Being nice is not enough.
I thought that as a mixed-race feminist with white privilege, I was doing enough. I thought I was largely non-racist. I’m a nice person.
But the events precipitated by George Floyd’s death by Derek Chauvin (a white policeman) in Minneapolis, USA have shown that I was wrong. I acknowledge that, and I’m sorry. I will listen, learn, have tough conversations and live and parent better.
I’m an ally-in-training, I hope. I don’t want to centre this on me, but here’s what I will be doing to change the focus of my work and &Breathe to be more positive and inclusive. Please let me know if you have any other suggestions or if I’ve got anything wrong.
1) Live and parent as an anti-racist
Because I founded &Breathe because of my own experiences, this is the foundation of how I can impact my work going forwards. I will not be afraid to challenge those around me (including older family members!) and call out racism when I see it. I will teach my daughter about racism and how we must live and learn to combat it.
2) Be more inclusive in my content
Previously I have assumed that my content (on social media, this blog, my writing, our retreats) was inclusive. It isn’t bad, but it’s not great either. I will share the work of BIPOC creators in my space alongside white creators, to give equal voice, and I will make the tone and content of my posts/work relevant to women across the spectrum, not just white women. Women’s health and wellbeing is important across the board; postnatal and perimenopause issues affect us all, not just those who look like me.
“In a racist society, it is not enough to be non-racist, we must be antiracist.”
3) Support BIPOC causes
I will work with and support BIPOC causes, especially where they overlap with my advocacy space, such as the FiveXMore campaign to end hugely inflated rates of maternal deaths in pregnancy and childbirth amongst black women.
4) Bursary places
You may not know that we have a bursary fund to help pay for places on our retreats for those who cannot afford them under normal circumstances. That’s on me. I created these last year, but I have never found the time to promote and spread the word. The Bursary spots are not exclusively aimed at BIPOC, but I’m aware that they may be more helpful for those from non-white backgrounds. As part of the larger conversation about opening up health and fitness to non-skinny-white-young people I will better promote this scheme for as long as I run our &Breathe retreats.
Thank you for reading and holding me to account. As part of greater outreach and growing a more diverse audience, feel free to share my work with BIPOC friends/family who would also benefit.
At &Breathe we’re passionate about wellbeing for postnatal, families, and peri-menopause. We do this through award-winning expert retreats, and at home programmes. Click below to learn more: