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

Essentially, to change your world, you have to change yourself.

How To Create The Relationship Of Your Dreams

Have the post-holiday engagement "forever-alone" blues? Here's how to create the relationship of your dreams.

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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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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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Average life events evoke extreme anxiety and deep, internal sadness that most will never understand.

10 Things People With Bipolar Disorder Want You To Know

I’m ready to demystify the stereotypes and break down the stigma of bipolar disorder.

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Think before you speak.

What Being Adopted Is Really Like

I’m adopted. It’s one of those things that has been a major force in shaping my identity, but that’s hard to talk about authentically almost anywhere.

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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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To make it work with methods that aren’t as conventional or effective (which most nonhormonal methods are not), you have to make a game plan and stick to it.

Navigating Contraception When You Have Mental Illness

I began to see my mental health go completely downhill. This led me to seek out a psychiatrist, who raised an interesting concern: she thought my birth control was messing with my depression. It’s not like I hadn’t been aware of the link between hormonal contraception and depression before, but it never occurred to me that these two personal realities could be connected.

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As I began to face my struggles with food, I also started to embrace making food.

How I Went From An Eating Disorder To Eating Intuitively

You might not think of food as being a savior in eating disorder recovery, but I have actually found food to be one of my greatest sources of refuge — and not in a relapse sort of way.

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"you can never, ever go wrong when you choose to take care of yourself."

Why Being Single Has Been The Best Gift I've Given To Myself

I am a recovering serial dater who is now single and actually enjoying it.

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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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