Trigger Alert: The following is a meditation on sexual violence. This piece is in response to my previous post, “Won’t You Celebrate With Me?”, in which I discussed my experiences as a survivor of child abuse. Last year, I wrote a piece in which I declared myself a survivor of child abuse. That fact is […]
How To Say No: The “B” side to Self-Care
(This post is in response to Life Is Not A Fairytale: Black Women and Depression, one of our earlier and most popular posts.) It took me years to unlearn the habit of saying yes automatically when someone asked me for (or to do) something. So often had that single syllable fallen from my tongue that I […]
Single, Saved, and Sewn-In: The Gospel of Getting Your Hair Done
Like most conservative, fundamentalist, literalist Christian folks, I grew up believing that getting your hair done was a sin—the only sin, in fact, that ever made God tell an angel to go to hell. For years, my grooming experiences were laden with guilt. I routinely went years at a time without getting my hair professionally […]
Ten Crunk Commandments for Re-Invigorating Hip Hop Feminist Studies
This past weekend, the CFC attended the important Black and Brown Feminisms in Hip Hop Media Conference at UT San Antonio. We had a great time and were reminded of all the wonderful possibilities in the field of Hip Hop (and) Feminist Studies, and we thought we would share a summary of our presentation and […]
God’s Plan Ain’t Black Mother’s Dying Young
Yesterday I attended a funeral for a distant cousin, and I was angry throughout the entire service and for the rest of the day. I am still angry because we buried a 47 year black mother, and no one could tell me why. The family had to get an autopsy done to determine the cause […]
The Game Rewind (and Revise)
Last night, CF Asha and I chatted about BETs The Game. We discussed our overall opinion of the series as a whole and the Tuesday (3/1/11) episode specifically. As Crunk Feminist we pay particular attention to the linkages of race, gender, and popular culture and ask for the writers and producers to do better. We […]
On Watoto From The Nile- Letter to Lil Wayne
This musical open letter to Lil’ Wayne is getting lots of love! I want to join the chorus and give a big ol’ YAY to black girls creating media and saying what’s on their minds! Speaking back to Wayne’s misogyny is super important! That said, I wonder about the limits of such a message. Steve […]
The Year in Crunk: CFC Turns One!
Today is the 1-year anniversary of the CFC!!! We want to thank all of you for your support and your participation in this community. It has been an absolutely CrunkTabulous year! And the best is yet to come!!! This month in addition to our regular posts on politics, relationships, and pop culture, we’ll be featuring […]
“We Created A Circle”: Reflections on the CFC Retreat
We began making plans for our first Crunk Feminist retreat months in advance. The first attempt, in May, failed because of an unexpected death in Brittney’s family. We initially planned a workshop-like gathering in Atlanta on Emory’s campus but the postponement, coupled with hectic schedules and life’s work, lasted one year. Our second attempt, scheduled […]
What’s Love Got To Do With it? Attacks on Reproductive Justice
Everything. Love has everything to do with it. I’ll explain. This month we’ve been talking about love in many of its forms here at the CFC. In another corner of our world, though unfortunately one in which we all still live and try our best to love, there is an ongoing attack on women, our […]