ALL are welcome here

6th Jun 2019

Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that. Martin Luther King Jr.

June is Gay Pride Month, and our theme this month is acceptance and inclusion, so we want to let it be known that ALL are welcome at Levana Bratique. We are here to help you feel fantastic no matter what you look like, what you wear, who you love, or how you identify. We welcome you, and we celebrate you.

If your body is changing because you just had a baby, are nursing, lost weight, gained weight, had a mastectomy, a breast reduction, breast lift, or breast enhancement, we are here to help you.

Maybe it’s your first bra after breast reconstruction for top surgery. Let us help you.

Transgender? We welcome you.
Non binary? We welcome you.

We are all products of our own individual upbringing and experiences. These join together to form our worldview, opinions, and biases. The culture we grew up in also dictates many of the things we gradually grow to consider ‘normal’- from the kinds of foods we eat, to the clothes we wear, to the music we listen to, to how we express love. Things outside of what we/our society consider to be ‘normal’ often make us uncomfortable, because we don't know how to interact with them. Becoming aware of our own biases is the first step to confronting them.

Acceptance is a verb. It’s an active process, that must be practiced consciously. Acceptance is not tolerance – when you tolerate something you put up with it, like a toddler’s tantrum or a traffic jam.

I tolerate you. That doesn’t feel great, does it?

I accept you.

See the difference? Acceptance is a step beyond tolerance that carries more humanity and freedom for others to be themselves. Diversity in the world without inclusion calls out our differences, increasing exclusion rather than inclusion. Including others is to accept them for who they are, and not who we want them to be.

It’s intentional. As a white woman, I thought that I could raise kids that weren’t racist simply by not modeling racism in my home. Then I adopted a black child, and suddenly I saw the world from a whole new lens. And I’m ashamed it took that for me to look at the perspective of someone who isn’t the majority, and to see how differently the world is for them than it is for me.

It starts young. Here are some great books that help teach inclusion and acceptance from a young age.

If you’d like to know more, check out these articles from Diversity Network and GLAAD on how to be an ally.