On this Throwback Thursday I wanted to go back to one of my earliest posts. With the popularity of 50 Shades of Grey, I got to thinking about what’s up with the fantasy of having a rich white man controlling you. It’s not like many of our realities are that different. I’m just saying. In any event, here are my thoughts on Twilight and the popularity of similar stories. Yes, this is a post about Twilight. Well, sort of. If you break out into hives at the mere mention of the series (ahem, “saga”) that has tweens, some of their …Read more »
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Throwback Thursday: Dear Patriarchy…
On this “Throwback Thursday,” I wanted to revisit one of Crunkista’s earlier posts–a kick-ass kiss-off letter to patriarchy. I think it’s eternal in relevance and general crunkness. Enjoy! ***************************************************************************************************************************** Dear Patriarchy, This isn’t working. We both know that it hasn’t been working for a very long time. It’s not you…no actually, it is you. This is an unhealthy, dysfunctional, abusive relationship because of you. You are stifling, controlling, oppressive and you have never had my best interest at heart. You have tricked me into believing that things are the way they are because they have to be, that …Read more »
A (Not So) Guilty Pleasure: Love & Hip Hop Atlanta
By now, many of you have experienced the delightful ratchet theater that is Love & Hip Hop Atlanta. One word: Ratchetstilksin Love and Hip Hop Atlanta is the brain-child of producer, Mona Scott-Young, who also unleashed upon the world created the first Love and Hip Hop series. LAHHA follows, as you might have guessed, the high and lows of several (not particularly well-known) artists, producers, baby mamas, and the like who are enmeshed in the music scene in Hotlanta. After randomly stumbling upon the show a few weeks ago, I must confess that I am hooked. I swear I watch …Read more »
Category: Pop Culture, Relationships | Tags: hip hop, Reality TV, romantic relationships, VH1. Love & Hip Hop Atlanta
The Joys of Stillness
Recently, Tim Kreider published a piece in the New York Times called “The ‘Busy’ Trap,” where he extolled the virtues of being both lazy and ambitious. Krieder is not really talking about genuine busyness brought on by meaningful obligations, but all the small stuff that can take up a lot of room in our lives. In fact, Kreider insists “Busyness serves as a kind of existential reassurance, a hedge against emptiness; obviously your life cannot possibly be silly or trivial or meaningless if you are so busy, completely booked, in demand every hour of the day.” Whoa. But when you …Read more »
This is How it Works
You’ve probably already heard about Brian McKnight’s desire to release an “adult” mixtape. Now, brother McKnight has recently claimed that this shamtastery was a parody of the hypersexualized R&B songs that are par for the course. Okay, boo. You might need to start back at one. Something tells me that Forever Knight was not lampooning the sexism and misogyny of much contemporary music, but instead trying to titillate desensitized listeners who find Trey Songz’ lyricism subtle. Look, if I’m going to take instructions from 90s R&B stars I’d rather listen to TLC. So, I had a couple of lolz at Brian’s …Read more »
Apocalypse Now: Some Thoughts on Race at the End of the World
Last March, Crunktastic and I were in Atlanta for the Southeastern Women’s Studies Association conference when a man approached us and handed us pamphlets that declared the end of the world was fast approaching. In fact, the pamphlet urged us to get our affairs in order so we could be ready by May 21, 2011. When the date rolled around I called up my mama and when she answered the phone I let her know I was disappointed that she hadn’t got caught up in the Rapture. We had a good laugh and chatted about these pitiful somebodies who …Read more »
‘Dos and Don’ts
The summer of 2000 I went to my hairdresser and said, “I want you to cut all of this off,” pointing emphatically to my badly-damaged permed hair. She asked me if I was sure and I told her I was–and off went four or five inches of angst onto her linoleum floor. What was left was less than an inch of cottony soft dark brown hair. I was both relieved and scared. I didn’t even remember what my natural hair looked like and I’d never had my hair cut so short. That very day I went to the mall and …Read more »
Category: Beauty Industrial Complex, Film & TV, Race | Tags: body image, hair, Pop Culture, viola davis, wendy williams
Queer Sisters Keep Saving Me: The Brilliantly Selfish Act of Being an Ally
Guest Post by Black Artemis Today is the first St. Valentine’s Day in three years in which I write a new blog about what this day means to me. In 2009 I wrote one wherein I recount why St. Valentine was a historical figure worthy of recognition especially in these times and reiterate my support for marriage equality. (These may seem like disparate themes, but trust me, they come together in the blog.) Rather than write a new post, I simply pulled The Spirit of Love and Resistance Behind St. Valentine’s Day from the archives and put it back into circulation every February 14th. …Read more »
Category: LBGT*QIQTSAA, Relationships, Self-Care | Tags: healing, heterosexism, liberation, love, queer, resistance, sexuality, Women of Color
Some Reflections on the Limits of Sainthood
How does one determine whether a law is just or unjust? A just law is a man made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law. To put it in the terms of St. Thomas Aquinas: An unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal law and natural law. Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust. All segregation statutes are unjust because segregation distorts the soul and damages …Read more »
Category: Activism, Capitalism, Politics, Race | Tags: activism, letter from birmingham jail, Martin Luther King, Politics, sainthood
Close Kin & Distant Relatives: Some Thoughts on Family
Folks who know me know that I have family on the brain. I am writing a book on family as theme in contemporary black women’s literature. Right now I’m also teaching a survey course on African American literature, with family as the guiding theme and this is not the first time I have done so. Studying how folks write about family has been a major interest of mine since I was in college. I’ll let you in on a little secret. I am one of those people for whom their life’s work is, in some ways, a reflection of the …Read more »
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