Over a month ago myself, Michelle Cantu and Melanie Mendez-Gonzales came together to cheer San Antonio women on as we stood up against body shaming. Our hearts expanded and our spirits soared as women around the city joined in and united together under the #ProudSAWoman campaign.
This month the three of us are so grateful and humbled to be featured in San Antonio Magazine’s July 2014 issue as Tastemakers recognizing our efforts. It was a true honor to sit down with the incredibly talented, Rebecca Fontenot, Editor of San Antonio Magazine. I think all three of us felt like celebrities even if it was just for an hour during the photo shoot! Thank you again to everyone who supported this campaign! We are proud to be a part of this city!
Michelle Cantu, Tori Johnson, Melanie Mendez-Gonzales
Tastemakers: Bloggers
Photos By Jon Shapley
When the NBA playoffs kicked off and Charles Barkley began spouting off his now trite ‘I hate San Antonio’ remarks, no one in town was surprised. But as Shaquille O’Neal (a graduate of SA’s Cole High School) cracked up at Barkley’s jokes about overweight San Antonio women, blogger Tori Johnson decided she had heard enough. In a late-night call to friends and fellow bloggers Melanie Mendez-Gonzales and Michelle Cantu, the trio came up with a rebuttal: #proudsawoman. “It’s not about attacking Barkley,” says Johnson. “It’s about empowering San Antonio women to have a voice against bullying and body-shaming.” On their blogs and social media profiles, they encouraged local women to post a photo of themselves and tag it #proudsawoman. It caught on quickly and they were overwhelmed by the positive response. To the critics, they say they recognize San Antonio does have an obesity epidemic, but that hateful comments aren’t the way to address it. Mendez-Gonzales points to videos produced by Molly Cox at SA2020 as a better avenue for discussing the problem. “It’s not OK to body-shame people,” she says, “Not skinny people, overweight people, old people, no one.”
My Favorite Things
BEAUTY BLENDER egg makeup sponge
“I love that I don’t have to use my hands or a brush. It makes my skin look flawless.”—MC
IOMA PARIS Purify Body Scrub
“Good skin helps lead to good self-esteem. Ioma Paris is amazing. You can get a free personalized skin analysis from them at Saks.”—TJ
SHETLER WADE multi stone ring
“This was a five-year anniversary gift from my husband. It’s very special to me.”—TJ
LANCOME LIQUID EYE LINER
“I’ve tried many liquid liners and this is my favorite. It’s easy to use and it lasts.”—MMG
SOL REPUBLIC headphones
“I’m a huge music person. I have the most eclectic taste. Right now, I love ‘Elastic Heart’ by Sia.”—MC
MINI SWISS ARMY KNIFE
“It’s so versatile and it’s tiny, so it fits on my key ring. I use it almost every day.”—MMG
This is my sTORI being written as you read. – Love, Mommy Tori
You ladies are AWESOME!! Congratulations!
Thank you so much! Your support means the world!
My heroes! And, dang, y’all are gorgeous to boot. 😉
Really really awesome – way to go SA women bloggers! Gorgeous photo too.