Bonnianne Ratliff and Angie Sonrode

Bonnianne Ratliff and Angie Sonrode Bonnianne Ratliff is an autistic activist committed to intersectional feminism. She is a single mom to two teenagers in Southern California. She graduated from San Diego State University in 2018 with a degree in English … Continue reading →

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Bonnianne Ratliff and Angie Sonrode

Bonnianne Ratliff is an autistic activist committed to intersectional feminism. She is a single mom to two teenagers in Southern California. She graduated from San Diego State University in 2018 with a degree in English and a minor in Women’s Studies. She started The Shape of a Mother in July of 2006 because she saw that there was a distinct lack of representation of realistic postpartum bodies in the media at the time. She realized that if people were able to see photos of real, unretouched pregnant and postpartum bodies, it could heal some of the unnecessary shame held by the unrealistic expectations society demands. Bonnianne wants people to know that, above all, bodies are functional and that beauty is a construct; all bodies are good bodies. In addition to The Shape of a Mother’s original user-run project, Bonnianne also uses the site as a platform to educate about feminism and related topics through her series on Badass Bitches From History and her educational infoposts and flyers. In her free time, Bonnianne likes to play Animal Crossing way too much or give her teens a cultural education by making them watch old John Hughes movies.

Angie Sonrode is the co-founder and president of Mid Drift Movement. She is a birth/postpartum doula, feminist, lactivist, breastfeeding counselor, parent educator and cheerleader of parents everywhere. Since becoming a mother herself almost 15 years ago, she has been dedicated to finding ways to build circles of support around parents and families, including working with several local nonprofits. Mid Drift’s roots were planted when Angie started looking at the realities of the body she has after having given birth to her four kiddos and the realization that things are a bit…um different. As a body love supporter, the fact that this was intuitively interpreted as negative was a shock. Where were these ideas coming from and why were they so prevalent? With the love and fervent support of her sidekick and partner Mike, she set out to question these things and search out some answers, while along the way helping other people learn to love their bodies wholly.