Black Girl in Om/Taylor S. Hunter
Everyone deserves access to resources that improve their physical and emotional health. But here s another truth: Black women s wellness needs are not always met. And many health care options fail to speak to the unique experiences that Black people face.
No one fares worse from poor treatment than Black women. In the U.S., Black women have the highest pregnancy mortality rates. During the period between 2014 and 2017, the death rate for non-Hispanic Black women was 41.7 per 100,000 live births in comparison to 13.4 deaths per 100,000 live births for non-Hispanic white women. When it comes to mental health care, Black people, in general, are less likely to receive proper treatment, are more likely to receive poor quality care if they do seek treatment, and are more likely to terminate treatment prematurely compared to their white counterparts.
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Of all the things we’ve had to sweat over in this shitstorm of a past year, the thing I’ve been least worried about is, well, sweat itself. I’ve cleaned my apartment top-to-bottom about 400 times, strode up a number of snow-dusted mountains, and danced my heart out for at least 13 minutes every day without even a peep of anxiety about stenching up the scene. Why? Because I have a new way to keep this ol sack of bones feeling fresh and dry.
HIKI is a genderless lineup of full-body sweat products that launched last July out of the arfa Collective, a consumer insights group founded by Ariel Wengroff, a former VICE Media executive producer, and Glossier alums Henry Davis and Bryan Mahoney that develops, tests, and promotes personal care products in exchange for 5% of company profits.
Well, it seems this number keeps jumping higher and higher. There was a clearer method of listening this year, with more time at home to set a practice around all things, listening was no different. On Friday mornings, I would set aside a couple of hours for discovery â something Iâd neglected to do consistently last year with my travel schedule. Iâd forgotten about the excitement of it. Iâd scour Bandcamp, search for blogs, text my pals who listen even more adventurously than I do and ask them to send me things. Iâd compile a list (by hand, foolishly) of any new release that got my interest. Ones I was expecting, ones from artists I knew well. But also ones from artists I was barely familiar with. Iâd go into the weekend with anywhere from 10â30 new albums to spin through while cleaning my house or doing laundry or playing a video game or (if youâre like me and pretty indifferent to most NBA announcers) watching a basketball game. What this me