Latoya Peterson@LatoyaPeterson

So I need to jump in the tub, bathe the baby, and get to the doctors office, and at some point write about being a black mom.

Wed, Jan 29 2014 17:38:34

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http://twitter.com/LatoyaPeterson/status/428582957826060289

— Latoya Peterson (@LatoyaPeterson)Wed, Jan 29 2014 17:38:34

Latoya Peterson@LatoyaPeterson

But my feed keeps showing me that XOJane article (via @bgg2wl) and that Nation article (via @smerdmann) so quick, quick responses.

Wed, Jan 29 2014 17:39:52

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http://twitter.com/LatoyaPeterson/status/428583285430558720

— Latoya Peterson (@LatoyaPeterson)Wed, Jan 29 2014 17:39:52

Latoya Peterson@LatoyaPeterson

So really, @bgg2wl really has the expected response covered:  http://blackgirlsguidetoweightloss.com/the-op-eds/an-open-letter-to-the-xojane-writer-who-cried-about-a-black-woman-in-her-yoga-class/# …

Wed, Jan 29 2014 17:43:53

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http://twitter.com/LatoyaPeterson/status/428584295037272065

— Latoya Peterson (@LatoyaPeterson)Wed, Jan 29 2014 17:43:53

Latoya Peterson@LatoyaPeterson

I'm just going to build on that for a sec: for background, I'm a plus sized yogini, in and out of practice since 2008.

Wed, Jan 29 2014 17:44:27

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http://twitter.com/LatoyaPeterson/status/428584437698142209

— Latoya Peterson (@LatoyaPeterson)Wed, Jan 29 2014 17:44:27

Latoya Peterson@LatoyaPeterson

I first got into yoga because a black homegirl of mine recommended I check out @tranquilspace.

Wed, Jan 29 2014 17:45:34

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http://twitter.com/LatoyaPeterson/status/428584721027575809

— Latoya Peterson (@LatoyaPeterson)Wed, Jan 29 2014 17:45:34

Latoya Peterson@LatoyaPeterson

At the time, @tranquilspace had a class called "voluptuous Vinyasa" which was dedicated to curvy girls and pose modifications.

Wed, Jan 29 2014 17:47:22

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http://twitter.com/LatoyaPeterson/status/428585173421023232

— Latoya Peterson (@LatoyaPeterson)Wed, Jan 29 2014 17:47:22

Latoya Peterson@LatoyaPeterson

It was the first (and honestly, one of the only times) when an instructor took the time to say "your yoga is for you." Fuck everyone else.

Wed, Jan 29 2014 17:48:21

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http://twitter.com/LatoyaPeterson/status/428585418594873344

— Latoya Peterson (@LatoyaPeterson)Wed, Jan 29 2014 17:48:21

Latoya Peterson@LatoyaPeterson

So I stuck with it . And while there is so much that will pull you out of yoga - body issues, cultural appropriation, whitesplaining...

Wed, Jan 29 2014 17:49:37

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http://twitter.com/LatoyaPeterson/status/428585739614294017

— Latoya Peterson (@LatoyaPeterson)Wed, Jan 29 2014 17:49:37

Latoya Peterson@LatoyaPeterson

That bit about your practice being for you is what kept me coming back to the mat.

Wed, Jan 29 2014 17:50:18

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http://twitter.com/LatoyaPeterson/status/428585912155385856

— Latoya Peterson (@LatoyaPeterson)Wed, Jan 29 2014 17:50:18

Latoya Peterson@LatoyaPeterson

The XOJane piece is the wrong kind of "for you" - this woman is projecting the whole time, never thinking it might be the space.

Wed, Jan 29 2014 17:50:56

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http://twitter.com/LatoyaPeterson/status/428586072008716288

— Latoya Peterson (@LatoyaPeterson)Wed, Jan 29 2014 17:50:56

Latoya Peterson@LatoyaPeterson

The writer immediately marked that woman as an outsider (because you can't be a fat yogini on an off day) and tried to solve the problem.

Wed, Jan 29 2014 17:52:00

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http://twitter.com/LatoyaPeterson/status/428586339693375489

— Latoya Peterson (@LatoyaPeterson)Wed, Jan 29 2014 17:52:00

Latoya Peterson@LatoyaPeterson

But here's the thing: you can't solve someone else's problems without understanding them. And you learn those by talking, not assuming.

Wed, Jan 29 2014 17:52:33

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http://twitter.com/LatoyaPeterson/status/428586478436757504

— Latoya Peterson (@LatoyaPeterson)Wed, Jan 29 2014 17:52:33

Latoya Peterson@LatoyaPeterson

But here's the deal - we create community and we create space.

Wed, Jan 29 2014 17:54:47

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http://twitter.com/LatoyaPeterson/status/428587037671714817

— Latoya Peterson (@LatoyaPeterson)Wed, Jan 29 2014 17:54:47

Latoya Peterson@LatoyaPeterson

The instructor for voluptuous vinyasa left TS, and that community ended. So that space isn't the same.

Wed, Jan 29 2014 17:55:23

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http://twitter.com/LatoyaPeterson/status/428587190654742528

— Latoya Peterson (@LatoyaPeterson)Wed, Jan 29 2014 17:55:23

Latoya Peterson@LatoyaPeterson

Based on my time there and @kimberlywilson, I find @tranquilspace to still be my yoga home.

Wed, Jan 29 2014 17:55:48

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http://twitter.com/LatoyaPeterson/status/428587293012549633

— Latoya Peterson (@LatoyaPeterson)Wed, Jan 29 2014 17:55:48

Latoya Peterson@LatoyaPeterson

But my other home girl hated it, felt like it was a spot for rich white women with big shiny engagement rings.

Wed, Jan 29 2014 17:56:22

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http://twitter.com/LatoyaPeterson/status/428587436092829696

— Latoya Peterson (@LatoyaPeterson)Wed, Jan 29 2014 17:56:22

Latoya Peterson@LatoyaPeterson

Spaces mean different things to different people. In yoga, if we want to create loving community, we have to talk, not assume.

Wed, Jan 29 2014 17:56:50

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http://twitter.com/LatoyaPeterson/status/428587556351918080

— Latoya Peterson (@LatoyaPeterson)Wed, Jan 29 2014 17:56:50

Latoya Peterson@LatoyaPeterson

In feminism, if we want to create loving community, we have to talk, not assume.

Wed, Jan 29 2014 17:57:10

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http://twitter.com/LatoyaPeterson/status/428587640514813952

— Latoya Peterson (@LatoyaPeterson)Wed, Jan 29 2014 17:57:10

Latoya Peterson@LatoyaPeterson

So I wrote a long piece a few years back:  http://www.racialicious.com/2011/03/08/on-being-feminisms-ms-nigga/ …

Wed, Jan 29 2014 17:59:33

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http://twitter.com/LatoyaPeterson/status/428588239666966529

— Latoya Peterson (@LatoyaPeterson)Wed, Jan 29 2014 17:59:33

Latoya Peterson@LatoyaPeterson

My girl @ReninaWrites hates the title of the piece, says the word is violent. Well, what I went through was violent.

Wed, Jan 29 2014 18:00:11

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http://twitter.com/LatoyaPeterson/status/428588398559772672

— Latoya Peterson (@LatoyaPeterson)Wed, Jan 29 2014 18:00:11

Latoya Peterson@LatoyaPeterson

At the time I was just getting things off my chest. But after I wrote it, I realized that it was really a goodbye letter.

Wed, Jan 29 2014 18:00:51

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http://twitter.com/LatoyaPeterson/status/428588563639173120

— Latoya Peterson (@LatoyaPeterson)Wed, Jan 29 2014 18:00:51

Latoya Peterson@LatoyaPeterson

I was done with the drama, the endless talking that went no where, and most of all, the willful misreadings/misinterpretation.

Wed, Jan 29 2014 18:01:29

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http://twitter.com/LatoyaPeterson/status/428588724624969728

— Latoya Peterson (@LatoyaPeterson)Wed, Jan 29 2014 18:01:29

Latoya Peterson@LatoyaPeterson

I wrote a piece about being sick of yelling at white girls, which a white institution read, then asked me to come yell at white girls.

Wed, Jan 29 2014 18:02:58

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http://twitter.com/LatoyaPeterson/status/428589096974315520

— Latoya Peterson (@LatoyaPeterson)Wed, Jan 29 2014 18:02:58

Latoya Peterson@LatoyaPeterson

But my piece wasn't just about white girls - it was about trying to take all of the issues of a movement onto one body/project/person.

Wed, Jan 29 2014 18:04:49

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http://twitter.com/LatoyaPeterson/status/428589564874072064

— Latoya Peterson (@LatoyaPeterson)Wed, Jan 29 2014 18:04:49

Latoya Peterson@LatoyaPeterson

Real talk: The crew at the R expected random shit to happen in feminism. We didn't expect our peeps to try to eat us too.

Wed, Jan 29 2014 18:05:34

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http://twitter.com/LatoyaPeterson/status/428589752703393792

— Latoya Peterson (@LatoyaPeterson)Wed, Jan 29 2014 18:05:34