the root after dark

  • He Did That

    Editor’s note: This is part 2 of a multipart series. Catch up with part 1. I was at ease with him almost immediately. All of his jokes (both corny and not) aside, there was something very sincere in the way he spoke to me—a level of honesty was there that stood out and made itself…

  • Starting Fresh: 5 Things I’m Leaving Behind in 2017

    Starting Fresh: 5 Things I’m Leaving Behind in 2017

    New year, new me. People make fun of that saying, but if you think about it, it is a mood, a message and a lifestyle. Each year on Dec. 31, we shed at least some part of our old selves and take on new habits, ideas or mantras. For me, Dec. 31, 2017, was no…

  • How to Have a Sexy and Happy New Year’s Eve

    Sunday night will be the last Sunday night of 2017. For some, it will be the last night they can stay up as late as they want before starting out a new year at work Tuesday morning. They say the way you bring in your new year is indicative of how you will spend the…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • Black Women and Sexuality: Damned if You Do, Damned if You Don’t

    On Thursday night, I was looking at the Facebook post that linked to my column on raunchy twerk anthems. As I do on our main site, I like to engage with the readers in the comments. As I read through what people were saying, I noticed a disturbing pattern: A great number of men were…

  • 10 Raunchy Twerk Anthems to Get Your Booty Moving

    I know I am not the only person with a playlist full of raunchy songs that get me in the mood to twerk all over my apartment whenever I play them. I actually have two: one I call the “Ratchet” playlist and the other called “Let’s Twerk.” They are my guilty pleasures. There’s a lot…

  • Sex on the 1st Date: Yes or No?

    There was a time when sex on the first date was considered taboo. Is that still a thing? To be clear, most times when this was and is talked about, it’s in reference to women and never men. No one ever looks down on the man who “gets some” on the first date, but the…

  • 5 Things Men Need to Understand About Foreplay

    Last week, over chicken wings and tequila, one of my girlfriends relayed a story to me that was hilarious, embarrassing and troubling all at the same time. She had a sexual encounter with a man who knew absolutely nothing about foreplay. He kissed her one or two times, slid into her without even making sure…