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No Romance Without ⊠Resistance?
âPeople have to start respecting the vagina. Until every man is fighting for our rights, we should consider stopping having sex.â âJanelle MonĂĄe text Come again? In a recent interview with Marie Claire, singer Janelle MonĂĄe discussed her ideas when it comes to participating in resistance. Iâm not going to lie: As a hot-blooded, fully…
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Is There a Method to Being Messy? The Doâs and Donâts of Airing Dirty Laundry
It was the âhell hath no furyâ moment many women have had ⊠and even more wish theyâd had. A good, old-fashioned read for an utter and complete filth-of-a-no-count man and his side hustleâbroadcast for the salacious awe and delight of anyone active on black Twitter. With a single post titled, âOpen Letter to My…
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I Am My Trans Sisterâs Keeper
Mesha Campbell. Jamie Lee Wounded Arrow. JoJo Striker. Keke Collier. Chyna Gibson. Ciara McElveen. Jaquarrius Holland. Their names and faces lit up my laptop in a macabre montage. In the first few months of 2017, seven transgender women have been murderedâfour within a single week, and most of them black. It is the continuation of…
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Gary From Chicagoâs Redemption Road: Whom Do We Forgive and When?
Well, so much for 15 minutes of fame. Gary Alan Coeâor, as we lovingly (and laughingly) came to know him, âGary from Chicagoââbarely got five to enjoy being a media darling after the unexpected hilarity he brought to Sunday nightâs Oscars ceremony. Aside from the surprise ending (and triumphant underdog win of Moonlight), most agreed…
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Donât Hurt Yourself: Unicorns Arenât Real and Youâre Not a Special Snowflake
Many moons ago, fresh off an unexpected achievement and gaining a toehold in both the music industry and the fun, freewheeling network that was once Twitter, I decided to celebrate my unlikely success with the social media tagline, âJust your average Grammy-nominated goddess next door … may I borrow some sugar?â Playful? Yes. Obnoxious? Perhaps;…
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âBad Bitchâ Gone Bawse: An Ode to Amber Rose
Amber, I think I owe you an apology. Not because Iâve ever disparaged you; I havenât. By contrast, I was likely dismissiveânot always an easy task, given how strikingly you present. But I now consider it a blind spot in my personal brand of feminism (womanism), since admittedly, Iâve clearly never given you the credit…
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My Black History: The Case for Black Art in an Anti-Presidential Era
Editorâs note: During Black History Month, the focus is usually on historical figures who loomed larger than life, paving the way for the progress we experience today. But black history isnât just about telling stories of our past. History is being made every day and has been made throughout our lives; itâs not just in…
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Ainât I a Woman: Marching ForwardâWhat Now?
They came. They saw. They marched. Did you? Full disclosure: I didnâtâprimarily for logistical reasonsâbut I watched in awe last Saturday as my social media feeds became a sea of pink pussy hats and cleverly worded signs, courtesy of friends and family attending womenâs marches worldwide. As promised and in overwhelming numbers, on the first…
