Ericka Hart

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Hart advertising for Chromat in 2018

Ericka Hart is an American sex educator, model, and professor.[1][2][3]

Background[]

After being diagnosed with bilateral breast cancer in May 2014[4] at the age of 28, Hart went viral for attending Afropunk topless, showing scars from her[a] double mastectomy. "We don’t go to the doctor because of historical trauma, institutionalized racism, so on and so forth. And we die faster because if you find cancer later on, your rates of survival are less." Hart explained, "I wore my chest out because I wanted to raise awareness, but I also...still feel really sexy with my body this way, and I want to be received as sexy, not just as a survivor."[5] Since then, Hart has posted topless for Paper magazine,[6] Out magazine,[7] and on the runway of Chromat's Fall 2018 show at New York Fashion Week.[8] "Being a part of the QTPOC community, and seeing how little information is geared towards us [in the media], breast cancer is literally killing us and my hope is to inspire many people across a spectrum of gender identities," she told Vogue. "The societal assumption is that having a double mastectomy would somehow make my body abnormal, or that not having nipples must signal a descent into shame or discomfort around my body image, but my relationship with my body hasn't changed."[8]

Hart graduated from the University of Miami Coral Gables in 2008 with a degree in theater and psychology.[9] Hart has a Master’s of Education in Human Sexuality from Widener University.[10] From 2008-2010, Hart served as a HIV/AIDS volunteer in the Peace Corps in Ethiopia.[11]

Career[]

A former adjunct professor at the Columbia School of Social Work, Hart taught human sexuality.[12][13] She has taught sexuality education to audiences ranging from elementary-aged youth to adults.[14] A difficult experience trying to learn about sex as a child inspired her to become an educator. She told Forbes, “I didn’t understand how I could ask questions about anything else, but when it came to sex it was just quiet, and people skated around the issue…I started to get that this has a lot to do with people’s discomfort and I just wanted to make people feel comfortable with asking about this topic.”[10] Hart was recognized on the Root100 in 2018 for her work as an "advocate for post-cancer body positivity".[15]

Hart co-hosts the podcast, Hoodrat to Headwrap: A Decolonized Podcast.[16][17] Women's Health wrote, "Hosts Ericka Hart and Ebony Donnley allow their listeners to take part in an intimate conversation, sprinkled with comedic relief, glowing personalities, and radical seeds of self love."[18]

Personal life[]

Hart identifies as queer and "nonbinary femme."[12] She uses she/her and they/them pronouns.[19] Hart currently lives with her partner, Ebony Donnley, and their dog, Baguette X, in Brooklyn, NY.[20] Donnley is a writer, audio engineer, and Hart's manager.

Hart's mother passed away from breast cancer when she was 13.[2]

Notes[]

  1. ^ Hart uses she/her and they/them pronouns. This article uses feminine pronouns for consistency.

References[]

  1. ^ "I Hart Ericka". Office Magazine. 2020-01-06. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
  2. ^ a b Sonoma, Serena (October 2020). "Ericka Hart's Mission: To Break Breast Cancer's Connotation With Cis Women". them. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
  3. ^ "The Root 100 - The Most Influential African Americans In 2018". The Root. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
  4. ^ "Ericka Hart Wants to Make Sure Privileged White Women Aren't the Face of Breast Cancer". For Harriet | Celebrating the Fullness of Black Womanhood. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
  5. ^ Truong, Kimberly. "The Amazing Reason This Woman Went Topless At Afropunk". www.refinery29.com. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
  6. ^ "Ericka Hart Turned Her Double Mastectomy into Topless Activism". PAPER. 2017-12-22. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
  7. ^ "We Need to Decolonize the Body Positive Movement". www.out.com. 2019-08-05. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
  8. ^ a b Valenti, Lauren (12 February 2018). "This Breast Cancer Survivor's Runway Walk Was a Fashion Week Game Changer". Vogue. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
  9. ^ "Hampshire Names 2019 Commencement Speaker Ericka Hart". Hampshire College.
  10. ^ a b Sprayregen, Molly. "Sexuality Educator Ericka Hart Talks Dismantling Oppressive Systems In Sex-Ed And Beyond". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
  11. ^ "BET Her Fights: Breast Cancer 2017 Honorees". BET.com. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
  12. ^ a b "The Sex Education Expert Speaking Up About Medical Racism". Yes! Magazine. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
  13. ^ Us, Cosmopolitan (2017-09-12). "Ericka Hart Opens Up About Surviving Breast Cancer as a Queer Black Woman". ELLE. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
  14. ^ "Ericka Hart". Living Beyond Breast Cancer. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
  15. ^ "The Root 100 - The Most Influential African Americans In 2018". The Root. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
  16. ^ "Meet The Most Badass Breast Cancer Survivor, Ericka Hart -- Naked, Loud, And Totally Proud Of Her Post-Surgery Body". SurvivorNet. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
  17. ^ "New York Fashion Week's "largest LGBTQ runway show" gets political". NBC News. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
  18. ^ Brown, Lauren Stockmon (2020-06-09). "Your Next Podcast Should Be About Racial Justice". Women's Health. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
  19. ^ Hart, Ericka. "Ericka Hart, M.Ed. She/They (@ihartericka)". Instagram. Retrieved 2020-11-06.
  20. ^ "Breast Cancer Survivor, Activist, & Sexuality Educator Ericka Hart's Brooklyn Home Is a Celebration of Blackness". Apartment Therapy. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
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