Like 114.5 million other folk, I was watching the Super Bowl on Sunday night, the most watched show in U.S. TV history (shouts out to Missy Elliott’s halftime performance, yes gawd!). As a Carolina Panther fan I was not terribly invested in the outcome, but I was low key rooting for the Seahawks 1) because […]
Category: Gender
Color(ism) Complex(es)
When I heard a documentary called Dark Girls had been produced in 2011 to share the often silenced stories and experiences of dark-skinned women and girls, I felt a wave of emotions and had a range of reactions fluctuating from curiosity and anxiety, to excitement and anticipation. I wrote an ode to dark (skinned) girls […]
New Series: Voices From Inside – Locked Away for a Lifetime: Barred from Becoming a Parent
This week the Crunk Feminist Collective is honored to bring you two pieces from women incarcerated in California prisons and jails. Their stories are here for us to read because of the incredible advocacy work of Justice NOW, an organization that works with incarcerated women by providing legal services, supporting prisoner organizing efforts, working with […]
On the Glorification of the Side Chick
So, the question has been asked, is 2014 the year of the side chick? When thinking about this there are a few things to consider. Is this a declaration, a compliment, or a fear? According to popular media, side chicks, or women (usually women of color) who are knowingly in a relationship with a man […]
Time for the Supremes: Hobby Lobby and Your Boss in Your Bedroom
Sometime between now and July 4th, the Supreme Court is set to rule on two cases that will affect our access to birth control, Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. and Conestoga Wood Specialties v. Sebelius. In both these cases for-profit companies are using the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) to challenge the Affordable Care […]
What Does Black Masculinity Look Like?
Over the past few weeks, in the midst of teaching a pre-summer class on black masculinity in which we have discussed, debated and dreamed about the possibility for fluidity in raced gender performance, I have listened to a black man weep and express his love for his teammates and his appreciation for the sacrifices of […]
Sex, Scandal, and Shower Rods
May 5th can’t come soon enough. No, I’m not super excited for Cinco de Mayo, because Lord knows I’m all set with appropriated holidays and am up for drinking margaritas any day of the year. What I can’t wait for is the return of Love and Hip Hop Atlanta!!!!!! Season 3!!!!!!!!!! That supertrailer […]
Scandalous!
Some spoilers ahead. You’ve been warned. Watching Scandal is a weekly ritual for me. I love to sit back on my couch, phone in hand (cause I gotta get my tweet on), and revel in the ridiculousness of this frothy primetime soap. Shoot, sometimes I bust out red wine and popcorn too. After my tweets […]
Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing: A Review of Janet Mock’s Redefining Realness
Anyone who knows me knows that I stan for Janet Mock. So, I couldn’t wait to get my hot little hands on her book, Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love and So Much More. What took a minute was finding the time to read it—and I’m so glad I finally did! Talk about […]
Angels and Ghosts
Every day I walk or drive through historic Black neighborhoods in Atlanta, Georgia where upwards of 50% of residential properties are vacant, abandoned and sometimes burned down (but not demolished). I see empty buildings that used to be schools, recreation centers, community centers, and businesses. I see extraordinary flooding each time it rains; rushing water […]