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Leave Tamar Alone! People, Can We Stop Equating Hair With Femininity?
Grammy-nominated singer, reality-television regular and Braxton-family baby sister Tamar turned heads this week when she took to Instagram to post footage of her having her head shaved with the chorus of Bobby Brown’s “My Prerogative” playing in the background. The diva—as well-known for her array of hairstyles as for her multioctave voice—has notably been estranged…
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Everybody’s Talking About the ‘Penis Facial,’ and It Doesn’t Mean What You Think (It’s Worse)
Today in “Things we wish we didn’t know about” news: This morning I had the unique pleasure of explaining to my colleagues here at The Root what a “penis facial” is. Slang connotations notwithstanding, it wasn’t what they thought. It was worse. The discussion started rolling when The Root’s weekend social media editor, Corey Townsend,…
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Make Money Moves: Some of the World’s Most Successful Women Want You to Know Your Worth
Seventy-nine cents on the dollar: That’s the number we’ve become accustomed to hearing when discussing the gender wage gap. But grim as it is, further research has revealed that that number applies only to the wage discrepancy for white women. Despite now being the most educated population in America, black women earn a meager 63…
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Wild Thoughts: What Would a Lingerie Line From Rihanna Look Like?
Rihanna always keeps us guessing, so when we heard whispers that the “Love on the Brain” singer recently inked a deal for a lingerie deal with fast-fashion design firm TechStyle Fashion Group (formerly JustFab Inc.), we were seriously intrigued. Spokespeople for both Rihanna and TechStyle have yet to comment—or disclose a potential launch date. But…
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Girl. Pharrell Might Launch a Women’s Fashion Line, and All We Can Envision Is Bathrobes & Beaucoup Hats
Another day, another rumored celebrity fashion endeavor. This week, rumblings have been afoot (thanks to TMZ) that our favorite crooning nerd, Pharrell Williams, has trademarked “Girl” for use in a future fashion venture. Hmmm… Of course, this wouldn’t be entirely new territory for the producer, composer and erstwhile crooner-rapper; his collaboration with Adidas Originals has…
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Can We Be Oprah Book Club-Smart With a Fraction of the Books?
Oprah is the type of anomaly that is an eternal source of inspiration: black, female, plus-size, from humble origins, and a beloved household name and self-made billionaire (three times over, at last estimate). Few of us can even hope to meet Oprah, let alone aspire to reach Oprah levels of success. In fact, most of…
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Red-Carpet Roundup: It’s All Love at the iHeartRadio Awards (With a Healthy Dose of Cardi B)
Working in digital media as a middle-aged person can be challenging. After all, there’s a constant need to know what the kids are into these days, and without kids of my own, it can be tough. Thankfully, we’ve got the annual iHeartRadio Awards to tell us old heads who’s hot and who’s on the come…
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Find 100 Ways: Wondering How to Help Women? Broadly Built Us a Whole List
Each year on March 8—including last Thursday—the world celebrates International Women’s Day. The holiday dates back to 1911 and is the origin of Women’s History Month, which we also celebrate in March and which The Root is celebrating in tandem with our sister site Jezebel. But like the all-too-fleeting Black History Month, both International Women’s…
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Black Girls Rock! And Founder and DJ Beverly Bond Does, Too
This International Women’s Day, the ultimate present arrived in my mailbox, gifted by my favorite person: me! It was a brand-spanking-new, hardcover edition of my new favorite coffee-table book, Black Girls Rock! Owning Our Magic. Rocking Our Truth. The book is a compilation of first person essays, insights and affirmations from a multigenerational cross section…
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#FearlessFriday: Symone Sanders Speaks Truth to Power … in Her Own Signature Style
Symone Sanders loves a good rant—which is great, because we love a good rant from Symone Sanders. The political strategist, former press secretary for Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders and current CNN commentator has become well-known for her show-stealing, straight-shooting, mince-no-words delivery—which is only eclipsed by her deep command of American policy and commitment to…
