“Women Supporting Women” seems to be on its’ way out. At some point during the past two years, there are, in fact, women who have started undermining their colleagues, their friends, their boyfriend’s ex… you get the picture. Why aren’t we lifting each other up? Not all toxic relationships are romantic! So, what is toxic femininity? I turned to Ginger Dean, psychotherapist and founder of “Loving Me After We” to learn more; how to identify toxic feminine energy and to understand it – that it is routed in primal wounding, rooted in the idea that she “is not enough.” Unfortunately, each women is on her own – there is no one coming to save us on a white horse… except for, guess who? YOUR OWN DANG SELF. So let’s all get on board and dump the “Mean Girl” routine once and for all: it’s difficult enough as it is for us all.
A very special Mother’s Day episode with my mom, Jane. Whether you’re an aunt, a sister, a daughter, a mom, a godmother or a grandmother, this episode will truly resonate with you! We talk about the importance of the mother-daughter relationship, growing up together (me into an adult and her into a parent), cultural differences in parenting styles, and her efforts to break generational traumas. I also unearth a 20 year old secret to reveal to my mom (hint: she was shocked)! Happy Mother’s Day and enjoy!
Women are steadily becoming the breadwinning powerhouses of the social media and branding landscape. For the first time in Lord knows how long, women influencers are getting the bigger brand deals. “But with great power comes great responsibility!”, they say! Cue digging 10 years into a 31-year-old’s past to unearth random thoughts of an obscure Stanford co-ed. Still just a fledgling in this great big world, Christina Najjar (aka Tinx) likely never fathomed in a million years that anyone would care what she tweeted. “Tinx is climbing dangerously high on that success scale, so let’s throw a banana peel at her feet.” This is how I imagine the scenario. “Let’s knock these women with power down a few pegs so we can better digest them.” When my 10 year Facebook statuses pop up on my memories, I absolutely CRINGE. I was always projecting my own insecurities on to others, because I didn’t understand myself yet. That is why having someone like Tinx is SO crucial for these 20-somethings: by her own admission, she’s made the mistakes so you don’t have to make them yourself. It’s a platform she and I share and, let me just say, there is no part of my 21-year-old EQ that I want to recover. Tinx has come under fire for doing the very thing she set out to do: cultivating a safe space for women to ask questions and make mistakes. I hope this mini episode resonates with you all. Xx
Are you as clueless as I am about going to music festivals? Do you suck at planning cute outfits that are Insta-worthy? Well, look no further than Nicole Sudyka , host of “Hotter in Person” Podcast. She goes into detail about how she prepares for Coachella and gives us some really great “survival” tips for having the absolute BEST time possible with your friends. We also chat about tagging along on REVOLVE influencer trips with her friends to places like Amangiri and Turks & Caicos, flying private and flashing Saweetie during a private performance. This is such a great episode, and I am so obsessed with Nicole; I know you will be, too! Enjoy, hotties.
Culturemap food editor and podcast host Eric Sandler really knows the way to my heart – talking about food! He has come up the ranks from a blogger to really making his mark as one of the most trusted food editors in the city. Heck, the state of Texas. We talk about how food service changed during the pandy with a shift towards safety protocols and outdoor dining and how the leaders in hospitality here in Houston really stepped up to help those that were out of work or furloughed. We discuss pet peeves in dining and go into detail about Eric’s take on why seemingly popular restaurants might fail. I also talk about “chef ego” and why I think it’s time to move away from “uppity” dining experiences. If you are at all into the food scene, wherever you are, this is the episode for you! Bon appetit.
In his role as CultureMap’s food editor, Eric keeps his fingers on the pulse of Houston’s dining world. From obscure taco trucks to elevated tasting menus, if a restaurant is serving tasty food, Eric will find it and share the news with CultureMap’s readers. He also hosts CultureMap’s weekly podcast “What’s Eric Eating.”
Eric is a native Houstonian. He lives in the Third Ward with dog Matzo.
Bianca Perez, aka “Yung Nihilist” has become a friend through MJ Corey and Marie from Between Two Salads,” and tbh I couldn’t be happier about it. I immediately was drawn to her incredibly straight forward attitude and her love of all things weird. I mean, I am definitely weird and I know I can be totally myself with Bianca. That is pretty much what happened during this episode. We both got baked and had a conversation and this was the result. The way this woman scours the internet to serve us the the absolute best memes and takes all the internet drams with a grain of salt is truly sensational. Oh, and she’s a total Ariana Grande stan, so there’s a discussion on that, too. Enjoy!
