Photo by Madison Lavern
Whatever you may think of the concept of "competition," I work with clients on the regular to make peace with the reality of it. In the context of our work, we talk about "collabotition" - or the awareness that multiple resources (that may be "competing"), linked together, create great possibility for a community well served. We can love, respect, and shine a light brightly on our "collabotators" for what they do well, while at the same time recognize what makes us unique and put it out there unapologetically, so we, too, are "competitive."
I've often found myself frustrated by the lack of "collabotition" in the People of Color (POC)/multiple identities app space on my phone. But lately, things have been shifting - beyond the apps I name below, you can now find lots of cool things like Blebrity, of which developer Jesse Williams said, "We're really proud to be making something that's both for us and by us - and that doesn't require us to change the way we move, speak, or live to be able to make some money and make some people happy."
Take a deeper look and you'll find some incredible emerging meditation and yoga platforms, some of which I've previously featured here. About 6-8 months ago I first became aware of Awaken, then shortly after Liberate and Black Zen launched. There is some over lap in teachers, but it has been exciting to see the emergence of multiple platforms. And Jessamyn Stanley's The Underbelly and Setu are intersectional havens for your yoga practice.
The appearance of these "competing" resources mean that we are more and more visible and able to express/represent the complexity of our identities. And I for one, am thrilled.
Have you used any of these apps or know of any others created by and for POCs/multiple identities that I need to know about?