Valentine’s Day is the time to reflect on self love, breaking the norms, & sexuality

Editorial

Jan 29, 2019 @ 10:00 am By Amber Duran

If you look up queer, you’ll find it most often defined as anything that goes against established social norms.

With the queen of heteronormative traditions, Valentine’s Day staring us in the face, we are reminded of the difficulty of finding another human to shower with love. Yet we need to first look in the mirror and remember we have our damn selves to cherish, gush over, and love. We need to allow our individual selves to find what makes us truly happy. After all, sexuality is a journey and love shoots in all directions.

Entangled in the netting of a society that loves stereotypes, I often struggle in the search for a partner I want to be romantic with. As you may also have experienced in your own life, being queer isn’t easy, even in the LGBTQ world. Media shouts at us from all different platforms about how we should act, dress, live, and love.

It is time we break tradition of (the warm fuzzy feeling) by moving forward past antiquated ideas and embracing the endless possibilities of love. Be it platonic, romantic, or most importantly singular with one’s self. Loving ourselves starts by owning the masculine/feminine energy that we all possess. Finding the beauty in what makes each of us unique, on the inside and outside, will boost our confidence and strengthen our self-love.

In January fate would cross the paths of two strangers at the Madonna Inn. Leila, a golden curled lass covered in silk and feathers and myself, a blue haired boy with horns and hooves. What would follow this wild creation is a blossoming friendship. Phones calls and hang outs in sun drenched LA would bring up topics such as dragon women sperm eaters, celibate monks, sexual frustrations and what it means to be “queer”.

Shared annoyances with sexual stereotypes along with histories dotted in miserable intimate moments sparked an awareness for us to delve deeper into what it means to be entirely who we are.

Leila and I embarked on a visual journey of what ‘queer’ means to us. Breaking the molds of “boy kiss boy” and “girl kiss girl,” we showed each other our vulnerable selves, radiating our innate feminine/masculine energy. In so doing we discovered when we own who we are, explore the possibilities of love, and evolve sexually that is when we will feel the most happy, satisfied, and fulfilled.

Keon Casmi– Essay/Creative Direction/Model/Writer

Leila Spilman– Creative Direction/Model/Styling

Brooke Barone– Photography

Leeza Regensburger– Set Designer and Props

SooYoo Kim– Makeup

Girl, Quarantined: An Open Letter By Denise Bidot

Editorial

May 19, 2020 @ 6:27 pm By Galore Girl

It’s month three of quarantine for those in the U.S., and you’re likely feeling a mix between burnt out and lazy af. You also probably miss your friends, boozy brunch, and having a reason to dress up that isn’t just an Instagram photoshoot.

Well, if it comforts you, you’re not alone. Denise Bidot, the Latina bombshell who’s taking the plus-sized modeling industry by storm, is right there with you.

Denise wrote an open letter describing how she’s feeling during quarantine and why she’s using this time to self-heal. She also offers some words of comfort during these crazy times. Oh, and we also shot her (pre-quarantine) in some sexy AF lingerie—so enjoy these too.

My letter of quarantine to the world;

It’s almost as though I find myself in a deep state of self-discovery. Things I thought I’d never learn to do are now my daily tasks. Sleep I thought it’d never catch up on is a thing of the past. Discovering new passions is pretty much a must for a fun day and yes, self-care is still at the top of my list, even if I’m not going out.

But how are you finding yourself during this quarantine?

2020 has been a damn rollercoaster already. Not the fun kind of rollercoaster either. Think the kind you scream so hard you pass out on and wake up not sure how you survived it, that’s 2020. I walked out of 2019 dreaming of the year to come and how magical is was going to be. Yet, over a quarter of the year has been spent hearing news tell us about catastrophic event after catastrophic event. From wildfires in Australia to earthquakes in Puerto Rico. From impeachment’s to acquittals. And no one can forget the heart shattering news of Kobe and Gianna.

But where do we go from here? How do we turn this year around? Quarantine has given us the ability to grow.

While it has been countless days of stay at home orders that may feel like they have no end in sight, I do have hope for the future and believe from the deepest part of my heart that we will come out of this with deeper empathy and love for our fellow neighbors. I have seen people step up and help—delivering food; medical equipment, toilet paper and many other essentials. But mainly delivering kindness one package at a time.

Never in history has there been a unified enemy for the entire world, but here we are, COVID-19 is her name.

Let’s use this time to really lean on each other. Lifting each other’s spirits right now is all we can do while we are at home and yes, please STAY HOME. Remember we have the power to come together and sprinkle compassion on everything. My thoughts and prayers with everyone. I love you.

Denise Bidot