"My whole family is what is most important to me. I'm in a choir and I like to show and teach my kids love and what is important in life." _ Anette McKie is the mother of six children.
Jessica Yacoub
“I have never felt either stronger or weaker because of my gender” Jessica Yacoub design accessories, check out her work at apolostudio.nyc
Heather W. Malone
"Being from Brooklyn I'm outspoken and I speak my mind. Everything I've gone for in life I've gotten. Just this week I got a job with the government." - Heather W. Malone participated in the Coney Island Mermaid Parade. Follow her on insta:@bklynsnaps
Alysia Promislow
“ I remember very clearly when I bought my first wallet. It was a guy’s wallet and I was very proud of it and when my Dad saw it he said, “Hmmm that’s not really very feminine is it?” I was confused by his comment and he gave me a look like I should be more feminine. It was about image more than anything else and how other people will see it. After that point I did start to act like a girl, but I’ve never had a woman’s wallet and I never will.” - Alysia Promislow is a photographer. Check out her work at dynisphotography.wordpress.com
Christa Orth
“I never learned how to mow a lawn. I grew up in the suburbs and my Dad never taught me how mow the lawn. My Mom taught me to clean bathrooms, wash dishes, do the laundry and how to bake. I feel robbed of that experience and I feel like that was very gendered and symbolic probably of other things I didn’t learn how to do because I was a girl.” - Christa Orth is a documentary filmmaker, her latest film is North Pole,NY
Took Mealing-Woods
“I have three sisters and one brother. My brother was able at a young age to be wild and run the streets. We had to stay inside because our parents said we were easy targets and he wasn’t.” Took Mealing-Woods is a photography student at Nassau Community College.
Lana
I had just finished up leading a photo walk in Coney Island for @adorama and during the walk I saw so many women I would have liked to stop and interview but I was occupied with the group And prefer to reserve my me&EVE experiences for one on one interactions. The light was beautiful but fading quickly - I really try to let the right “eve” for the day find me. It just , wasn’t happening and I was headed to the subway when I saw a woman standing in the light. Afterwards she asked me why I picked her and I said I just had this feeling and she was giving off a powerful positive vibe - she thanked me, looked up me&EVE on her phone, put on her helmet and drove off. “I had breast cancer and I had melanoma. I don’t take life for granted anymore. I don’t just think about working and working.” - Lana.
Shirley Hagel
“I went to a tiny Christian college in Florida and my career options there becoming a teacher or counselor. After my Freshman year I was feeling really limited by these options and I talked to my Mother about it. She suggested I go to cosmetology school and I am sure she suggested it to me because I am a woman. I don’t think she would have suggested it to my brother. But that changed the course of my life for the better because I didn’t know I had any artistic ability bc I couldn’t even draw a stick figure. But being a hairdresser has unleashed my creative side and now I paint as well.” - Shirley Hagel is a hairdresser at Parlor.
Topeka K. Sam
Topeka K. Sam spoke on a panel at the White House on Friday about criminal justice reform. “I think the ability to discern is a gift that is given to most women. In the Bible wisdom is referred to as a woman. I wouldn't be as wise if I weren't a woman. I call this discernment God speaking to us. This ability has empowered me to fight for incarcerated, formerly incarcerated and marginalized women and girls." - @topekaksam is the founder and executive director of The Ladies of Hope Ministries. The mission of The LOHM is to help disenfranchised & marginalized women transition back into society through education, spiritual empowerment, entrepreneurship & advocacy. She is also the co-founder of Hope House. Topeka served 3.5 years in federal prison and today is her birthday as well as the 2018 #dayofempathy
Donna Hylton
@donnahylton who I featured last year for the Women's March on Washington, was invited to attend the White House prison reform forum but then she was denied entrance at the door. Hylton, who lives in Brooklyn, was one of the speakers the D.C rally. "Once , I wasn't able to speak up for myself but now I can. I am the voice for all women who don't have a voice or are not allowed a voice. Next week it will be 5 years since I was released from prison. And I am going to Washington to remind people that the women in prison are just every other woman, mother, daughter, sister. But over 90% of women who are incarcerated are also victims of sexual violence. We have to talk about women and violence. Our very humanity is on the line."
Maria Serrano
"This year I am feeling really thankful that my children are doing well and my business is flourishing. I work hard but I am grateful to be a woman."- Maria Serrano is the owner of Maria's Kitchen on Shelter Island.
Read moreCorrine Ellingson
"I was determined to have natural childbirth, I wanted to feel all of it. When I was giving birth in the hospital I clearly remember a doctor coming in to have me sign the forms permitting an epidural in case I should I need a cesarean and I said to him - The epidural does not exist. He closed his clipboard looked at me and said - Ok. Good Luck. It was rough but I delivered a nine pound baby and I learned through that experience how mentally strong I am. How emotionally strong my relationship with my husband is and of course how physically strong I am. I wonder sometimes if men are jealous that women go through childbirth and they don't." - Corrine Ellingson is the mother of two children and the director of operations at the New York International Children's Film Festival.
Lori Sloan
"I considered myself "Mom" first, and anything else was just the celery in the whitefish salad - you know, just filler. Being a Mom was always number one. I've learned that I did my job. I wanted my children to be fearless and they are fearless. And now I try to fill my time with interesting things but the bar is set high because they is nothing like having those little kids around - nothing like it." - Lori Sloan has two grown children and is now spending much of her time exploring photography.
Wanda Fraguada
"Having the role of Mother teaches you more about yourself. You have the responsibility of teaching this other person. You have to push yourself further. I am going to create and raise an amazing human being. And you have to push a little bit harder to show them things are possible." - Wanda Fraguada is a mother and she works at Parallel18.
Maria de Remedio Martinez
In honor of upcoming Mother's Day I will be posting EVE's all week who are mothers. Enjoy.
Today's EVE: Maria de Remedio Martinez
"I give thanks to God that I am a woman so that I could have my sons and my husband and live a happy life." - Maria de Remedio Martinez owns Zaragoza, a Mexican deli/market in the East Village.#damnrightiatetheapple #mothersday
Andrée Chalaron
"There are many significant things that have happened to me, but they aren't because I am a woman. I have been really fortunate to be surrounded by many female mentors who have impacted me in a big way." - Andrée Chalaron is an interior designer in Austin, TX.
Sarah Wilen
"As a kid I read a lot of books and I noticed how male or female protagonists took different life paths. I learned there were acceptable paths based on gender. Sometimes novels give you a societal message, like Pride and Prejudice and sometimes the message is subtler. My interest in psychology is related to all the reading I've done and the questions I have about how someone's background influences what kind of character they become." - Sarah Wilen is a sociaspatial analyst at PLASTARC.
Angela Batista
"Becoming a mother changes your life and everything is different. I was 17 when I had my first child. I have three children, who are all professionals and I have five grandchildren." - Angela Batista is a hairstylist at Sexy Flow.
Diamond Stylz
"I got married and moved to Houston for my husband's job. Little did I know that he was married to someone else. When I found out, I left him and his other wife found me and we shared stories with each other. Even though it didn't work out with him he forced me to grow-me-up and give me, the self love and security of being a trans woman that I needed to become self sufficient. Trying to live the perfect homemaker life led to a betrayal which then led to something beautiful." - Diamond Stylz is a blogger and produces the podcast Marsha'sPlate.
Lori Heino-Royer
"When I was 22 I was told by my employer that I had the highest paying job that I'd ever have as a woman at that company. That pushed me to go back to school and earn a degree which led me to where I am today."- Lori Heino-Royer is the Director of Business Development at Daimler Trucks North America.