Opinion
96 results
Page 5
This April, help autistic people by promoting acceptance, not awareness
A new adage for April
Because of inaccurate and stigmatizing “autism awareness” campaigns, it took writer and educator Bridget Scanlan a long time to learn that she herself is autistic. Now, she advocates a new paradigm of acceptance.
Essays
5 minute read
Do we need a child’s humanity to see unhoused people?
Everyone was seven once
Anndee Hochman remembers her daughter’s childhood in a home that was open to others who needed it. But eventually, the little girl asks: who is that person on the street?
Essays
5 minute read
As a young trans woman, I honor my inner child by being true to myself today
Giving myself a girlhood
Joan Rittberg grew up as a boy, but from the time she was a teenager, she knew something wasn’t right. Now, instead of wishing she had transitioned earlier, she focuses on loving the woman she is today.
Essays
5 minute read
Philadelphia Theatre Company's Empathitrax is an unrealistic and irresponsible portrayal of mental illness
Spreading the anguish
The regional premiere of Empathitrax, now onstage at Suzanne Roberts, deals in troubling tropes of depression without preparing its audience. Alaina Johns considers.
Editorials
6 minute read
Puppies, love, and chocolate: how to live on life’s knife edge
Love here, love now
Anndee Hochman was never a dog person … until her daughter brought home a poodle puppy who got into the chocolate. How do we live and love when catastrophe is always waiting?
Essays
5 minute read
Black, queer, disabled self-love is a necessary act of rebellion and healing
The power of equanimity
Writer and musician Danie Ocean Jackson has learned how hard it can be to sense the world from the inside out rather than the outside in, but it’s more necessary than ever.
Essays
5 minute read
Here’s how I embraced the path out of my eating disorder
Hungry for authenticity
By the time she was 26, Daralyse Lyons had been hospitalized for her eating disorder 18 times. But she was finally finding her path to recovery, and knows that others can, too.
Essays
5 minute read
Legendary DJ Jerry Blavat spun a whole new world for Philly teens in the 1960s
Live from Wagner’s Ballroom
Local music icon Jerry Blavat, a South Philly native, passed away on January 20, 2023. Susan Schaefer remembers how a whole new world opened up when she danced to Blavat’s tunes at Wagner’s Ballroom in the 1960s.
Essays
5 minute read
I love Greta Thunberg — but why is it ok for her to mock guys with small dicks?
Fame is no excuse for body shame
Misogynist influencer Andrew Tate deserved to be burned on Twitter by climate activist Greta Thunberg, but Roz Warren says it's time to stop the body-shaming.
Essays
4 minute read
When I faced a cancer diagnosis this year, I had to get honest and get help.
We take care of us
When a crisis like cancer hits, it can feel easier to keep it to ourselves. But humans are not meant to cope alone. Vulnerability is where our real strength lies. Alaina Johns shares her experience.
Editorials
6 minute read