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By MELISSA KAREN SANCES

Five years ago, Muriel “Monik” Johnson watched her friend transform. Leah was a vibrant artist who loved going dancing. Though only 4-foot-9, she delighted in kissing Johnson’s face, starting at her chin, working clockwise to her forehead while she...

By MELISSA KAREN SANCES

Her phone pinged and a grey bubble rose to the surface: “Are you ready to come back?”

By MELISSA KAREN SANCES

Glitter. Sparkle. Bedazzle. Shine.When Mara Levi and Nova Wehman-Brown started dreaming of a Winter Ball, these four words came to mind. The executive director and the board president of the Queer Joy Collaborative wanted their inaugural event to be...

By MELISSA KAREN SANCES

As the sun sets over the Hidden Temple in Florence, 14 adults in their comfiest pajamas sprawl on a generous bed of quilts. Outside on this crisp October Saturday, the foliage is just starting to turn, its pops of color complementing the painted...

By MELISSA KAREN SANCES

To Coco Bustin, the body is a beautiful vessel. She first came to appreciate it in figure drawing classes at Tufts University, where she met every curve and contour with wonder. Nudity, she realized, was an artistic invitation. As a natural foodie,...

By MELISSA KAREN SANCES

Even the bats are moved.At intermission they dance out of the belfry of the West Whately Chapel, like musical notes across a sunset staff. And after precisely cut watermelon slices are enjoyed, darkness falls and the second set begins, they flutter in...

By MELISSA KAREN SANCES

The founder of the Body Liberation Outdoor Club saw “The Fat Babe Pool Party” in “Shrill,” the Hulu series about a heavy woman’s journey to embracing her body, and felt like she was in a dream. In the fourth episode of Season 1, the main character has...

By MELISSA KAREN SANCES

‘Emily’s mission in life is to teach women to live with confidence and joy inside their bodies.”This sentence mesmerized me.It’s an assured statement about a complicated topic: body image and sexuality, and it is the crux of sex educator Emily...

By MELISSA KAREN SANCES

On a springlike day in mid-March, three historians’ voices mingle with the buzzing of a drone. Claudia Lefko, Gail Hornstein and Ben James stand in the middle of the Montview Conservation Area while our camera captures the big picture — the vast, open...

By MELISSA KAREN SANCES

At 9 p.m. on a balmy Friday, my friends and I stood outside Tellus & the Satellite Bar, while the host checked our IDs and welcomed each of us by name.“You’re the second group here,” she said proudly. “We just opened a few minutes ago.” Dark curls...