*** NOT WORK APPROPRIATE “Why Miss Celie, she say. You still a virgin.” –Alice Walker, The Color Purple “can/you touch yrself/&/when you do/ do you rush to say/ ‘get thee behind me/Satan?’” –Ntozake Shange, “intermittent celibacy” One. The First Lady and the girl are tarrying for anointing. She has spent her teenaged summer wondering why […]
Living Single
I hate the term single. Despite the fact that most of us come in to this world by ourselves and leave that way there’s an expectation of partnering in the interim. And while you are granted a bit more of a reprieve from single shade* in queerdom, there’s still a palpable partner privilege that operates. […]
Single, Saved, and Sexin’: The Gospel of Gettin’ Your Freak On
Note: This is the first post in our month long series on sex, love, and relationships. To protect the anonymity of the CFs and so that we may speak more freely, many of us will be posting this month under the Collective pseudonym CrunkAsHell. We will also let you know whenever a post is NSFW […]
The Revolution Televised: A Brief Primer on Egypt
Egypt has been all over the news lately, as Egyptians have lifted their voices in condemnation of despotic president, Hosni Mubarak. There are some key things to keep in mind as the events unfold: 1. Don’t get it twisted: this is a revolution. It has been called chaos, upheaval, civil unrest, an uprising, a challenge, […]
RE: Kanye West is Not a Feminist, but…
Crunktastic’s article is crossposted from our friends over at The Feminist Wire. I find myself both intrigued and troubled by Ron Neal’s recent TFW post, “Kanye West Is Not a Feminist, But…” Neal is absolutely spot on that Kanye displays a level of emotional vulnerability and complexity that is rare for Black male hip hop […]
Don’t Push Me Cuz I’m Close to the Edge: For Kelly Williams-Bolar
Kelly Williams-Bolar, a single mother of two daughters, ages 16 and 12, is serving day 9 of a 10-day suspended sentence in an Akron, OH jail for –wait for it – “records falsification” after modifying documents so that her daughters could attend school in a better school district than the ones near the subsidized housing […]
The Zen of Young Money: Being Present to the Genius of Black Youth
Guest post by Dr. Alexis Pauline Gumbs, friend of CFC, Wonder Twin of me 🙂 I fly with the stars in the skies,I am no longer trying to survive,I believe that life is a prize,But to live doesn’t mean you’re alive. Being Black: Zen and the Art of Living with Fearlessness and Grace, Angel Kyodo […]
Does this make me look Latina?
I was recently asked to give a presentation about women in the workforce to a group of Latina undergraduate students. After the panic about speaking in public wore off, I started asking myself, what could I possibly teach them? I started thinking about my experiences (as a student and professional) and how they have been […]
Why I Am Watching “The Game”
“It’s so crazy how these fans are so embedded and … attached to these story lines,” Tia Mowry said. “They actually think Melanie and Derwin are real.” I was one of the 7.7 million viewers who tuned in to watch The Game’s resurrection on BET last Tuesday. And I will also be in the number, […]
Meeting My Sister
Yesterday, I met my sister on Facebook. My mother’s only child, I have always wanted an older sister, someone wiser and cooler who could hip me to the ways of the world. I had replied to a cousin’s status update, an action that has become as commonplace as eating my morning bowl of cereal. When […]