Jodie is a mother of five and an active LGBTQI advocate. Professionally, she is a nationally recognized entrepreneur and distinctive voice within the beauty industry, having co-founded two companies, Doobop—an online beauty marketplace catered to women of color—and Georgia by Jodie Patterson—an all-natural line of skin care. She lives in Brooklyn, New York where fellow entrepreneur Joseph Ghartey and she raises their children with love, education, and family solidarity.
“The story of trans people, to me, was shaping up to be very similar to the story of Black people,” Patterson observes. “Stories in which some have tried to rewrite people’s identities to serve their own needs.” A pleasant surprise came when they explained to Penelope’s religious Ghanaian grandfather, to refer to Penelope as “he”: “Ayy! It’s no problem at all! In my language of Twi, Jodie, we don’t use gender pronouns,” he replied. Patterson’s raw tour de force illustrates the strength of a loving and determined mother." Jodie Patterson