Falls and am so glad I took this month to fight for social justice and freedom for all.

While Dressember may officially be over at midnight, the fight does not stop, we must continue to protect all members of our communities, especially the most vulnerable, and we must never let a missing person go unnoticed or be forgotten.  

Donate to the cause at the link: https://dressember2020.funraise.org/fundraiser/hallie-thompson

*I have gotten all of my stats form the Dressember website.

Be a Conscious Consumer

Posted on July 20, 2020 by Conscientious Consumer

                The next time you go grocery shopping pay attention to the amount of plastic you take home with you. For example, my dad went to the store on Friday to pick up some snacks. He bought cherries and grapes both in plastic, summer sausage wrapped in plastic, cheese sticks individually wrapped in plastic and then in a bigger plastic bag and Cheese-it crackers in a plastic bag inside a cardboard box. He forgot our reusable grocery bags so, all that plastic was then put into five plastic sacks to be transported to our car and house. (Those bags were in use for about 10 minutes).

                As consumers we need to question everything. When did plastic grocery bags become the default? Why do my cheese sticks need to be individually wrapped? Why does my fruit need to be in plastic? It should be bad business for Cheese-it to pay extra to package its product twice — once in plastic and once in cardboard. Customers should not put up with that. So, why do we?

                The answer is we shouldn’t. However, it is convenient to just pick up a bag of Cheese-its and throw them in the cart. It’s easy to shop without thinking. I challenge everyone to pay attention the next time you go to the grocery store. If you find a product that you are not happy with, whether it is the packaging, added preservatives, or anything else then do not buy it. Find a better option.

                If you are wanting to shop local there are limited options for waste or plastic-free shopping. However, there are some. If you bring your own reusable bags to 2J’s most of their produce and bulk foods as well as peanut butter and almond butter can be plastic-free. When the Farmers Market is open and you bring reusable bags, it is a great way to get your produce waste-free and local!

                If we only had to pay for our food and not the packaging, our money would stretch a lot further. While there are not many options out there for waste-free grocery shopping in Great Falls, there are options online. For example, The Wally Shop, this is online shopping where everything you buy will be delivered to your door in glass jars and a reusable tote. You will pay an upfront fee for the jars that will later be retuned to you when you return the jars (the supply you with a return label). You can get peanut butter, almond butter, oils, syrup, most baking items and more from The Wally Shop. I encourage everyone to at least check it out and see if it might work for them. If not, keep researching until you find the right one.

                Please comment other ways you can have waste-free or plastic-free grocery shopping. And remember to question everything.

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