TRANSFORMATIONS ISSUE OUT NOW!
Illustration: Sophie Freedman-Lawson
ON CHANGE
We are so pleased to announce our transformations issue—a long time in the making, this issue is about the different ways we activate, resist, and come to terms with change in our life.
Instead of writing a traditional editor’s letter, I asked Shameless staffers to reflect on and share a particularly transformative moment from their own lives. Here’s what they said:
“From walled-in to breaking the fourth wall.”
“From being body negative to body positive.”
“From trying to change my body to trying to love my body.”
“From wanting to lead to leading by example”
“From theory to practice.”
“From a person who was not out, to a person who is.”
“From stability to instability.”
“From help to support.”
“From binary to non-binary.”
“From cousin to auntie.”
“From self-hate fed by the media, to an ongoing journey of self-love that is self-made.”
“From being embarrassed to embracing.”
“From the isolated to the systemic.”
“From capitalism to community.”
“From ally as a noun to ally as a verb.”
And finally, “Transforming happens when you realize the old you isn’t working anymore. Transforming into a new self is the best present you can give yourself especially when it means you take yourself away from those who are toxic to you and your best self.”
I’m humbled by the stories held in these short quotes, and by the stories shared throughout this issue. In it, we explore transformation through decolonization (p. 14), puberty (p. 7), and healing justice (p. 18). We look at folks to give their bodies (p. 40), clothes (p. 33) and communities (p. 38) new life. We learn, fear, celebrate, take a deep breath and move forward, facing the change ahead.
Thank you for reading.
Yours Shamelessly,
Sheila
