A Black Female Perspective…
Themes of race, gender etc explored in popular culture.
Trans identity occupies a prominent space in contemporary society. Whether it is statistics that designate the trans collective as a “high risk” group, or the rise of popular series that document the trans experience, the contemporary climate has awarded the trans community a notable visibility. Black male transition to feminine identity remains at the core [...]
Tis' an interesting experience to be a black person in a country where anti-blackness is ubiquitous. “Turn your brain off”“You’re looking to deeply into things” These are probably the most common words uttered in hopes of discouraging the intellectual curiosity. Intellectual curiosity, however, is essential to black survival. It was the intellectual curiosity of those [...]
Perhaps the biggest lie habitually fed the black collective is that if you work hard you’ll reap big rewards. When I hear these words the following questions always come to mind: Were our ancestors not hard working?Where their contributions not foundational for the field of Dreams America has come to stand for? This myth exists [...]
I found Ntozake Shange’s For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide when the Rainbow is Enuf, before I became fully acquainted with the throes of black life. The words and images permeated my soul years before I needed it. Its contents conveyed, to employ Zora Neale Hurston’s term, the awful beauty of dreams that became [...]
White supremacy is a word that has gained significant traction in recent years. A decade ago, the term white supremacy still qualified as radical speech. White supremacy as a colloquialism marks a new wave of influence. In its nuance, white supremacy remains pervasive but appears mollified in its casual articulation. The Trump presidency proved significant [...]
Once upon a time, there was a young college student intrigued yet naive to the full extent of education. She took a class with a handsome, erudite professor who would change her life. One day before class, a classmate arrived early with a guest— a Chik-Fil-A sandwich. The sandwich filled the air with the greasy [...]
My first introduction to the word “twerk” was on Usher’s highly anticipated 8701 albums. The album, released in the summer of 2001, featured the song “Twerk it Out.” A melodic tune, “Twerk it Out” features a rhythm and blues flow that has largely dissipated from the contemporary sound. Though sexual in undertone, Usher’s “twerking” references [...]
Though I met Morrison as a child, I did not understand her until I was an adult. I was an adolescent who pursued her text perilously. Like Beloved protagonist Sethe, I journeyed to the unknown knowing that what lied ahead was better than what I was leaving behind. Reading Beloved change me, delineating the full [...]
This country has an obsession with aesthetical emotion. By aesthetical emotion, I speak to the appearance of emotion being far more valuable than the feeling itself. America, specifically contemporary media, encourages performance but curses action. In that regard, 2020 presidential candidate Marianne Williamson immerses herself in the contemporary racial fervor by pandering to those seeking [...]
Unlike the "original" Ariel, black women need not be "part of their world."
