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cover art for Confronting Trauma and Sexual Violence as a Latina with Marissa Alma Nick

Amiga, Handle Your Shit

Confronting Trauma and Sexual Violence as a Latina with Marissa Alma Nick

Season 3, Ep. 140

TRIGGER WARNING: This episode contains explicit language about sexual, physical, and verbal abuse, drugs use, and domestic violence that might be triggering for some people. Listeners' discretion is advised. 


Have you ever felt that being a woman is exhausting? Being flashed, receiving unsolicited explicit pics, and being catcalled are some of the "benign" violent experiences a woman faces daily. These situations, like the extreme ones, carve a wound and traumatize us beyond what our conscious minds can process. 


In today's episode, I'm joined by the inspiring Marissa Alma Nick, Founder of the Alma Dance Theater, where she is also a Choreographer. She is also the Director of ScreenDance Miami, a Public Speaker, and the Author of "Rebel In Venus," a semiautobiographical story told in a brutally honest voice that depicts sexual revelations, high-school humiliations, unwanted pregnancies, unwavering friendships, sex work, divorce, and loss.


We had an impactful and profound conversation about sexual abuse, domestic violence, rape, the reality of sex workers, and the naturalization of the sexual violence every woman suffers throughout their life. We also talk about trauma and how Marissa dealt with it to reunite with herself again, how "Rebel In Venus" came to life, and so much more. 


Tune in to Episode 140 of Amiga, Handle Your Shit, and learn more about this brave Latina that dared to face and find a way around her trauma.


In This Episode, You Will Learn:

  • A bit about Marissa's family and upbringing (4:10)
  • The transition from dancer to writer (8:00)
  • Why do kids blame themselves for the things adults do to them (13:20)
  • How sexual violence dictated Marissa's relationship with sex and her own body (18:50)
  • How it really is to work at a strip club (26:00)
  • Don't shame yourself for shaming yourself (33:10)


Connect with Marissa:


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