misogynoir
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Yeah, Telling Black Women ‘To Carry Pepper Spray’ to Fight Street Harassment Is Missing the Point
While at lunch with a friend a few years ago, she couldn’t locate her lip gloss, so she emptied her purse out on the table to find it. She didn’t have much in there—an iPhone, a wallet, her keys and a small make-up kit. And also, a can of pepper spray. She noticed me noticing…
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'It's a Deliberate Attack on Black Women': April Ryan Gets Real About 'Post-Racial' America
“We are not post-racial—at all,” White House correspondent April Ryan told an Essence Festival audience during a panel last Saturday. “But when you dig into the weeds … it’s beyond race; it’s now going down to the black woman. It’s a deliberate attack on the black woman.” Ryan is no stranger to attacks. In April,…
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I’m Tired of Enduring the Abuse and Pain That Makes Me a ‘Strong Black Woman’
A month ago at work, a white man physically threatened me. He wanted to know my name so he could report me, so he came close to me and followed me into my work building and repeated his request. His goal was to intimidate, because maybe I intimidated him. It started because I couldn’t hear…
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Snoop, Please Spare Us Your Rage About Trump, Mr. ‘Bitches Ain’t Shit’
Nigga, you? (In Nas’ “Ether” voice.) Ever since Snoop Dogg came forward with some very scathing public words for Kanye West, something has been stuck in my craw. Yes, it’s true, I’m a die-hard Kanye West fan, but this ain’t about him. Fuck him. Truth be told, I used to love Snoop with all my…
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Speaking Out Against Domestic Violence on Black Women Is No Longer Taboo, but Doing Something About It Is
My first job, about a decade ago in Harlem, was interning at a shelter for domestic violence survivors. Most were lower-income black and Latina women. A colleague and I would organize these makeshift financial sessions, giving these women overviews about how to build credit, manage debt, apply for housing vouchers and the like. I regularly…
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Real Talk From Terry Crews on Misogyny: ‘There’s a Humanity Issue Here’
Actor and comedian Terry Crews, the most visible male member of the #MeToo movement, shared some very real talk at last week’s Women in the World Summit 2018 in New York City. Speaking on toxic masculinity, Crews declared that “masculinity can be a cult.” He went on to stunningly compare misogyny to chattel slavery, pointing…
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The Nonapology Guide: Black-Woman Edition
Since Cheeto Grease the Tyrant fumblingly assumed office thanks to the Assorted Colonizer Coalition of America at the conclusion of 2016 and the beginning of 2017, something interesting has happened: I mean, one doesn’t have to look too far for examples of this, especially this year. With chosen champions like Lena Waithe, Tiffany Haddish, basically…
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The Trouble With Hero Worship: Is #TeamKillmonger Also #TeamToxicMasculinity?
Editor’s note: Multiple spoilers ahead. After this blockbuster weekend, we’re all talking about Marvel’s Black Panther. We’re talking about the powerful women of the Dora Milaje and the scene-stealing M’Baku (Winston Duke), and we even got a new handshake to share with our folk. But as excitement reached its peak after our first look, or…
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Samba and Misogynoir: Will 2018 Be the Last Year of Blackface in Brazil’s Carnival?
The United States isn’t the only country with a bad case of “blackface.” Brazil has its own version of blackface, and it is most often on display during Carnival, when some revelers sometimes dress up as “Nega Maluca,” translated as “crazy black woman” in Portuguese. During this year’s Carnival in Brazil, blackface made an appearance…
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Justin Timberlake Is Back for the Super Bowl Halftime Show (Side Eye)
In a show of just how far the Super Bowl halftime show has sunk, Justin Timberlake—who hasn’t had an album out in four years—will reportedly be this year’s headliner, once again showing that he will sing black, sound black and get produced by black folks, but when it comes to taking a stand for his…