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A woman with light brown skin and short, brown, curly hair has her arms crossed in front of her. She is looking at the camera with a closed-lipped smile.

Paige Perez

Embodied Temporary Producer

Paige Perez (she/her) is a Caribbean-American audio and photojournalist born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. Her work covering sexual and reproductive health, the climate crisis, and racial inequity is published in The Guardian, HuffPost Voices, and Bronx Times. Paige is a recent graduate of the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY, where she concentrated in health/science reporting and specialized in audio and video. When she is not reporting and producing, she is probably visiting local art spaces or making images.

  • An illustration of two people sitting face-to-face on a purple carpet from the elbows down. One person is sitting with their legs crossed inside of the other person's legs around them, and they are holding hands.
    What Surrogate Partner Therapy Is And Is Not, Directly From The Experts
    Paige Perez
    In surrogate partner therapy, a therapist, a surrogate partner and a client work together to understand and help resolve the client’s challenges with physical and emotional intimacy. What helps provide a safe space for clients to explore their sexuality?
  • An illustration of two people sitting face-to-face on a purple carpet from the elbows down. One person is sitting with their legs crossed inside of the other person's legs around them, and they are holding hands. The word “Guided” is at the bottom of the illustration.
    Guided: Practicing Intimacy & Sex With A Surrogate
    Paige Perez
    Anita first learned about surrogate partner therapy from the 2012 movie "The Sessions," and her curiosity was piqued. It's a widely misunderstood and stigmatized type of therapy work in which touch is a mechanism for healing. Two surrogate partners take her inside the day-to-day of their jobs, and a certified sex therapist shares why she hopes others in her industry will be more welcoming to the practice.
  • An illustration of a femme-presenting person with brown skin with her arms holding her hair above her head and her face is turned to the side with closed eyes. She's wearing a sleeveless, strapless top that shows off the tattoos she has on her chest and up and down her arms. Many of them are floral in nature and brightly-colored. The background of the illustration is pink flowers.
    'Build A Body': How Tattoos Can Be An Avenue for Reclaiming Body Image, Identity and Agency
    Paige Perez
    Tattoos have been around since the beginning of mankind. How does this form of body art change the relationship we have with our bodies?
  • An illustration of a tattooed, femme-presenting, Brown person posing. She is posing with her arms above her head with her hands in her hair. Her hair is brown and shoulder-length. Her eyes are closed, and her head is angled to the right. She is wearing red eyeshadow and lipstick and has a mole below her left eye. She has several tattoos adorning her arms and chest. The tattoos consist of several red flowers, yellow flowers, and a flying bee. She is wearing a sleeveless black top. Behind her is a pink background with several pink hibiscus flowers.
    Inked: Rewriting Your Body’s Story With Art
    Anita Rao
    Anita has no tattoos but plenty of admiration for the art form that gives us new ways to experience our bodies. She talks with a heavily-tattooed scholar who's interrogated how society treats tattooed women; a queer, Jewish tattoo artist reclaiming body art; and an artist who's pushing back on the misconceptions of tattooing melanated skin.
  • An illustration of an altar. On the altar are four framed photos: On the top left is a photo of an older woman with gray hair dressed in a pink shirt, blue jacket and blue skirt. Standing on her right is an older man with gray hair, wearing a red shirt and tan pants. In the top right photo are three women all dressed in black shirts and long black skirts. They all have shoulder-length brown hair. The photo on the bottom left depicts an older woman with a person standing behind her. The older woman has gray hair, adorning a pink wrap covering her head and body. The person standing behind her has brown shoulder-length hair and is wearing an orange wrap. On the bottom left is a photo of a man wearing a black suit and tie with a white shirt. He has short brown hair. This photo has a string of beads on its frame. The altar also has a bejeweled skull, a red mug, several orange fruits/vegetables, orange carnations, a prayer candle, and a bowl with an offering in it.
    Grief and life after losing a parent in early adulthood
    Paige Perez
    Tens of millions of Americans have lost a parent by the age of 25. What is grief like for these young adults just starting out?
  • An illustration of an altar. On the altar are four framed photos: On the top left is a photo of an older woman with gray hair dressed in a pink shirt, blue jacket and blue skirt. Standing on her right is an older man with gray hair, wearing a red shirt and tan pants. In the top right photo are three women all dressed in black shirts and long black skirts. They all have shoulder-length brown hair. The photo on the bottom left depicts an older woman with a person standing behind her. The older woman has gray hair, adorning a pink wrap covering her head and body. The person standing behind her has brown shoulder-length hair and is wearing an orange wrap. On the bottom left is a photo of a man wearing a black suit and tie with a white shirt. He has short brown hair. This photo has a string of beads on its frame. The altar also has a bejeweled skull, a red mug, several orange fruits/vegetables, orange carnations, a prayer candle, and a bowl with an offering in it.
    Mourned: Life After Losing A Parent
    Paige Perez
    Anita has heard one resounding truth from her friends who lost a parent in early adulthood: That death was the biggest thing that has ever happened to them. She meets two people who've built specific communities around their grief on the internet and a writer who experienced losing his dad twice.
  • An illustration of a Black femme-presenting person holding her nails in front of her face and looking seductively through her fingers. Her nails are long with squared tips. They're painted gold with a red design on top of it, and they're sparkling.
    Our Fascination with Fabulousness: A Historical and Cultural Examination of Nail Art
    Paige Perez
    Tens of thousands of nail salons across the U.S. are places of connection, reinvention, and community. They also make up a multi-billion dollar industry that tells stories about power and economic mobility. Why are nails so culturally and economically significant?
  • An illustration of a Black femme-presenting person holding her nails in front of her face and looking seductively through her fingers. Her nails are long with squared tips. They're painted gold with a red design on top of it, and they're sparkling. The word "Polished" is in the lower left hand corner.
    Polished: Why We Care About Our Nails
    Paige Perez
    Anita's nail habit has evolved in the past decade from $10 drop-in manicures to 90 minute appointments with a nail artist. That artist joins her for a conversation about how Black women have shaped nail culture. Plus a fashion historian details nail history from Egyptian mummies to ‘90s Chanel colors, and a Vietnamese-American woman tells the story of growing up inside her parents' nail salons.
  • An illustration featuring several different phones floating on a multicolor background. Out of one phone screen is a giant eggplant emoji. Out of another is a peach emoji. And out of a third is a femme-presenting person in a larger body in a bikini top from the waist up, taking a picture of herself on her phone.
    The Art of Safer Sexting with Confidence and Consent
    Paige Perez
    Sexting is the sharing of sexual images or messages digitally. Though people of all ages sext, society is hyperfixated on women and girls. In the age of data privacy, how can people sext safely and in ways that empower their sexuality?
  • An illustration featuring several different phones floating on a multicolor background. Out of one phone screen is a giant eggplant emoji. Out of another is a peach emoji. And out of a third is a femme-presenting person in a larger body in a bikini top from the waist up, taking a picture of herself on her phone. The word “Sexted” appears between some of the phone screens.
    Sexted: Authoring Your Own Erotica
    Paige Perez
    Anita is a bashful sexter, and she's ready to get over her insecurities. A pleasure enthusiast advises her on the art of a good sext; a sexting expert traces the short and spicy history of sexting in this country; and a high schooler breaks down the relationship between sexting and consent.
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