Author: Aya de Leon. Dress: Betsey Johnson, vintage.
Accessories: Rag for incineration,Vice Magazine fiction issue featuring women writers suicide fashion spread.
1. Because being a woman and a writer is not a tragedy
2. Because my sexy feminist heist novel isn't finished yet
3. Because I'm a mom
4. Because my life was worth living even before I was a mom
5. And for Toni Morrison
6. And Diane Balser
7. And for Audre Lorde
8. And Barbara Kingsolver
9. Because sexism is a cause of depression
10. Because I aim to see sexism end in my lifetime
11. And for June Jordan
12. And Tobe Correal
13. And for Mabel Maney
14. Because my spy novel about modern day COINTELPRO isn’t finished yet
15. And for Alix Olson
16. And Jill Dearman
17. Because my retro novel about black women in college fighting racism isn’t finished yet
18. And for devorah major
19. And because Coco Peila's album isn't out yet
20. And for Opal Palmer Adisa
21. And because Shonda Rhimes is just getting started in Hollywood
22. And for Buchi Emecheta
23. And Faith Adiele
24. And Shailja Patel
25. Because model Paige Morgan posed as Elise Cowan for Vice then spoke out publicly about being uncomfortable about the photo shoot and disappointed about the printed result
26. And for Adrienne Rich
27. And Madison Young
28. And Thea Hillman
29. Because I wonder what would happen if the fashion spread’s female photographer an stylist decided to stop cooperating with sexism and used their considerable powers for good
30. And for Chinaka Hodge
31. And Lena Reyna
32. And Dyanna Loeb
33. Because I want to live to see the day when the editors and publishers of Vice magazine actually understand what’s wrong with what they did
34. And for Leah Lakshmi Piepzna Samarasinha
35. And Maiana Minahal
36. And Aimee Suzara
37. Because Sarah Palin is in the news again and I need a good laugh
38. And for Tina Fey
39. And Michelle Tea
40. And Galadrielle Allman
41. And because I can’t wait to hear Imani Uzuri’s next album
42. And for Zora Neale Hurston
43. And because women are the biggest book buyers and book readers but I want to live to see the day when we're the biggest writers
44. And for Julia Alvarez
45. And Esmeralda Santiago
46. And Carolina de Robertis
47. And Sandra Garcia Rivera
48. And because women writers committing suicide is not a fashion statement
49. And because women writers committing suicide is not a fashion statement
50. And for Cristina Garcia
51. And Aurora Levins Morales
52. And Sofia Quintero
53. And Raquel Rivera
54. And Sara Campos
55. Because I have felt the kind of despair that made me want to walk into traffic
56. Because I have learned that some struggles can be released through writing but some can only be released through therapy
57. Because there have been enough feminists in the field of psychology that women can actually get some help these days
58. And for Nikki Finney
59. And AJ Verdelle
60. And Gail Burton
61. Because it does get better
62. And Arisa White
63. And Yvonne Fly Onakeme Etaghene
64. And Simha Evan Stubblefield
65. Because I have learned that no matter how much people know and love your writing, it doesn't mean they know and love you
66. Because I have learned that favorable reviews and artistic success won't heal the places you don't love yourself
67. And Mohja Kahf
68. And for Elmaz Abinader
69. And Suheir Hammad
70. Because we’ve lived through rape and sexual abuse and sexual torture
71. Because we've been been betrayed and exploited then told it was all our fault
72. But because it was never our fault
73. And for Patricia Smith
74. And Sharan Strange
75. And Ruth Forman
76. Because we've been thrown against the wall & locked alone in our rooms
77. And for Margaret Atwood
78. And Charlotte Kasl
79. Because these are not reasons to kill ourselves, these are reasons to kill somebody else but homicide in women is generally discouraged
80. And for Sarah Jones
81. And Lisa Marie Rollins
82. And Kirya Traber
83. And Pam Harris
84. Because Generation Five has a 125 year plan to end child sexual abuse
85. And for Gina Gold
86. And Toni Ann Johnson
87. Because I don’t write tragedy; I don’t live tragedy; I don’t believe in tragedy; tragedy is what happens when you end the story too soon
88. And for Natasha Trethaway
89. And Danzy Senna
90. And Toi Derricotte
91. Because I want to live to see the day women writers will always be captioned with the books they wrote, not the designers they're wearing and their methods of suicide
92. And for Farai Chideya
93. And Susan Faludi
94. And Kirsten Saxton
95. And Jennifer Langdon
96. Because I want to live to see the day when magazine issues of women's writing doesn't need spicing up with a little scandal or sex or suicide because people are actually interested in our writing
97. And for Asha Bandele
98. And Shia Shabazz Smith
99. Because I want to live to see the day where all women's lives are considered so valuable, where women and girls are so well treated, that we have everything to live for and suicide would never even cross our minds.
The women authors in this list are both living and deceased, established and up and coming. They write fiction, non-fiction and poetry, and have all influenced me greatly in one way or another.
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