Beyond Blending In

Growing up, body image, beauty standards and standards around sexuality are imposed upon us by our culture and religion. What would it look like to go beyond blending in and to be self-expressed sexually and to define for ourselves what beauty is? Also, how do we have greater intimacy and connection with our partners? I had the honor of discussing this with Dr Luz Maria Villanueva a psychologist and sex and intimacy coach. She is a certified instructor and counselor who has taught psychology, provided therapy, led workshops in sexuality, self-esteem, love, woman's education. She also has had a bi-monthly column in the La Prensa newspaper and radio show, "En Familia con la doctora Luz.”

To reach Dr Luz Maria Villanueva, you can find her at: discoverpassionwithdrluz.com

So excited about Episode 7 of the Beyond Blending In Podcast-Speaking Truth, with an amazing guest, Nicole Cruz! We talk about her journey and challenges following her truth and speaking truth to power, following your heart, along with the importance of community of care and getting support for Womxn of Color.

Nicole Cruz is a Life Coach, the daughter of Filipino immigrants and a full-time traveler. She supports and empowers 1st & 2nd generation immigrants of color to overcome fear & self-doubt, gain confidence, believe in themselves, and take action towards their dreams. She has been featured in Fast Company and is a TikTok Education Partner.  Her mission is to empower womxn of color to love and liberate themselves so that they can thrive, unapologetically.

Episode 6 of the Beyond Blending In Podcast: How to Be A Good Ally. 

"When those who are most marginalized get free it creates more freedom for everyone." -- Jessica Denise Dickson. This was one of the amazing quotes from our conversation.

I had the joy of interviewing Jessica Denise Dickson, who is a life empowerment Enneagram coach (and Black mermaid) who believes that when Black women heal, the world heals. Her stand is to support women of color heal and live authentically with self-trust, self-safety, and fully-embodied freedom.  These things have collective ripples out into the world.

We talked about how to be a good ally, anti-blackness amongst non-black people of color and the importance of doing your inner work to dismantle racism. You will definitely get something from this episode. Enjoy!

For this episode I interviewed Dr. Thao Ha, who is a Vietnamese refugee and professor of Sociology at MiraCosta College. She earned a doctorate in Sociology from the University of Texas at Austin. She's published in the areas of race, immigration, and Vietnamese American in the South. She is an advisor and associate producer of "Seadrift", a 2019 documentary about Vietnamese fishermen in Texas and the KKK. Her current project is focused on Vietnamese American incarceration.

We discussed the weaponization of the model minority myth, Black and Asian-American relations, the flawed incarceration system and the Black Lives Matter movement. It was a powerful conversation.

Here are some amazing resources that Dr. Thao Ha shared with us:

Model Minority Myth https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/what-is-the-model-minority-myth
Mass Incarceration - documentary film "13th" https://www.netflix.com/title/80091741Mass Incarceration - book "The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness" by Michelle Alexander https://newjimcrow.com/
Resource for Colleges that serve currently and formerly incarcerated students Corrections to College California: https://correctionstocollegeca.org/

Donate to organizations that focus on Incarceration and Criminal Justice Reform:

• Equal Justice Intitiative https://support.eji.org/give/153413/#!/donation/checkout
• Innocence Project https://www.innocenceproject.org/donate/
• The Marshall Project https://www.themarshallproject.org/donate?via=7010d000000xq2

Episode 4 of the Beyond Blending In Podcast: When You Can't Blend In, is a really powerful episode. Although, the podcast is focused on amplifying women of color I felt it really important to have a black man's perspective with everything that's been going on.

Our guest this week, Quinton Smith (affectionately called “Q” by his loved ones and colleagues), is a mentor and coach that has worked in the health and fitness industry for the last 12 years. Throughout his career has traveled locally and internationally training and developing athletes as well as other professionals. As an entrepreneur he established Freedom performance Incorporated; a company focused in health and fitness, personal development, real estate, and business strategy. He is also a dear friend, inspirational leader and a black man in America today. Q graciously offered to come on the show and share what he's been dealing with. His insights on this episode are powerful!

In our conversation we cover racial inequity, Black Lives Matter, white guilt, generational empowerment and I learned a ton. Enjoy!

Our guest, Gisselle Galloway, is the founder of OTIRecovery.org, and is passionate about helping women stuck in addiction and struggling through recovery. Gisselle had been recovered for almost 20 years when she joined the Beyond Blending In movement, and realized she was trying to just blend in and forget about her past. She now is telling her story and is passionate about her mission for women in addiction.

To learn more about the show and how to connect with Wendy Kim, go to: beyondblendingin.com

In this podcast, I interview Denise Li, the author of the book: The Ocean Accepts All Rivers: Life and Money Lessons from my Taiwanese American Upbringing. Denise talks about how to be empowered financially with wisdom from her culture. She also talks about how she overcame perfectionism and fear of asking for help to break through and achieve her dream of writing a book and making a difference.

To learn more about the show and how to connect with Wendy Kim, go to: beyondblendingin.com

Best-selling author of the book, Beyond Blending In: An Immigrant Daughter's Guide To Overcoming Cultural Bonds For A Life Of Authenticity and Abundance, Professional Public Speaker and Transformation Coach, Wendy Kim, talks about why she started the Beyond Blending In Podcast. This podcast is intended to empower women of color to find your voice, step out and stand up to make a difference in the world. Wendy talks about her 'Why' behind the podcast and the importance of women of color's voices being heard.

To learn more about the show and how to connect with Wendy Kim, go to: beyondblendingin.com