Erin McKelle

Erin McKelle

Bio

Erin McKelle is a feminist blogger, social media consultant, and body positive fashionista who is currently living nomadically (i.e. traveling the world). She is originally from Cleveland, Ohio and has a BA from Ohio University. When she's not writing, you can usually find her whipping up a vegan dish in the kitchen, creating an art project, or reading a book in bed.

Erin McKelle Articles

Love yourself (easier said than done, right?)

4 Ways You Can Be Body Positive Even If You Still Hate Your Body

I’ve been writing about body positivity on the Internet for a couple of years now, but I have to admit that if anything, loving my body has become harder than when I started. Since then, I came to understand that I had an unresolved eating disorder that I battled for six years, I’ve started working out and I’ve discovered a passion for cooking.

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This idea that I need to be perfect all of the time, at everything I do, is something contained deep within my psyche.

Why I'm Done Pretending I Have It All Together

I’ve said I was “good,” “fine,” or “doing well” after crying for hours, lying in bed all day with no motivation, and even experiencing suicidal ideation. My worst days are when the temptation to mask my pain with a smile is the strongest.

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Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash

How The Self-Care Movement Impacts Our Body Image And Our Wallets 

I propose going back to basics, back to what self-care is supposed to be about. Instead of this new flashy and expensive self-care movement.

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Let's go.

The Upsides And Downsides Of Living A Nomadic Life

I’ve decided to give up any sort of permanent living space in favor of using my money to travel and see the world. The only things I have with me are the things I can literally carry on my back, which includes my purse, a carry-on bag, and two suitcases.

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You're #1!

Why The "You Have To Love Yourself First" Rule Is True

You may have heard "you have to love yourself before you can expect someone else to love you,” and I’m here to say that this rule is really true! Self-love is essential for creating any healthy (emphasis on healthy), sustainable relationship with another person or people.

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Just thinking about having sex with someone literally made me feel nauseated. Image: Thinkstock.

I Tried Celibacy To Find Sexual Healing — But It Backfired

[CN: sexual assault] No more sex — no touching, fondling… Nada. I was done. I had a new mission: to heal.

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"Non-monogamy acknowledges the freedom that all those involved in romantic or sexual entanglements have and the importance of respecting those rights." Image: Thinkstock

5 Things Monogamous People Can Learn From Open Relationships

I had known many people, and even had friends in college, who were in open and non-monogamous relationships. Things always seemed to work really well for them, and I had noticed that everyone was usually on the same page about what was happening in the relationship, which seemed to be a rarity, at least among straight couples.

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It's a process.

Why I Decided To Break Up With Diet Culture For Good #DitchTheDiet2016

I know it’s a lot more complicated than just one day declaring, “Fuck it, I’m done dieting!” Just like we can easily make resolutions for ourselves to lose weight, we can just as easily resolve to love our bodies as they are, and quietly fall flat on our goal.

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Society would rather pretend that the word — and probably cunts themselves — don't exist. Image: Thinkstock.

Why I Think It's Important To Reclaim The Word 'C*nt'

That’s exactly the spirit that word should embody: someone who is loud, proud, and an advocate for themselves. Someone who stands out and is bold and beautiful for it. Someone who is unapologetically themselves.

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How much sex you have has nothing to do with how sexually empowered you are.

My Most Sexually Empowering Choice? Not Having Sex

There’s nothing worse than taking a pregnancy test when you don’t want to be pregnant.

It’s especially bad when you don’t know who the father is.

Last year, this is the exact situation I found myself in: 23, single, not on contraception, and with a late period. I was nothing short of panicked.

After finding the least expensive test that CVS carried (by the way, can we talk about how expensive pregnancy tests are?!), I went home to find out my fate. After locking myself in the bathroom, I turned the shower on to drown out the noise of my thoughts. I waited five minutes and then peered at the stick, leaning as far away from the sink as possible in case it showed two lines.

I breathed a sigh of relief as I saw one clear line on the screen.

I quickly tossed the test in the trash, turned off the shower, and hopped in bed with a bottle of cabernet.

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