Hi, I’m Becca - author, baker, and abortion rights advocate. I love almond croissants and creating spaces where people who have abortions feel seen and supported. Known online as @thesweetfeminist, I merge baking and advocacy to help break down abortion stigma, sharing daily affirmations and resources with a community of hundreds of thousands. My work has been featured in Cosmopolitan, The Oxford Review of Books, The New York Times Style Magazine, Feminist, Katie Couric Media, Vanity Fair Italy, Vogue Spain, and others. I’m particularly known for my brownie recipe.

I publish A Little Something Sweet, a newsletter for people who have abortions, like talking about feelings, and crave dessert (yes, there’s a lot of overlap there). I’ve written about how evangelicals have abortions (even if they say they don’t), made a case for letting ourselves be misunderstood, investigated weird anti-abortion merch on Etsy, and written about using baking to process grief. You’ll find recipes like my sweet & salty cinnamon whipped brown butter.

My first book, Baking By Feel (2022, Harper Wave), is a whimsical cookbook that pairs emotions with recipes, inviting readers to embrace whatever they’re feeling. My upcoming book, The Abortion Companion (Fall 2025, Running Press), is an affirming illustrated guide meant to support people at any stage of their abortion journey.

I live in Austin, Texas with my husband Rhys, our angel doll baby one-year-old, and our very good/bad dog Otie.

what i do

Abortion Rights Advocacy

I found out I was pregnant for the first time when I was in college. I knew that I didn’t want to continue the pregnancy, so I had an abortion. The morning after taking the abortion pills, I finally felt like I could breathe again. It’s still the most intense feeling of relief I can conjure. But I had so much internalized shame that I kept it a secret - for several years. Thankfully, I eventually connected with other people who have abortions online and figured out that I wasn’t alone. In fact, 1 in 4 women in the US will have an abortion in their lifetime (and trans men and nonbinary people also have abortions)!

I’m an unapologetic and relentless advocate for abortion rights. And I spend a lot of my time working to eliminate abortion stigma. Through my content on Instagram as @thesweetfeminist, my Substack A Little Something Sweet, and other platforms, I connect with people who have abortions and the people who love us, offering education, affirmation, and resources. My upcoming book, The Abortion Companion (fall 2025), serves as an affirming guide to help people feel less alone, offering comfort and support at every step of their journey.

I partner with reproductive rights organizations and brands like Plan C, Hey Jane, Refinery 29, Bedsider, Jane’s Due Process, Shout Your Abortion, Flo Health, the ACLU, and We Testify to fundraise, spread knowledge, and host community-building events. If you’d like to work together, send me a note!

My approach - rooted in empathy and unconditional support - aims to make abortion something we can talk about openly, without stigma or shame.

Check out my abortion affirmation series, daily affirmation IG channel, and curated list of abortion resources.

If you need an abortion, visit INeedAnA.com.

Baking

I learned to bake from my grandma Jane. We’d snack on double stuf oreos while we waited for the real cookies to come out of the oven. I’m pretty sure this was my first introduction to hedonism.

Anyway: I often hear people say that they love cooking but don’t really feel comfortable with baking. And I get it - at first glance baking can be really intimidating! It seems like a whole of rules, with not a lot of room for creativity. But once you’ve got the basics down there’s plenty of room to play with flavor, texture, and form. I’m a particularly flavor-focused baker (you’ll never see fondant in my kitchen), and I know that no one cares about aesthetic perfection once they take a bite. If your cake leans a little, that’s OK.

My recipe writing style features detailed yet straightforward instructions mixed with sensory cues. You’ll find tips & tricks I picked up working for a (truly exceptional) bakery. Remind me to tell you about when I worked farmers markets in the heat of summer selling craft chocolate.

My cookbook, Baking By Feel, explores how baking can be a powerful tool for emotional care. It features 65 recipes, each paired with an emotion. The photographs are extremely beautiful.

Check out my fall recipe zine (cider caramels, anyone?) and recipe archive.

where to find me

subscribe to my substack, A Little Something Sweet

follow me on instagram

represented by Nicole Cunningham of The Book Group

talk to me

books

photos by A Scott, styling by Olivia Caminiti

press

Interviews & Profiles

Katie Couric Media - Have Your (Feminist) Cake and Eat It Too: How a Texas Baker Is Destigmatizing Abortion

Oxford Review of Books - Bake Your Feelings with Becca Rea-Tucker

Feminist - Author Feature

The New York Times Style Magazine - Why Cakes Can Be a Powerful Form of Protest

Vogue Spain - The Sweet Feminist: the pastry chef who fights patriarchy with pretty cakes that you'll want to make at home

Vanity Fair Italy - The Sweet Feminist: Cakes that support women’s rights

Podcast Appearances

Feminist Book Club

You, Me, Empathy

Salt & Spine

We Should Talk About That

Feminist Buzzkills

Didn’t I Just Feed You

Reimagining Love

Baking By Feel Reviews

Bookpage - 4 cookbooks filled to the brim with comfort

“A therapy session masquerading as a cookbook, Baking by Feel includes sections of serious mental health advice alongside conversion charts and lists of helpful baking tools to have on hand. Inspired by the now-infamous way the COVID-19 pandemic drove us all to our kitchens, Rea-Tucker has written an “emotionally agnostic” (read: no judgment) cookbook that acknowledges the comfort we get from creating something delicious.

Delish - 12 Best Cookbooks of 2022

“While baking can't fully replace therapy, it certainly doesn't hurt when we're sorting through big feelings. And Becca Rea-Tucker's new baking book does exactly that. Categorized by seemingly every emotion ever, Baking By Feel will help you sort through your feels.”

Book Riot - Best New Baking Cookbooks For Holiday Gifting

“This cookbook is the perfect gift for your loved ones who find themselves channeling their anger into kneading bread dough or curbing their sadness with pastries.”

Baking By Feel Excerpts

Literary Hub - Is Revenge-Baking a Thing?

Stylist - Baking By Feel: 3 cookie recipes to turn to when you’re feeling a bit meh

Cosmopolitan - Sad Baking Is a Thing. This Chocolate Olive Oil Cake Is Your First Assignment.

From my audience

“I had an abortion 20 years ago, and after hearing you say I’m not going to hell, I cried with relief. Surprised myself. Dad disowned me then, and I had no idea how much I needed to hear your words until now.” 

“I had an abortion as a teen in the 80s and it’s bothered me off and on my entire life. I needed these words years ago.” 

“Your story helped me understand that, yes, I did that this time, but that doesn’t have to stop my desire to be a mother.”

“I just watched your abortion affirmations post. You don’t understand how much I needed that right now. Luckily I live in Canada where our right to abortion is somewhat more accessible (not always for marginalized groups) but I still feel like the pressures of society weigh on me.” 

“The abortion affirmations have been such a breath of fresh air for me. I had mine 3 years ago and I still have a little trauma tied to it. Although I’m healed/still healing, I feel like I need to talk about it with someone who understands. My current boyfriend does not know, and I’m not sure if I should tell him. This happened before I met him and I Just wish I could be 100% honest with him but he has very ‘far right’ opinions on abortions. I feel like he wouldn’t look at me the same. Following you on IG has been comforting to know there are women who do not regret their abortion. It changed my life, for the better.” 

“I had a planned pregnancy this time last year, things went so bad and I ultimately ended up having an abortion. It was your story that gave me the courage to know I was doing the right thing for myself. I remember reading your story and you saying you woke up feeling like yourself…I cried and cried and told my mom I wanted to feel that. Thank you for everything you do, and being vocal about abortion. So happy for your life now!!” 

“Thank you for publicly displaying constantly how incredibly safe abortion is and how it’s not something to be ashamed of and there’s many reasons for needing/wanting to terminate a pregnancy. I had a planned pregnancy earlier this year and developed horrible perinatal depression and my partner and I decided it would be best to not continue and focus on getting me mentally better before exploring that journey again. It was so hard but the right choice.” 

“You are the reason why I am not scared to share that I had an abortion.” 

“Your content message doesn’t apply to me…so far in my life, but my choice has always been deeply important to me. Despite having never personally gone through an abortion your account brought me honestly overwhelming comfort and made me feel safe and accepted.” 

“Just to let you know, I’ve just watched your affirmations after finding out I was pregnant yesterday (completely unexpected). You’ve helped me so much to feel valid and that it’s ok to have an abortion.”

“Becca I really needed to hear this. Thank you. It’s been two years and I didn’t realize how much I needed to hear some form of affirmation (even from a stranger).”

“I had an abortion 2 years ago and during all the grieving process you helped me a lot to feel less guilty and more empowered of my choice. Thank you so much. Words cannot describe how I felt. It was like a hug sometimes.” 

“I had an abortion this year and even though I fully support abortion it was a painful process to me. Anyways I feel like seeing your abortion cakes made it easier for me somehow.”

“When I had my abortion a month back your page felt like a safe haven for me. Somewhere I knew I could go to find words of acceptance and encouragement.”

“Thank you for this. You create the content I needed to get me through my abortion last weekend - one for which I had to sign a form confirming I wasn’t in the state of Texas since I was 6 weeks and one day pregnant (literally one day past, I wish I was joking).” 

“As someone who has had an abortion, I can say without a doubt that your account succeeds in making someone like me feel supported, empowered, and justified in the decision I made for myself. Living in Texas, it can be hard to feel that 100% of the time, what with all the pro-birthers on every corner, being loud (and annoying) af. Texas fuckin sucks sometimes and Abbott definitely fuckin sucks but knowing people like you live here gives me hope for this place.”

“Your posts recently gave me courage to be open and unapologetic about my own abortion and it was so liberating and empowering to do that!”

“Your work has had a massive impact on reframing my mindset around abortion - the suggested language you have proposed has really been a mindset shift for me (I was kind of the ‘if you don’t like them don’t get one’ line of thinking).” 

“Hi :) just want to let u know how helpful your account has been to me the past few days - i scrolled past your past about phrases to destigmatize abortion while I was on my way to get an abortion pill. This decision has been really uneasy for me and your posts, although intended for conversations with anti-abortion people, really felt like positive affirmation for me, and helped me to feel so much more grounded and confident in myself and my decision.” 

“Your voice is the reason I realized I don’t actually have to feel bad about my own abortion. I don’t put myself down about it just because I feel like I should anymore and I’m able to talk to others about it and help those around me.”

“Hi Becca I just wanted to tell you that since following your account I’ve been more comfortable talking about my own abortions. I have always been publicly pro-choice & never felt shame about it but also never freely talked about my experience. I just wanted you to know that you’ve changed me for the better! Hopefully by me being more vocal and open I might be helpful to others who have also had their own abortions - a stigma-busting chain reaction!” 

“Thank you so much for your post about not regretting abortion, I have struggled so much with my decision in the past but something about seeing someone say that they didn’t regret theirs just made a flip switch in my head that I don’t have to either and just thank you for saying that I’ve never heard someone say or type those words and to me that was amazing.”

“I remembered seeing you post this awhile ago and well, I unexpectedly got pregnant and decided it’s best to have an abortion I went looking for this post and found it. Thank you. It wasn’t an easy choice considering how I have two children already but I know it’s what best for me.”