You and the Pandemic Rachelle George

This is a solo episode where I dive into three interrelated topics that I have been unpacking throughout the pandemic: femininity, sensitivity, and sexuality. It’s a vulnerable discussion about revindication and accountability in order to seek empowerment. My goal is to contribute to the process of ending the cycle of silencing women (which occurs via victim shaming), and to address how women/femmes can uplift one another while transcending dominant constructions of what femininity “should/shouldn’t” be.

We need to talk about trauma. This includes us as individuals and us as a part of society as a whole, in order to de-stigmatize our own trauma within ourselves so that we can face collective trauma in a healthier framework with solidarity. Catelynn Henion and I reflect on our personal thoughts and experiences with trauma, along with processes of accountability and healing. Our disclaimer is that we are not trauma experts and do not intend to impose ideas of how anyone should or shouldn’t experience their own trauma. We hope to contribute to a larger conversation which unpacks the stigmas that we face with trauma, and to better understand ourselves in the face of harm through this process.

I sit down with Noelani McGowan and discuss a variety of topics ranging from the processes of human connection, to the impacts of the media’s portrayal of frontline medical workers compared to the portrayal of police brutality during the pandemic, along with whose voices we think are the most important in historicizing this current period in time. With all the topics we covered in between, I didn’t want the conversation to end and I’m grateful for the thoughtful insights Noelani offered to this podcast.

In this episode I sit down with George Espino, a passionate runner, thinker, and a caring individual who is dedicated to uplifting those around him. In our conversation he demonstrates this by sharing his personal journey of self-forgiveness through the practice of humility, all in the pursuit of our favorite word: balance. Together we reflect on how the circumstances of the pandemic have influenced the ways we consider balance in our personal lives as well as in our interpersonal relationships.

In this episode I meet with Kayleigh Henion where we discuss her role as an elementary educator and her goals to apply what she has learned from the pandemic to cultivate humanizing practices into teaching and interacting with youth, as well the community at large, based on her experiences of finding a new level of compassion for herself and for others.

In this introduction episode, I explain the goals for this series in which I will be having discussions with individuals about the personal growth and crises that they’ve experienced since the beginning of the pandemic. I draw connections between our time to reflect on our adaptations to life today, and how we will better show up for our communities in an ever-changing world as we move forward as a collective.