Eat More Cake

January 29, 2018 Elise Kutt

It's a West Michigan Movement...

{Shout out to Justin of 616 Media for this amazing video!}

The studio was decked out to be the stuff of dreams; soft whites, feathers, dewy lights, gorgeous and powerful women waltzing around getting to know each other and talking about all of the most important issues! What more could you want besides pastries, cocktails, and good conversation?

The diversity in the studio was magical; women of all different backgrounds, sizes, ages, and personalities were able to connect through the shared experience of being a woman in today's culture.

I spoke with Pasha Shipp, a journalist for Grand Rapids Magazine, and she expressed how excited she was to get involved with more community events, particularly ones for women, such as Eat More Cake! Already involved with Lean In Circles (a program for women to support each other with their professional goals), Pasha is passionate about hearing other women's stories.

"We all have the same Struggles."

"As women, we need to do a better job of encouraging each other and being able to express ourselves." - Amber Janielle

One panelist, Francie VanHoven is involved with the Grand Rapids Feminist Film Festival as well as the Bandit Zine, a social-justice zine, and she was most excited to talk about her recent wedding experience and coming to terms with the idea that "it's okay [to be] a fat bride."

"I'm pretty like me; she's pretty like her."

There were plenty of new faces at this year's event including Leah Rapaport, who runs Gather-GR, a series of events for women around Grand Rapids. "Women supporting women, inspired by you." For Leah (and all women), female empowerment is always relevant.

Several panelists were newbies to the event as well, like Heather Duffy, an artist and curator, who feels that any event that's about empowering women is important.

"The more events like this the better. It's going to take a lot of repeated affirmation for body positivity to take hold because of how long we've viewed ourselves negatively."