“As an activist who uses storytelling to combat stigma, I have always b...” — Janet Mock Quote

As an activist who uses storytelling to combat stigma, I have always been adamant that we tell our own stories.

'Pretty' is most often synonymous with being thin, white, able-bodied, and cis, and the closer you are to those ideals, the more often you will be labeled pretty - and benefit from that prettiness.

I was obsessed with 'The Velvet Rope' for a year straight, letting Janet Jackson's confessional lyrics lull me to sleep and comfort me when I felt lost. I felt that the album was the vehicle onto which Janet finally expressed her full self.

If anyone can be said to embody the American Dream, it's Kim Kardashian West.

My parents are avid consumers of art, collectors of African American paintings, and have always gone to the theater. My mother has always been an activist, too. As long as I can remember, we were marching in lines.

I don't want to spend all my time working as an activist. I don't get satisfaction out of it. I'd rather be doing something else. I'm a musician.

When I was a UA student, I was given the ultimate runaround when my student group wanted to bring author and activist David Horowitz to speak on campus.

With the rise of social media, it has given me an opportunity and a platform to have a voice as a blogger and as an activist, but it has also made me nervous that I might become a meme or a viral sensation, all without my consent.