Brainstorm 10

The ovarian psychos was a great example of resilience practice in action. Based in LA, they are an organization of almost all women and are dedicated to empowering other women to stand up to oppression and stigma as well as create a safe community to be a part of. They focus a lot on the idea of biking and often organize women-only rides, like the luna ride for example, which allows them to go out into the community where they might not have felt safe or at home and conquer it as a group. This idea of biking being a key part of their message I think is really interesting as it represents a lot of independence. With a bike, you don't have to rely on getting a ride from someone or waiting for a bus or some other form of public transportation, instead, you are in control of where you want to go. That message is very empowering in its ability to destroy gender roles and traditional beliefs about what women can and can't do. By creating this massive community of women to get together and retake a sense of dignity is amazing. It is a great model for other resilience practices where traditional ways of empowerment may have failed, they can find their own way to create community and find empowerment through it.