For Minority Health Month our reading list illustrates how settler-colonialism is an ongoing project dependent on ensuring that health inequities affecting BIPOC continue to thrive.
April is National Minority Health Month. Like many different iterations of white supremacy and systemic oppression, “good health” is discussed in ways that put the onus of health on the individual rather than interrogate how power structures are responsible for the suffering of Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) and other marginalized peoples. In the United States, health disparities that disproportionately affect BIPOC of all classes can be traced back to the foundations of this settler-colonial nation and continue to show that the most marginalized are intentionally harmed by this imperialist white supremacist capitalist patriarchy. Settler-colonialism is an ongoing project dependent on ensuring that these inequities thrive.
Wear Your Voice has published hundreds of pieces that illustrate how these oppressions affect our health, how they are sustained by government policy and social beliefs. As such, we thought it would be of use to provide a curated list of those pieces to give our readers an understanding of different aspects of health and how perspectives on health are skewed by white supremacy, capitalism, cis heteropatriarchy, ableism, fatphobia, and other oppressions and biases.
Mental Health
The Weight of a Backpack: Mental Health in South Asian Immigrant Communities
How My Kittens Saved My Family’s Mental Health
Spinning Out: Bipolar Motherhood, Daughterhood Duality
8 Mental Health and Self Care Resources for QTPOC
Drug Abuse Isn’t Killing People — The Stigma of Mental Health Is.
South Asians: Our Silence About Mental Health is Killing Us
“But Some of Us Are Brave”: On Kanye West and the Disposal of Black Women & Femmes’ Mental Health
Kid Cudi: Why Black Mental Health Matters
“Checking On Your Friends” Isn’t Enough to Prevent Suicide
Committing To Wellness Practices When You’re The Only Black Person In The Room
“Black People Don’t Go to Therapy” and Other Myths Our Parents Told Us
How Our Use of Language Dehumanizes & Demonizes Mental Illness
White Fragility And The Mask Of Mental Health
Ableism
What It’s Like To Have Ocd During A Pandemic
The Coronavirus Is Putting The Failings of Ableism and Individualism on Full Display
Ableism and Anti-Blackness Go Hand in Hand
The Hidden Costs Of Academia: 4 Things Professors Should Recognize
21 Ways Able-bodied Privilege Looks
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Body Politics
Why We Need a “Body Reform” in Healthcare
It’s Time for PCOS Advocacy To Embrace Fat Activism
Diet Culture and Weight Loss Programs Are A Scam
Three Ways to Talk to Black and Brown People About Our Eating Disorders
Black Women Suffer From Eating Disorders Too, Stop Pushing Us Out Of Those Conversations
Substance Use
Safe Injection Sites Affirm the Humanity of People With Addiction
Stop Stigmatizing How We Recover From Drug Addiction
Drug Addiction Is A Disorder–Not A Moral Failure
My Father was an Alcoholic, and the Scars Remain
To Solve The Opioid Crisis We Need To Go Beyond The 12 Step Program
Cannabis
How Cannabis Can Improve Your Sex Life If You Live With Chronic Pain
These Cannabis Brands Are Addressing Sexual Health And Wellness Needs
How Cannabis Eased My Pain And Led Me To A Fulfilling Sex Life
Cannabis and PTSD: Holistic Healing For Survivors Of Sexual Violence
How Cannabis Can Help With The Many Symptoms of Menopause
The Marijuana Industry Alienates Black People and Benefits White Folks
What It’s Like Being a Black Woman in the Legal Cannabis Industry
How Cannabis Helped Me Survive My Chronic Skin Condition
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Medical Industrial Complex
7 BIPOC Led Public Health Organizations to Support
We are Witnessing The CDC’s Violent Eugenicist History in Real-Time
The History of the Medical Industry’s Role in Oppression is Well Documented
Black Mirror’s “Black Museum” and the History of Medical Experimentation on Black Bodies
Nobody Believes That Black Women are in Pain, and It’s Killing Us
How Racism Ensures That Chronically Ill Black Kids Receive Poor Pain Management
Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Reproductive Autonomy
For Black And Native Women, Doulas Can Prevent Deaths
Engaging With Black Pregnancy Outside of High Childbirth Mortality Rates
How to Prevent Pregnancy When Your Abuser is Using Reproductive Coercion
Reproductive Coercion Needs To Be Talked About More
Marshae Jones and how the Criminalization of Miscarriages Fits In With Abortion Laws
Reproductive Control is About Far More Than “Women’s Bodies”
The Fight Against Reproductive Rights Targets the Most Marginalized People—Here is How You Can Help
What You Need to Know About Abortion Doulas and Their Vital Work
This Documentary Uncovers Anti-Abortion Movement’s Disregard for Actual Black Lives
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Sexual Wellness
For Some Survivors, Phone Sex Can Be A Path To Healing
Between My Thighs Is All Mine: A Journey To Accepting My Asexual Identity
Fat Black Women Deserve Fulfilling, Enjoyable Sex Without Compromise
How Do Black Girls Navigate Sexuality When The World Insists That We Shouldn’t At All?
Sex Should Not Be Painful: The Stigma of Vaginismus
The Ritual Of Taking Nude Photos For Myself Helped Me Reclaim My Body
Why Can’t I Cum? A Survivor’s Quest For An Orgasm
What A Sex Resort Taught Me About Shame
4 Things People Do That Harm Survivors of Sexual Violence
My Vow of Celibacy Helped Me Find Sexual Liberation
Navigating Fetishism as a Queer, Non-Binary, Black Sex Worker
‘It’s Not You, It’s Not Me’ Centers Allosexual Feelings And Fails Asexual People
Sex Therapist Raquel Savage: “Be forgiving and patient with yourself.”
‘Pleasure Activism’ Delves Into The Politics of Sex and Desire