1
ARTICLE
‘Perhaps Life Would Be Easier if I Shaved, But Why?’
By Alok Vaid-Menon — 2019
When I told my family I was trans, one of their initial reactions was, “But you’re so hairy! It’s going to be so difficult to remove all your hair to be a woman, so you should just give up.” They were zeroing in on my body hair as the barrier for me to be seen as feminine.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
CLEAR ALL
BY TOPIC
BY TEACHER
BY TYPE
FILTER
TOPIC
- Well-Being (46)
- Gender Challenges (45)
- Nonbinary Well-Being (45)
- Identity (41)
- Life Challenges (36)
- Self-Discovery (33)
- Imagination and Creativity (31)
- Self-Love (28)
- Self-Development (27)
- Authenticity (22)
- BIPOC Well-Being (22)
- Resilience (22)
- LGBTQIA Sexuality (21)
- Raising Nonbinary Children (21)
- Self-Worth (21)
- Gender Transition (20)
- Self-Compassion (20)
- Building Character (19)
- Emotional and Mental Health (19)
- Creative Well-Being (17)
- Parenting (17)
- Self-Reflection Practices (17)
- Gender Discrimination (16)
- Transitions (16)
- Body Image (15)
- Neuroscience (15)
- Coming Out (14)
- Courage (14)
- Self-Realization (14)
- Communication Skills (13)
- Female Empowerment (13)
- LGBTQIA Children (13)
- Memoir (13)
- Self-Esteem (13)
- Self-Healing (13)
- Sexuality (13)
- Social Justice (13)
- Awareness (12)
- Family Acceptance (12)
- Self-Actualization (12)
- Speaking Your Truth (12)
- Belonging (11)
- Motherhood (11)
- Relationship Challenges (11)
- Shame (11)
- Buddhism (10)
- Identity Shifts (10)
- LGBTQIA Parents (10)
- Spiritual Awakening (10)
- Women’s Well-Being (10)
- Activism/Service (9)
- Aging (9)
- Athlete Well-Being (9)
- Black Well-Being (9)
- Body Positivity (9)
- Fear (9)
- Gender Justice (9)
- Joy (9)
- Meditation (9)
- Mindfulness (9)
- Neuroplasticity (9)
- Racial Identity (9)
- Search for Purpose (9)
- Self-Care (9)
- Anxiety (8)
- Family Dynamics (8)
- Feminism (8)
- Happiness (8)
- Inner Peace (8)
- Love (8)
- Men’s Well-Being (8)
- Personal Development (8)
- Positive Psychology (8)
- Self-Reckoning (8)
- Trauma Healing (8)
- Vulnerability (8)
- Young Adult Well-Being (8)
- Acceptance (7)
- Compassion (7)
- Confidence (7)
- Empowerment (7)
- Gratitude (7)
- Grit (7)
- Inner Life (7)
- Intention (7)
- Masculine/Feminine Dynamics (7)
- Mind-Body Connection (7)
- Negative Self-Talk (7)
- Philosophical Approaches (7)
- Presence (7)
- Romantic Relationships (7)
- Self-Limiting Beliefs (7)
- Transformation (7)
- Cancer (6)
- Cross-Cultural Dynamics (6)
- Disabled Well-Being (6)
- Finding Meaning (6)
- Forgiveness (6)
- Human Potential (6)
- Physical Health (6)
- Race and Gender (6)
- Work Challenges (6)
- Challenges with Teens (5)
- Community Healing (5)
- Depression (5)
- Fellowship and Community (5)
- Freedom (5)
- Growth Mindset (5)
- Healthy Eating (5)
- Homophobia (5)
- Honoring Emotion (5)
- Inner Strengths (5)
- Intimacy (5)
- Journaling (5)
- Letting Go (5)
- Optimism (5)
- Retirement (5)
- Self-Mastery (5)
- Setting Limits and Boundaries (5)
- Storytelling (5)
- Trauma (5)
- Conflict Resolution (4)
- Criticism and Rejection (4)
- Empathy (4)
- Exercise (4)
- Faith and Identity (4)
- Fatherhood (4)
- Hope (4)
- Immigration and Assimilation (4)
- Inspiration (4)
- Integrative Medicine (4)
- Latinx Well-Being (4)
- Leadership (4)
- Memory (4)
- Mindfulness Practices (4)
- Moral Philosophy (4)
- Motivation (4)
- Neurodiversity (4)
- Post-Traumatic Growth (4)
- Racial Justice (4)
- Racism (4)
- Relationship with Money (4)
- Spiritual Life (4)
- Spiritual Practices (4)
- Trust (4)
- Zen Meditation (4)
- AAPI Well-Being (3)
- Adaptability (3)
- Addiction (3)
- Autism (3)
- Burnout (3)
- Children’s Well-Being (3)
- Connection with Nature (3)
- Diet and Nutrition (3)
- Discrimination (3)
- Facing Own Death (3)
- Failure (3)
- Generosity (3)
- Global Challenges (3)
- Guided Meditation (3)
- Integrity (3)
- Living with Illness (3)
- Manifestation (3)
- Midlife Crisis (3)
- Mindfulness Meditation (3)
- Native American Beliefs (3)
- Neuropsychology (3)
- Nonviolence (3)
- Oneness (3)
- Poetry (3)
- Positive Self-Talk (3)
- Racial Discrimination (3)
- Racial Healing (3)
- Relationship with Time (3)
- Self-Pressure (3)
- Self-Reliance (3)
- Sex (3)
- Sexual Assault or Abuse (3)
- Sleep (3)
- Social Responsibility (3)
- Spiritual Development (3)
- Stress (3)
- Tibetan Buddhism (3)
- Values (3)
- Veteran Well-Being (3)
- Work-Life Balance (3)
- Zen Buddhism (3)
- Affirmations (2)
- Anger (2)
- Awe (2)
- Brain Health (2)
- Christianity (2)
- Codependency (2)
- Competition (2)
- Consciousness (2)
- Curiosity (2)
- Death and Dying (2)
- Decision Making (2)
- Dysfunctional Childhood (2)
- Eating Disorders (2)
- Endurance (2)
- Entrepreneurship (2)
- Female Friendship (2)
- Genetics (2)
- Goal Setting (2)
- Grief (2)
- Habit Formation (2)
- Habits of Mind (2)
- Healing Approaches (2)
- Humility (2)
- Indigenous Rights (2)
- Indigenous Well-Being (2)
- Interdependence (2)
- Intergenerational Trauma (2)
- Kindness (2)
- LGBTQIA Relationships (2)
- Lifestyle Medicine (2)
- Lovingkindness (2)
- New Relationships (2)
- Patience (2)
- Perception (2)
- Play (2)
- Positive Thinking (2)
- Productivity (2)
- Psychology (2)
- Raising Daughters (2)
- Raising Sons (2)
- Regret (2)
- Self-Control (2)
- Shadow (2)
- Social Presence (2)
- Social Psychology (2)
- Spiritual Growth (2)
- Spiritual Healing (2)
- Spirituality and Health (2)
- Stress Management (2)
- Toxic Relationships (2)
- Wholeness (2)
- Women’s Rights (2)
- Work Relationships (2)
- Youth Activism (2)
- Abandonment (1)
- Academic Struggles (1)
- Accepting Love (1)
- Access to Education (1)
- ADD/ADHD (1)
- Animal Connection (1)
- Anorexia (1)
- Asking for Help (1)
- Biofeedback (1)
- Boundary Confusion (1)
- Breathwork (1)
- Building Culture (1)
- Child’s ADD/ADHD (1)
- Child’s Autism (1)
- Child’s Challenging Behavior (1)
- Child’s Emotional Growth (1)
- Christian Mysticism (1)
- Chronic Health Conditions (1)
- Climate Change (1)
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (1)
- Compassion Meditation (1)
- Connection (1)
- Death or Loss of a Loved One (1)
- Death or Loss of a Parent (1)
- Dharma (1)
- Digital Life (1)
- Disconnection (1)
- Divorce and Breakup (1)
- Ecospirituality (1)
- Ego (1)
- Ego Dissolution (1)
- Embodiment (1)
- Emotional Intelligence (EQ) (1)
- Enlightenment (1)
- Faith (1)
- Focus (1)
- Forest Bathing (1)
- Friendship (1)
- Gender and Spirituality (1)
- Generational Healing (1)
- Handling a Child’s Illness (1)
- Handling a Loved One’s Illness (1)
- Hero’s Journey (1)
- Highly Sensitive People (1)
- Holism (1)
- Illness and Injury (1)
- Imposter Syndrome (1)
- Intuition (1)
- Judaism (1)
- Kids and Sports (1)
- Life-Altering Injury (1)
- Loneliness (1)
- Longevity (1)
- Loss of an Animal Companion (1)
- Lovingkindness Meditation (1)
- Male Friendship (1)
- Mentoring (1)
- Near-Death Experience (1)
- Nutritional Medicine (1)
- OCD (1)
- Offering Support to Others (1)
- Passion (1)
- Performance Pressure (1)
- Prayer (1)
- Pregnancy and Childbirth (1)
- Psychology and Spirituality (1)
- PTSD (1)
- Reproductive Health (1)
- Rest (1)
- Ritual (1)
- Sacred Feminine (1)
- Science and Spirituality (1)
- Self-Discipline (1)
- Slumps (1)
- Social Media Addiction (1)
- Somatic Practices (1)
- Soul Mission (1)
- Spiritual Direction (1)
- Spiritual Quest (1)
- Stoicism (1)
- Synchronicity (1)
- Taoism (1)
- The Feldenkrais Method (1)
- Time Management (1)
- Trauma-Informed Therapy (1)
- Visualization (1)
- Wake-Up Calls (1)
- Weight Concerns (1)
- Work Ethic (1)
- Yoga (1)
FILTER
TEACHER
- Natalie Goldberg (5)
- Rebecca Solnit (5)
- Alok Vaid-Menon (4)
- Andrew Solomon (4)
- Eric Maisel (4)
- Harriet Lerner (4)
- John Perry (4)
- Panache Desai (4)
- Richard Davidson (4)
- Gloria Steinem (3)
- Pema Chödrön (3)
- Rosie Molinary (3)
- Sharon Strand Ellison (3)
- Alan Watts (2)
- Andrew Weil (2)
- Brendon Burchard (2)
- Craig Hamilton (2)
- Debbie Ford (2)
- don Jose Ruiz (2)
- Eckhart Tolle (2)
- Geneen Roth (2)
- Iskra Lawrence (2)
- Jack Kornfield (2)
- John Bradshaw (2)
- Kelly McGonigal (2)
- Kris Carr (2)
- Linda Graham (2)
- Lodro Rinzler (2)
- Martha Beck (2)
- Martin Seligman (2)
- Maya Angelou (2)
- Rich Roll (2)
- Rick Hanson (2)
- Roxane Gay (2)
- Saeed Jones (2)
- Tara Brach (2)
- Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche (2)
- Acharya Shunya (1)
- Angela Duckworth (1)
- Anna Sale (1)
- Anne Lamott (1)
- Arianna Huffington (1)
- bell hooks (1)
- Bernie S. Siegel (1)
- Biet Simkin (1)
- Bruce Lipton (1)
- Chan Khong (1)
- Christopher Germer (1)
- Clarissa Pinkola Estés (1)
- Colleen Saidman Yee (1)
- Daniel Goleman (1)
- Daniel J. Siegel (1)
- David J. Wolpe (1)
- David Whyte (1)
- Diane Ackerman (1)
- Dilip Jeste (1)
- Dorothy Day (1)
- Edward Hallowell (1)
- Elaine Aron (1)
- Elizabeth Gilbert (1)
- Forrest Hanson (1)
- Gabor Maté (1)
- Gabrielle Roth (1)
- Gangaji (1)
- Gay Hendricks (1)
- Gaylon Ferguson (1)
- Harnaam Kaur (1)
- Helen Fisher (1)
- Iyanla Vanzant (1)
- Jack Canfield (1)
- James Baraz (1)
- James Hillman (1)
- Jane Hirshfield (1)
- Jay Shetty (1)
- Jeffrey Mishlove (1)
- Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo (1)
- Joan Borysenko (1)
- John C. Parkin (1)
- Joseph Goldstein (1)
- Joseph M. Marshall III (1)
- Karen May (1)
- Kathy Freston (1)
- Lewis Howes (1)
- Louise Hay (1)
- Luisah Teish (1)
- Maria Sirois (1)
- Marie Forleo (1)
- Mark Nepo (1)
- Mark Victor Hansen (1)
- Moshé Feldenkrais (1)
- Nedra Glover Tawwab (1)
- Nicole LePera (1)
- Nikki Mirghafori (1)
- Nina Simons (1)
- Noah Levine (1)
- Norman Fischer (1)
- Oprah Winfrey (1)
- Phillip Moffitt (1)
- Ralph Waldo Emerson (1)
- Ram Dass (1)
- Rolf Gates (1)
- Sarah Blondin (1)
- SARK (1)
- Scott Edelstein (1)
- Stanley Krippner (1)
- Stephen Harrod Buhner (1)
- Stephen Levine (1)
- Steven Johnson (1)
- Terri Cole (1)
- The Dalai Lama (1)
- Thich Nhat Hanh (1)
- Thomas Moore (1)
- Toni Morrison (1)
- Tony Gaskins Jr. (1)
We already have everything we need. There is no need for self-improvement. We are one blink of an eye away from being fully awake.