Just a reminder to guys I date and everyone else:

I'm black.
I'm black with my TWA and my dashikis.

I'm black with my love for collard greens and grits.

I'm black with my love for early-2000s R&B and Lauryn Hill and shaking my ass.

I'm black for my speaking in Ebonics and clapping my hands when I'm angry.

I'm black when I roll my neck and suck my teeth.

I'm black with my love for my #blacklivesmatter and my #blackgirlmagic and my #melaninpoppin.

By Jude Deluca

Part of what Endangered Bodies seeks to do is promote body positivity and a healthier sense of autonomy in our readers. At least, that’s what I believe EB does. For my part, I’ve begun exploring the dynamics around the presence of rape in comic books, talking about how portrayals of rape affect public and private spheres of thinking and the effects it has on us, abuse survivors, especially in how we view our bodies, how we have interpersonal relationships, and how we perceive love.

“…share all that you have. Whatsoever is beautiful with you, never hoard it. Your wisdom, share; your prayer, share; your love, your happiness, your delight, share. Yes, if you cannot find anybody, share it with dogs—but share.”[1]

It seems juvenile to begin a text with a quote, but sometimes relying on our core foundation is necessary. Recently I made an impulsive, almost child-like temper tantrum driven decision of my own to exit a relationship with someone I actually really liked. The hardest thing about breaking things off with someone we still like is that there—sometimes—remains a secret reservation within us, that the leave taking is temporary. When our relationships reach a point where we need time and space separated, it is difficult to be certain of how much time we need apart, and we might…maybe…probably spend every sore second terrified that the time apart will not ever bring us back together. There is the chance that the physical distance will lead to an “out of sight out of mind” situation rather than an “absence makes the heart grow fonder” scenario. Nevertheless, you separate yourself from one another and when people who love you ask “are you giving him distance because he needs it?” You can feel their judgmental tone because they assume that you’re giving him what he wants instead of taking the time you probably need for yourself as well.

By Deb Flashenberg

While the inspiration to first step onto the yoga mat may come from the popularity of prenatal yoga or a suggestion from the care provider, the experience of yoga, for many women is often far deeper than simply a good stretch and a nice, quiet savasana (corpse pose) at the end of class. Prenatal yoga is often the passage way for many women to start to learn about their body and be present with the sensations of daily change.

By Brittany Jackson

This relates more to that weird, limbo sort of stage that occurs after being considered “recovered” when you’ve been able to break free of the behaviors but the thoughts still linger.  The initial stages of recovery are so, so difficult—I’m definitely not saying they aren’t—but I really wasn’t expecting the struggles that would follow even after I was physically “healthy”.  I thought of recovery as an event rather than a process; it would be a one-time thing that I would have to struggle through, but then the pain would subside. Forever.  I thought life would become a place where food anxiety and weight obsession didn’t exist. Now, I’m not sure if I really, genuinely believed this to be true… I think it was more of a desperate hope that I tried to make myself believe.  The hardest part of recovery for me, as I feel it probably is with many, is the weight gain.  This aspect varies so much with every individual; some don’t experience weight gain because it wasn’t medically needed, and some experience a greater amount.  Each human body is so individually tailored to the person dwelling inside of it, and that was hard for me to accept. 

In my previous post, I wrote about the dehumanization of Carol Danvers in “Avengers” #200, how she was robbed of her autonomy by her rapist and teammates. Here, I’m discussing the follow up story written for the sake of salvaging Carol and addressing 200’s damage. We’re looking at a rape survivor addressing her abuse to those who’ve failed her. For survivors, this story acts as a way of saying “What was done to you was horrible. Nothing can change that, but it doesn’t have to become your entire life. You don’t need to apologize for your anger, nor do you have to apologize to those who’ve hurt you. And no matter what others try to make you feel, your body belongs to you and you alone.”

To all the women out there considering breast implants, read this first.

I have always been self conscious about my small breasts. At 5'1 I have a very petite frame, and along with that comes petite breasts. However, rather than see my breasts as proportional to the rest of my body, I saw them as ugly, misshapen, and the farthest thing from womanly. I compared them to other women’s breasts — women who were much curvier, taller, etc. than I was. I had this image in my mind of what “real” breasts on a woman should be, and I was not that. And because I didn’t have “that” I felt inadequate.

By Jude Deluca

Following from my previous post, I will be talking about another rape survivor in comics. Because of the length of my original draft, I’ve split the discussion into two articles. The first piece, which you are reading now, will discuss the story where said character was raped. The post following this one will discuss the story where her rape, and the ramifications behind it, was properly addressed. This is considered one of the worst cases of sexual abuse in comic book history, especially considering the people who worked on the story did not even realize what they’d done to the character until it was too late. Today, I will be talking about Carol Danvers, a.k.a. Captain Marvel of Marvel Comics.

(Captain Marvel #1 (2016)/Art by Kris Anka)

Following from my previous post, I mentioned I would discuss the portrayal of rape survivors in comics. With this new post, I’ll be discussing a character who is most likely one of the most problematic portrayals of a rape victim in comics. As survivors of sexual abuse, it can be hard to regain a sense of our bodies belonging to ourselves as we have to live with the abuse we’ve endured without letting it consume us. But with the character I will be talking about today that can be all the more difficult when all said character does is stew in her own suicidal depression and aim her anger towards killing. She presents a negative image that further damages the public and private psychology behind the treatment and consideration of rape survivors. For today, I’ll be talking about why said character is toxic and to better recognize the toxicity behind her is to better ensure it never happens again.

Hi there. Since I’m new to Endangered Bodies, I thought I’d write a little introductory post to get myself started. My name is Jude Deluca. I’m 25 years old, a white, cisgender, asexual American. I was born on December 25^th, I enjoy reading comic books, writing, the Golden Girls, and listening to music from video games. And I’m a survivor of sexual assault.