Women We Watch: Emily McCombs

We first met Emily as founding editor at XOJane way back in 2012, creating a special range of Name Necklaces for the gang and hanging out at their UK website launch. Fast forward almost six (eek!) years later and Emily’s now deputy editor at HuffPost Personal, a new platform for various voices to bring their experiences and stories to public consciousness. Phew!

We got together to talk baked goods, fostering and…Julie Andrews. Yup, you read that right!

CAN YOU SUM UP WHAT YOU DO IN FIVE WORDS?

Help People Tell Their Stories

FROM PODCASTS TO PLAYLISTS, WHAT DO YOU LISTEN TO FOR INSPIRATION?

I like narrative-driven bands with great lyrics, like The Mountain Goats and The Hold Steady. And no music tells a story better than country; I have a Dolly Parton tattoo on my thigh.

WHAT DO YOU PERSONALLY REGARD AS YOUR BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT?

Working with Jane Pratt to launch xoJane from scratch in 2011 is probably still my proudest achievement. We were able to create a space for women to tell their stories in their authentic voices in a way that didn’t really exist before that. In January, I got to help launch the personal essay section of HuffPost Personal, which is amazing because we’re leveraging a huge platform to tell personal stories about identity, sex and love, family and parenting, health and mental health and a bunch of other topics.

WHAT’S THE BEST DECISION YOU EVER MADE?

Adopting my son, now 6, through the foster care system, was the best decision I’ve ever made, and I encourage anyone who thinks they might want children to consider fostering and/or adopting.

WORST DECISION?

Any time I didn’t take a piece of birthday cake. Just eat the cake!

WHICH TATTY DEVINE PIECE IS YOUR FAVOURITE?

The Mexican Embroidery Necklace holds a special place in my heart because I was wearing it when I interviewed Julie Andrews and she complimented me on it and wanted to know where it was from. I got to tell her all about Tatty Devine!

WHICH WOMEN ARE YOU WATCHING RIGHT NOW?

Samantha Irby is my favorite writer who I’ve been following for years.

Lindsay Dye is an amazing artist and sex worker who sits on cakes for a living!

MacKenzie Peck is creating the “radically inclusive” progressive porn mag, Math magazine.

Gigi Engle is a mentee of mine who is doing some great sex-positive work at a ton of different outlets.

 

Thanks, Emily!

Fancy venting? Got a burning story you NEED the world to hear? Head over to HuffPost Personal to divulge…

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