Category: Bad Ass Babes

How Photographer Jada Hester started her photography business

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By Nicole Mitchell

Jada Hester is a photographer and small business co-owner of Film and Jpegs Studio located in Olathe, Kansas. Starting early on in photography, she has had plenty of time to create a style of art that is recognizable as hers—colorful, fun, and human-centered

Hester first got into photography when she was a child, following in her dad’s footsteps. “He had a cool camera when I was kid that I would play with,” she said. But it wasn’t until high school that she really considered photography as a potential career path. After graduating high school, she went to a local community college and took her first photography class. “It was fun to be around other photographers, but the class wasn’t 100% needed,” Hester said. “I thought, ‘Why didn’t I just teach myself all of this?’”

During the beginning of the pandemic, Hester and her boyfriend talked about creating a studio out of a shed in the backyard of her boyfriend’s parents’ house. With this, the two started a small business together (her boyfriend’s idea), offering Hester’s photography as a side job. “He’s more on the business side, and I’m on the art side,” she said. “Working together has been tough—as it would be in any relationship where they work together—but I’m really proud of it.” She shares that getting the shed started and creating their business together is what she’s most proud of in regards to her art.

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Cassie Taylor joins the music scene after years away from the spotlight

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By Nicole Mitchell

Cassie Taylor has been a musician for all of her life—touring as a bassist with her father, Otis Taylor, from when she was 16. Stepping away from the spotlight in 2015 after the birth of her child, Taylor spent her time creating in other ways. She’s currently a full-time photographer and creative in Kansas City. But this weekend, March 5 and 6, she’ll be stepping on the stage once again.

Taylor has been working on new music for the past few years. Compared to her older music—such as her 2013 album Out Of My Mind—her music now is quite different. “When I produced my album in 2012, it was a product of the industry at the time,” she said. “The way that you made albums was to tour them. I really stripped them down and focused on the core. Production-wise it’s a lot different.” 

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Kharissa Forte prioritizes Black wellness, highlights self-care, in the heart of Kansas City

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By Sophie Oswald
Photos by Travis Young

Kharissa Forte breaks through barriers. Today, she is a Black woman business owner at the wheel of Grace & Grind. It all started in 2018 when she and her husband, Wesley, were on the brink of filing for divorce, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

Before Grace & Grind, Kharissa worked in digital marketing, social media, and website design. 

She was even an on-air radio personality and associate producer. She enjoyed her work in these positions, but she did not feel fulfilled. “Those industries can be so ego-centric, and I didn’t feel like I was actually making a difference in the world. Not to mention, I was smoking around the clock, and chugging energy drinks like my paycheck depended on it,” she explained. 

She was talented in these jobs and continued to work them for a while, but eventually, it all just clicked. “One day, I just had a breakdown and literally in that moment decided I want to work in health and wellness somehow. In hindsight, I think the need for me to prioritize my own health was the guiding light,” she said. “That year, it was 2019, I quit the agency I was at and started working at a local health store. I also enrolled at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition to become a health coach. The next year, Grace & Grind was born,” she said. 

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How The Kink Educator began her path to sex education

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Bad Ass Babe Emerson Karsh

By Nicole Mitchell

Emerson Karsh (she/her) is a sex and kink educator and creator of the Instagram account @thekinkeducator. She often shares information on the world of kink on her Instagram account, such as aftercare conversations that need to be had or discussing sexual stereotypes. She’s also written a few articles for Rachel Wright, an online sexual health blog, including Your Guide to Ghosting: Why it Happens & How to Recover and 12 Important Facts About Orgasms That Are All Based In Science. Sex is all about feeling comfortable and connected, as well as having fun. Today, Karsh talks about how she got started in sex education and where she’s planning on going next.

Tell me about your background. What did you do before you taught sex education? 

Before I became a sex and kink educator I was actually in sexual assault prevention and education actually! I would present to fraternities, sororities, and other college organizations on topics surrounding sexual assault prevention like consent 101, bystander intervention, alcohol and consent, and healthy relationships. I loved this work but as a survivor myself, it was draining. At this time I also realized I wanted to put my personal love for kink and my sexual assault prevention education background together as one of my assaults occurred within a D/s dynamic I was in when I was young and didn’t have the right tools to understand the importance of vetting, safewords, negotiation, and aftercare. I have also worked as a personal assistant in a few different fields to make money.

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Q&A with Justice Gatson, organizer of Saturday’s Kansas City Abortion Rally

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By Emily Park

Calling all midwestern intersectional feminists!

A rally for abortion justice is taking place this weekend in KC. After the news of what’s happened in Texas, KC organizations came together to plan something to show fierce opposition to the newest attack on our reproductive rights. After all, Missouri is no stranger to attacks on reproductive justice.

This rally is COVID-safe and socially distanced. Come and hear the lineup of incredible speakers who will address the Texas ban and what it means for Missourians. Also, visit local organizers and advocates—us.

Catcall is a proud co-host of this event, alongside Reale Justice Network, ACLU of Missouri, Operation Liberation, Barrier Babes, and more.

Where: Mill Creek Park

When: 10 a.m. Oct. 2

In advance of the march, we (virtually) sat down with Justice Gatson, the event’s lead organizer and founder of the Reale Justice Network for a Q&A about the event and reproductive justice efforts in Missouri and Kansas.

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