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  • Monthly Archives: March 2018

    • When I’m Queen of the World

      Posted at 6:28 pm by kpodulka, on March 29, 2018

      At some point in the future, I plan to be in charge of everything. No idea exactly how that’s gonna go down, but minor details are such a bore. And just so you know, the world will be run much differently. As the self-proclaimed Queen of the World, this shall be my decree:

      People will be valued by their integrity first and foremost. Honor will be bestowed to the most honest and charitable people across the lands.

      Teachers, nurses, doctors, child and elderly caretakers, scientists, environmentalists, researchers, and those who care for the underprivileged will be the highest paid jobs. Entertainment jobs (professional sports players, TV/movie stars, musical stars, authors, comedians, etc.) will all be unpaid and voluntary.

      Guns will no longer exist.

      In order to apply for any job, resumes, LinkedIn, networking, nepotism, back-room deals, and who-you-know will all be obsolete. The only application accepted for a job will be submission of your astrological birth chart. Resumes lie–the stars don’t.

      People will go back to living in open villages instead of single-family homes. Living in isolation with lack of humanity and community has destroyed us as a species. We are communal creatures. We are not meant to be held captive in houses and buildings of brick and glass, staring at electric screens all day. Nor are we meant to be away from nature endless hours every day driving alone in our enclosed vehicles of steel and rubber. It’s made us angry.

      Nuclear weapons will no longer exist.

      Women will be cherished for their ability to give life. Their menstrual cycles will be treated with regard and respect, not mocked and ridiculed. Pregnancies will be treated like the miracles for which they are. The birthing process will be a celebration of life for both the baby and the mother, filled with love and support, not guilt and anxiety. No mother will be forced back to work until she is ready, no mother will be made to feel guilty for how she chooses to feed her baby, and no mother will be shamed for the glorious way in which her body changes after creating a life.

      Freedom of religion will be a real thing, not a political talking point. No wars will be fought over who we pray to, which book we worship from, or what we believe in. The point is simply to believe.

      Happiness in life will be measured by what we cannot see. It will not be measured by status, wealth, stature or material possessions.

      Our water and air will be clean, our food will be chemical free, our children will be safe, cancer and all other disease will be eradicated, overpopulation won’t be an issue, crime will stop, racism will end, pets will live forever, heartbreak won’t hurt, flowers will bloom every season, Birthday wishes will all come true and love will conquer all.

       

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      Posted in advice, Equal Rights, feminism, life, love, Parenting, social media, Work Life Balance | 0 Comments | Tagged advice, believe, body image, breastfeeding, diet, double standard, feminism, food, hollywood, kids, love, Parenting, Sexism, travel, women's movement, Working Women
    • Facebook Detox

      Posted at 1:49 pm by kpodulka, on March 24, 2018

      I deleted the Facebook app off my phone today. It felt waaay too much like chopping a limb off my own body, so yeah, pretty good sign I made the right choice. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t like delete-delete my entire account. Don’t be insane. You can’t just break a 10 year addiction without professional help. I can still log into my account from a desktop, but ugh, that takes so much effort. So deleting the app is a solid first step in my recovery process.

      cat

      I leave this here so no one has to go cold turkey without my cat FB posts. I’m not heartless.

      There are obvious reasons for going on a Facebook elimination diet, and this is just off the top of my head: election interference, foreign hackers, data theft, privacy violations, trolls, bots, fake news, manic influx of news, FOMO, humble-bragging, straight-up-bragging, cyber bullying, cyber stalking, cyber adultery, super-creepy targeted ads, emojis replacing emotions, time-wasting, brain-sucking, soul-sucking, the juxtaposition of feeling both connected to people and disconnected from people at the same time, fake profiles, and real profiles which portray perfectly curated lives that make us feel horribly inadequate even though those people totally have problems too but who’s gonna post about a shitty life so it’s all just fake anyway.

      OH MY GOD WHAT ARE WE DOING TO OURSELVES??? THE VERY FABRIC OF SOCIETY IS SHREDDING IN FRONT OF OUR EYES!!!

      I had every intention of following the list of awful things with a list of good things, but now I’m at a loss. Seriously. I was going to say I love Facebook because it connects me to long-lost friends, but email and phone calls do that. And I’d argue they do it better–they are intentional and personal. Whereas a Facebook post is mass communication. OK, sure, you post on “your” wall to “your” friends–all one thousand four hundred and twelve of your “friends”. And maybe 12 comment. Awesome. Great connecting with you Jane from high school–I feel totally caught up on your life and can see that you’re doing well by the thumbs up you placed below the photo of my cat. Ahh, the warm fuzzy of human connections, am I right???

      And I was going to say I love Facebook for all the fun banter and photos of friend’s lives, but you know where else I can have fun banter and see my friend’s lives??? IN REAL LIFE. So if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna get off my couch now and reintroduce myself to the world.

      Maybe detoxing Facebook isn’t going to be nearly as difficult as I thought…

      tenor

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      Posted in advice, life, social media, Work Life Balance | 0 Comments | Tagged #deletefacebook, detox, fake news, social media, trolls
    • Rude Feminist

      Posted at 11:33 pm by kpodulka, on March 17, 2018

      I’m getting the message loud and clear from men in my life that I am in fact being a rude feminist these days. Gasp! They say this to me with very serious, pointed faces–like they expect me to do something about it. To apologize and fix the “situation” tut suite. The situation of course being my rudeness itself, and not the actual issue we’re discussing. Oh no, it’s the way in which I’m discussing the topic that is causing their frustration. And I’m finding that the men in my life do not like feeling frustrated. I understand this is all new for them.  This whole “a-woman-speaking-her-mind-how-dare-she-but-of-course-I-support-her-it’s-just-she-doesn’t-have-to-use-that-tone-of-voice-or-get-emotional-geesh”. Let’s see if I can help the guys a bit with this whole new-fangled feminist thing, shall I?

      “But what about MY feelings????”, an actual man in my life

      I guess I’ll be the one to break it to you guys: the feminist movement isn’t about you. I really thought this was obvious, but christ-on-a-cracker, apparently it needs to be said. The fight for women’s equality does not take into account men’s thoughts, opinions, or feelings. At all. I don’t care if you think mansplaining is a real thing or an impolite term. Because it is real to me and I’m done being polite. I don’t care if you’re annoyed when I say “do not interrupt me”. If you stop interrupting me, neither of us will be annoyed. Women are 50% of the U.S. population and leading the feminist movement. We are coining the terms, writing the books, organizing the groups, raising the money, and creating the change we want to see. We got this. Honestly, we don’t have the time, energy, nor inclination to run everything by you first. We welcome men as allies of course, but to be clear, an ally is someone who stands by our side and says “how can I help?”. An ally is not someone looking to prove their point, argue their side, or question the cause. Either get on board or get out of our way.

      “So you’re just giving up on your looks then?”, another actual man in my life

      Apparently I can be a feminist as long as I keep up appearances.  At least according to one man in my life who noticed (and felt the need to comment) on the fact that I don’t wear as much makeup as I used to. He accused me of “giving up”. He chose a child’s birthday party to say this to me, and being the polite feminist that I’m supposed to be, I did not unload on this guy in public. (I’m just blogging about it for the whole world to read now. I know, SO RUDE!) Here’s what I wanted to say: Yep, you’re right. I’m giving up. I’m giving up spending thousands of dollars a year on an industry which thrives on women’s insecurities. An industry run by wealthy men, perpetuating women’s fears of growing old, and valuing looks over all else. An industry which teaches women that their identity is about how their outward appearance appeals to others…How to be “presentable”, to “put on their face”, to “cover their imperfections”, to “appear ageless”, to “turn back time”, to “restore a youthful glow”. What an utter load of crap. Women age. We all age. It’s natural and I’m choosing to embrace it. In addition to saving money by not buying makeup, I’m saving time. I used to spend hours each day putting on and taking off makeup. It was a chore for me and I loathed it. So, yes, I am giving up. I’m giving up fighting mother nature and the inevitable splendor of aging. I’m giving up a daily routine that drained me in more ways than one. So if you’ll excuse me, I hear there’s a pinata at this party and I need to smash something.

      “But do you have to be crass about it?”, some guy I don’t have time for

      It was recently pointed out to me that having my period each month is rude. More specifically, asking a co-worker if they have a tampon in an open office space, with both male and female ears around, is rude. It’s crass to ask in a normal volume voice for sanitary supplies. I guess I’m supposed to be embarrassed and shy, whispering only to my female colleagues, like a 12-year old girl spreading gossip in class. That way she can slip me a tampon like a $50 bill given to the maitre d for a table near the window. TOP SECRET! I call bullshit on this one big time. How is asking for a tampon any different from asking for a Kleenex or band-aid? All 3 are used to soak up blood. Just because men don’t use tampons, they’re taboo to speak of in a professional setting? I didn’t saying anything gross. I simply asked for a tampon. Besides, men talk about periods whenever they want to, and it’s socially acceptable in any setting. Any of these sound familiar ladies: “Why are you crying, are you on the rag?”, “She had blood coming out of her wherever”,  “She’s totally pms-ing”, “You’re so hormonal, must be that time of the month”, “I think you must need some chocolate”. Double standard be damned. I will continue to openly talk about my menstrual product needs. Now pass me a neon pink wrapped tampon, so I can non-discreetly hold it on my way to the bathroom.

      “You used to be much easier to talk to”, a guy I used to know

      I know, right? What a bummer that I’m now asserting myself, and actually saying whstrengthat I’m thinking. It’s super off-putting and inconvenient for the men in my life. The poor guys! “I’m afraid to set you off,” they cry. I totally get it dudes. A woman with an opinion is a scary, unpredictable thing. Two-way communication–whaaaaat????? I’m sure you had it much easier when I agreed with everything you said. When I listened with rapt attention to your stories. When I blindly let you explain things to me which I already knew. When you answered questions for me that I never even asked. When you interrupted me so much that I just gave up and let you take over the conversation. When I let you tell me my opinion was wrong and why. When you gave me directions that I never asked for. When I told you I had to leave but you kept talking for 20 minutes because my time is worthless. When I cooked you an entire meal and as you ate it proceeded to explain the recipe to me. When you talked right over me, drowning out the sound of my own voice and dignity. When I worried if my tone would offend you even though yours was condescending as hell. When I made sure to smile at you the whole conversation. When you repeatedly said, “you understand, right?” and I just smiled and nodded. Yes, I can see how losing all of those past pleasantries are hard for you. In fact, I’m sure you find this entire post irritating, condescending and bitchy. I promise you it’s not out of intentional rudeness or retaliation. It’s out of a new-found freedom in my feminism. And as I stated at the beginning, it’s not about you. It’s only about me.

      “What must your husband think of all this???”, a modern-day caveman

      No comment.

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      Posted in advice, Equal Rights, feminism, life, misogyny | 0 Comments | Tagged ally, double standard, feminism, mansplaining, misogyny, Sexism, women's movement
    • International Women’s Day–The Day After

      Posted at 10:51 pm by kpodulka, on March 9, 2018

      My latest video explains why the women’s movement needs more than just one day in which we come together and demand change. I outline specific issues and actions that each and every one of us can begin doing today! Comment below or email me if you’d like to learn more. Join the movement–every single effort matters.

       

      International Womens Day 2018The Day After (1)Trim

      International Womens Day 2018The Day After (1)Trim

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      Posted in Equal Rights, feminism, life, misogyny, rape culture | 2 Comments | Tagged advice, ally, body image, Corporate America, daughters, diet, double standard, hollywood, International Women's Day, Intuitive Eating, meetoo, misogyny, rape culture, ReeceWitherspoon, Sex Ed, Sex Education, Sexism, timesup, Wage Gap, women's movement, Working Women
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