Wyoming Arts Council

Real Women, Real Bodies presents "Speak Like a Girl" Dec. 2 at UW


speak like a girl

Speak Like a Girl: Poets Megan Falley and Olivia Gatwood

From a University of Wyoming press release:

Real Women, Real Bodies, a University of Wyoming recognized student organization, will host a “Speak Like a Girl” poetry slam Wednesday, Dec. 2, at 8 p.m. in the UW College of Education auditorium.

“Speak Like a Girl” uses spoken word as a tool to educate students about gender inequality. Poets Megan Falley and Olivia Gatwood cover topics ranging from sexual assault to body image and beauty culture.

Published in various literary journals, Falley wrote two full-length poetry collections, titled “After the Witch Hunt” and “Redhead and the Slaughter King.” She also created an online writing course, titled “Poems That Don’t Suck.”

Gatwood is a poet, fiction writer, and sex and relationships columnist at Bustle.com and HelloFlo. A graduate of the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, N.Y., Gatwood has taught workshops on feminism, poetry and sexual health at foster homes, women’s shelters, public schools and community centers nationwide.

For more information about the duo, visit www.speaklikeagirl.com.

The event is sponsored by Real Women, Real Bodies, with its mission to “help women feel beautiful inside and out.”

UW students Sydney Stein, Hannah King and Morgan Looney co-founded the organization in 2014. Stein, who now serves as president, explains that Real Women, Real Bodies encourages all people to feel comfortable in their own skin and hopes that everyone will love and care for the bodies they have.

“The idea behind the name is to encourage women and men to feel positive about themselves,” Stein says. “Real does not imply that some bodies are fake. To us, ‘real’ is a word of empowerment.”

The organization promotes healthy body image through ad campaigns and guest speakers. The first advertising campaign, which debuted in 2014, featured silhouetted images of nude women.

“In many magazines, photos of female bodies are altered, but Real Women, Real Bodies promotes positive self-image in women, reminding them that nothing needs to be nipped or tucked to feel and look beautiful,” Stein says.

The campaign was featured on campus in the Wyoming Union Gallery 234 and has since received news coverage from Cosmopolitan, Wyoming Public Radio, Huffington Post and even internationally.

For more information about Real Women, Real Bodies, email rwrbproject@gmail.com or visit the group’s Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/RealWomenRealBodies. The organization now has 20 members and meets Wednesdays at 7 p.m. in Room 203 of the Wyoming Union.


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