feminism
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No Romance Without … Resistance?
“People have to start respecting the vagina. Until every man is fighting for our rights, we should consider stopping having sex.” —Janelle Monáe text Come again? In a recent interview with Marie Claire, singer Janelle Monáe discussed her ideas when it comes to participating in resistance. I’m not going to lie: As a hot-blooded, fully…
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I Am My Trans Sister’s Keeper
Mesha Campbell. Jamie Lee Wounded Arrow. JoJo Striker. Keke Collier. Chyna Gibson. Ciara McElveen. Jaquarrius Holland. Their names and faces lit up my laptop in a macabre montage. In the first few months of 2017, seven transgender women have been murdered—four within a single week, and most of them black. It is the continuation of…
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On White Women Who Pen Criticisms of Beyoncé and Serena When White Feminism Isn’t Enuf
The phrase “whiteness gone white” rings all the more true every time a talented-beyond-measure black woman graces us with her presence and is criticized for it. And white women are continually leading this cause. On Sunday, Feb. 12, a very pregnant Beyoncé graced our television screens as she levitated onto the Grammy stage with an…
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Once Again, Black Women Did The Work White Women Refused To
There will be plenty of time in the coming days, weeks and months to do a full post-mortem on what just happened last night — exactly how and why every projection was wildly wrong, what could have been done differently, whether or not Mike Pence is a sentient Death Eater, et cetera. There are a…
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How an NJ High School Student Is Paving the Way for Young Feminists
Back when I attended high school, there were tons of clubs to join, but had I known then what I know now, I would definitely have started a club that would have changed the environment of the high school. Thankfully, nowadays, there are high school students out there making a difference, like Mickeala Bland. Mickeala is a…
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The Half-Woke CliffsNotes to Homophobia and Misogyny
I never used CliffsNotes. Not because I believed in some uncompromising code of ethics that made me reject shortcuts in favor of hard work and discipline. My mother just wouldn’t let me use them. When I was a rising 10th-grader, I tried to get her to purchase a copy of the CliffsNotes for Albert Camus’…
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How Twitter Made Me A Better Man
I first logged on to Twitter in 2009. I was (and still am) a Black man, the first in his family to attend and graduate college. By proxy, my pursuit of post-bachelor education was also a family milestone. This is more or less an elongated way to say whatever privilege people think Black men have,…
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‘Selling Hot P–sy’: Strippers Talk Sexuality, Misogyny and Stereotypes
Strip clubs have dominated the black pop-culture scene for decades, with Atlanta being the central hub. So much of what we see in television, film and music, particularly as it pertains to black women and femme representation, is distilled from the lived experiences of dancers who sell sex or the illusion of sex. In her…