A hyphenated life

When a person occupies more than one sphere in life, they are generally referred to as a hyphenate, most often in reference to their involvement in multiple occupations.  But what about those of us who live in multiple spheres all the time? We’re also hyphenates—of a sort. For many women of color, meaning women of African, Asian, Hispanic, Latino, Middle Eastern, Native American, and South Asian descent, a hyphenated (or compound) existence is a way of life that impacts not only our professional lives, but our personal lives as well.

In this blog, I’ll examine issues impacting women of color in our society and our world.  I’ll discuss things like the media’s treatment of Judge Sonia Sotomayor during her confirmation hearings, the combination of racial and gender discrimination that recently surfaced at Wimbledon, or the cosmetic industry’s encouragement of diverse forms of beauty in America, while heavily marketing skin-bleaching products in southeastern Asia. 

I love a good dialogue, and welcome your responses, comments, and feedback. If you notice that your comment is “called out,” it’s not a bad thing—it means that you said something I thought everyone should take note of, whether we are in agreement or not.

Thanks for coming by and I hope you’ll visit again soon.