My body was meant for pleasure, not pain. I came to this realization while listening to a podcast. In this Very Special Episode devoted to the Black Lives Matter movement we are living in, the hosts were discussing all of the risks associated with attending protests. It wasn’t a matter of if things would turn…
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Black Women You Should Read to Add Richness to Your Bookshelf (& News Feed)
We are actively living through a revolution. In the midst of pain and trauma, I have never in my life felt more hope for humanity and my own energetic possibility. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, people across the country sat at home for months not working. Stirring, collecting unemployment often without insurance, and reflecting on…
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Curvy Is Not the Watershed: Stephanie Buttermore & the Journey to Be “All In”-clusive
In a social media world obsessed with #looks and peach emoji captions, the influencer economy is booming. In the fitness community, thinness is the currency that guarantees you profit. In recent years, the typical fitgirl Instagram model look is the following: tanned (white) skin, pronounced muscular booty, small-but-perky breasts, and a snatched waist. With few…
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Kehlani’s ‘It Was Good Until It Wasn’t’ Is Part Heartbreak, Part Fixer-Upper
In her sophomore studio album It Was Good Until It Wasn’t, Kehlani is reflective on the love that was. After short-but-intense relationships with her baby daddy, Javaughn Young-White (comedian Jaboukie Young-White’s younger brother) and rapper YG, she is clearly considering her problematic relationship habits through song. Indeed, the song “Serial Lover” seems to address her…
Read MoreWho Were You Before?
I’ve been doing a lot of yoga and meditation lately. One of the binding themes of both practices is exploring one’s inner world. In guided practices, we are invited to acknowledge our thoughts, our intentions, our anxieties, and gently breathe them away for a short time. Sometimes, we are guided to consider more deeply our…
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Music Videos That Revived Pop Music in 2018
For most of the 2010s decade since about the mainstream descent of Lady Gaga, music videos have taken a dive. In my humble opinion, of course. Withh pop music turning more to the Spotify, hipster-friendly artists of the indies, the art of the music video has been somewhat lost in translation. When you have stars…
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Beyonce and the Politics of Black Joy
On Friday night (April 13), it was revealed that our government had launched millions of dollars worth of tomahawk missiles at Syria. In a move that seemed callous and maddeningly voyeuristic by Trump, it has been made clear in the days following that the attack was merely a show of force in 45’s never-ending pissing…
Read MoreI Can’t Thank Black Women Today
Alabama just wrapped up a Senate race between racist, sexist, pedophile Republican Roy Moore and Democrat Doug Jones. And by the grace of God (despite what Moore may have said in his refusal to concede), Jones narrowly won. As CNN and many other outlets have reported from exit polls, Jones’ win was handed to him…
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Linkin Park and the Space of the Vulnerable Man
As fans and former emo kids around the world know by now, Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington committed suicide last week at the age of 41. Fans mourned the loss of the singer, describing him as one of the great rock vocalists of our generation and the leader of a band that progressed the alternative…
Read MoreBut First You Must Endure: The TV Trope of Marginalized Characters Suffering Before They Succeed
If you know me IRL, you know that I am an avid wrestling fan — or specifically, a fan of WWE. I am a big cheerleader for the women’s division, and a large reason I was brought back to WWE fandom after a long hiatus was because I’d heard that the company was finally deciding…
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The Wordy Wench 