Last month an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association made me stop in my tracks. It revealed one in 16 women said they were raped by force or coercion the first time they had sexual intercourse. As a parent of girls, I almost felt paralyzed as to what action I should take knowing this information. Thankfully I have the good fortune of being friends with Dr. Shanna Garza who specializes in adolescent medicine at the Girls to Women Health and Wellness practice in Dallas. Dr. Garza wrote the following guest post for Girls That Create about this important topic.  Conversations with your teenage daughter about sexuality are built on years of open communication and emotional closeness. It’s important to start these discussions at younger ages and speak frankly about the physical mechanics of sex, use anatomically correct terms for genitals and talk about the physiology of conception. Before puberty starts, I recommend reviewing what changes girls’ bodies and minds will undergo. I’ve used the book The Care and Keeping of You 1 and The Care and Keeping of You 2: The Body Book for Older Girls, from American Girl with my own daughter and routinely recommend it to my patients. The Decision It’s beneficial for teens to consider the decision to have sex way before they put themselves in situations where it might happen. As with many potentially risky behaviors, I recommend teenagers consider if their actions reflect their values and who they want to be. We have a saying in our practice: make the …

Ever since reading the The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, I always found the idea that a simple wardrobe could be an entryway to another world fascinating. Imagine my delight when my oldest daughter and I saw a travel show snippet about a fantastical slide whose entry point began in a laundry room dryer. At the bottom of that slide was a world unlike any we’d ever seen. The woman who slid down shared she was at Meow Wolf, located in Santa Fe, New Mexico. My daughter looked at me and said with 100 percent assurance, “We are SO going there”. This month her wish came true. What Exactly is Meow Wolf? First, you need to understand the Santa Fe location is just one chapter in the Meow Wolf story. Meow Wolf started in 2008 as a small collective of artists who could not find their way into the “traditional” art world. At their very first meeting everyone put two words into a hat. They then picked two random words out and got “Meow Wolf.” The group’s goal was to create immersive, multimedia experiences that transport audiences of all ages into fantastic realms of storytelling. Through many ups and downs (well captured in the documentary Meow Wolf: Origin Story), these determined artists brought several brilliant exhibitions to life on their own terms. Then, with the help of longtime Santa Fe resident George R.R. Martin, Meow Wolf took over a vacant former bowling alley, transforming it into a multi-use art complex.   House of Eternal Return  Today Meow Wolf Santa …

If you’re a fan of the classic novel Little Women, 2019 is a very good year. Writer-director Greta Gerwig is returning to the big screen with her adaption of the beloved coming-of-age story. We’ll have to wait till December for the film, but a new cookbook lets readers bring the world of Little Women to their tables. Food writer and editor Wini Moranville has put together 50 easy-to-make recipes, all updated for the modern kitchen. The Little Women Cookbook: Tempting Recipes from the March Sisters and Their Friends and Family contains recipes inspired by specific dishes mentioned among the novel’s pages. These include Buckwheat Pancakes, Milk-Toast, Apple Orchard Chicken, Gingerbread, and more. There are also full-color photos, fun and uplifting quotes from Little Women, and anecdotes about Louisa May Alcott (the novel’s author). Harvard Common Press, publisher of the cookbook, was kind enough to share two recipes straight from the pages with Girls That Create readers: A Better Omelet for Marmee Makes 1 omelet (repeat the recipe for as many omelets as you would like to make) The boiled tea was very bitter, the omelet was scorched, and the biscuits speckled with saleratus, but Mrs. March received her repast with thanks and laughed heartily over it after Jo was gone. One morning in June, bored after a few long days of too much time on their hands, Meg and Jo make breakfast for their mother. Sadly, things don’t go quite as they might have hoped for in the kitchen. Follow this foolproof recipe, however, and you’ll …

As Girls That Create continues to grow, so does the amazing list of women I’ve interviewed for the site’s Creator Spotlight series. The photo above features the work of Florida-based artist Carol Prusa. Recent Creator Spotlights  Artist Carol Prusa: Prusa utilizes the silverpoint method for much of her internationally known work, while also teaching painting as a Professor of Art at Florida Atlantic University. Her latest exhibition, Carol Prusa: Dark Light, opened last month at the Boca Raton Museum of Art. It invites viewers to honor the women astronomers who originally helped map the stars. Filmmaker Emily Cohn: Cohn’s debut feature CRSHD had its premiere at Tribeca Film Festival and in August opened Women Texas Film Festival. In elementary school Cohn made her first film, The Amulet of Fire. Starring her fifth grade teacher and three close friends (with the key prop, the amulet, made by her mother), Cohn jokes it was her first lesson in low-budget filmmaking. Author Linda Hirshman:  Those arguing #MeToo is losing steam are sorely mistaken. That’s the belief of best-selling author Linda Hirshman. Her latest book, Reckoning: The Epic Battle Against Sexual Abuse and Harassment, details the 50-year history of legal and cultural moments that precede #MeToo. Hirshman is also the author of  Sisters In Law: How Sandra Day O’Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg Went to the Supreme Court and Changed the World. Creator Spotlight features interviews with artistic women/girls and showcases their work. If you know an artist you’d like to see spotlighted, email me at erin at girlsthatcreate.com. The Highwomen During childhood I often visited a …