This June, We're Celebrating Pride — and the Movement That's Always Had Your Back
Happy Pride from all of us at Defend Yourself! 🏳️🌈
This month feels personal to us — because it is. We're queer people doing this work, and we know many of you are too. We see you, we're glad you're here, and this community is ours together.
Celebrating who you are and feeling safer in the world aren't separate things. They never have been.
That shared foundation shows up in how we teach. One way it shows up in practice is taking a pause.
Pause: What to Do Between Noticing and Acting
Empowerment self-defense helps you be able to name what you feel, trust yourself, and come home to your body. And that leads somewhere practical. Some examples:
In a meeting, when a colleague says something that lands wrong and your stomach tightens before your brain catches up
When someone touches your arm without asking and you smile anyway
When your “no” gets pushed past — maybe gently, definitely repeatedly — and you start to doubt yourself instead of the person doing the pushing
These are moments empowerment self-defense is built for. And most of us were never taught what to do in them.
The seconds after your body sends a signal and before you default to accommodating, minimizing, or moving on — that’s your pause. A chance to check in with yourself and decide how you want to respond.
Trust the signal before you have the words. That tightness in your chest, the slight catch in your breath, the feeling that something just shifted — that’s information. You don’t need to be able to articulate it to honor it.
Name it internally first. Just let yourself register it: “That felt off.”“I didn’t like that.” This is the body awareness muscle “Get Empowered” builds — and it starts here, in the small moments.
Buy yourself time. A pause, a slow breath, “Give me a second” — these are complete and valid responses. They keep you in the moment instead of rushing past it.
Know that any response that honors what you felt counts. Not laughing. Not apologizing. Not saying “It’s fine” when it isn’t. Every time you honor the signal instead of overriding it, you’re building the muscle.
This too is training. The more you practice in small moments, the more available it is when you really need it. That’s what empowerment self-defense is — not just skills you practice for worst-case scenarios, but a way of being in relationship with yourself that makes you harder to override.
This is what we're fighting for. For everyone.
Join us June 28 for our monthly Book Circle on How To Spot Early Warning Signs
On the fourth Sunday of every month at 4 p.m. Eastern/1 p.m. Pacific, we gather for one hour on Zoom to explore skills and ideas from “Get Empowered” in real time. This is your chance to dive deeper into the book’s teachings, share experiences, practice skills, and build a supportive community.
This month we’re digging into How to Spot Early Warning Signs — learning to see the signals that tell you something might be about to happen, and what you can do about it.
It’s free and it’s drop in; no need to commit. (No need to read the book, either!) You can RSVP or vote for our next topic now!
Looking for a powerful voice on how to prevent and interrupt gender-based violence?
Lauren R. Taylor, founder of Defend Yourself, is available to speak to your group. As a survivor, leader, and fierce advocate, Lauren brings professional expertise, compassion, and insight to difficult topics — with a touch of humor that makes the conversation both powerful and accessible.
We’re an empowerment self-defense organization teaching in D.C. and around the country. Learn to assert yourself, set boundaries, and protect yourself and your peace.
Know an organization, community space, or workplace that could benefit from these skills?Let us know! We love to partner with organizations to host helpful empowerment self-defense and bystander skills workshops for our communities.
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