culture

  • The #MeToo Movement Will Take Down the Music Industry and 17 Other Predictions for 2018

    I don’t have a crystal ball, but I did sip Crystal Pepsi a few times back in the 1990s, and I always look for ways to honor the legacy of Miss Cleo, so I have some predictions for the new year to share. Take them with a grain of salt—preferably Lawry’s Seasoned Salt or some…

  • Caught Out There: Beware of the Lying Twitter Man-Whore

    Your MCM was secretly engaging in personal relationships with three women on the timeline, lying to each of them, telling each of them lies about the other in an attempt to pit them against one another, all the while denying accountability for his actions by saying, “We were just talking.” He’s 33. There are plenty…

  • Stigma Against Sex Workers Must End

    I’m a black woman who is over 35, and for a little over a decade, I was a sex worker. It doesn’t matter what kind of sex work; what matters is that I have an adult lifetime of experience, not only in sex work, but also with the painful stigma attached to it. The thing…

  • For Those Considering Blaxit, I Present to You: Seoul, South Korea

    Like most people who aren’t from Asia, I was tempted to paint South Korea and Japan with the same brush. Not because I had read ample historical literature about them and had come to an educated conclusion, but because I was lazy, young and stupid. Should you find yourself fascinated by tae kwon do, kimchi…

  • Watch: Cornel West on Neoliberalism, Bernie Sanders and Why Donald Trump Is a ‘Gangsta’

    The Root spent an hour speaking to Cornel West on Dec. 8 on a wide range of issues, including former President Barack Obama, Sen. Bernie Sanders, neoliberalism, President Donald Trump and, of course, Ta-Nehisi Coates. Watch an edited version of our conversation above.

  • Save Your Relationship: Go Downtown

    Would you believe that as we near the end of the year 2017, there are still men out there who have not mastered the art of cunnilingus? It’s true, my sisters—I have met them. I shit you not. And it is the most frustrating thing ever. Yes, there is a right way and a wrong…

  • From an Ex-Neoliberal: Why Ta-Nehisi Coates Keeps Talking About White Supremacy

    I love Cornel West. Part of the reason I am a fan of his is that, before my nonfame and lack of fortune at The Root, I taught a college-level course called “Race as an Economic Construct.” The idea of the course was to eliminate the subjectivity of race theory by explaining race in America…

  • What Well-Meaning Men Don’t Understand When It Comes to Life as a Woman

    It seems we can’t go but a few days without hearing about another famous man’s name being linked to sexual harassment allegations. This has led to conversations from well-meaning men who don’t understand the prevalence of the threat of harassment. Well-meaning men have asked everything from the stupid, “Do I need to apologize to every…

  • #MeToo Creator Tarana Burke Will Kick Off New Year’s Eve Countdown in NYC’s Times Square

    Sixty seconds before the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve this year, #MeToo founder Tarana Burke will push the Waterford crystal button that signals the ball drop in New York City’s Times Square and starts the official countdown leading us into 2018. Burke announced the appearance on her personal Twitter account Monday morning. “Welp!…

  • Single Means Alone, Not Lonely

    On Friday morning, Ann Coulter sent out a tweet about single people living empty, quiet lives of desperation and dying alone. Without looking for more context, I responded and said that as a single person, I lead a very fulfilling life. Of course, people were quick to jump in my mentions and correct me on…