America’s criminal justice system is one that continually targets and disrupts the lives of Black mamas and caregivers everywhere. By Gloria Oladipo Black mothers in the United States are constantly under attack. Among crises such as medical racism in maternal care and continual demonization, Black mothers disproportionately face the threat of incarceration. For the 219,000 […]
Main Content
Race
The Birth of Baby Sussex Isn’t The Promise of a ‘New World’ Free of Racism
Baby Sussex is certainly important in terms representation and symbolism, but we have to reckon with the idea that representation alone isn’t ...
Black Youth Project 100 Launches Campaign Against Gender-Based Violence
Black women, girls, gender non conforming people and femme folk need options beyond the police when dealing with gender-based violence. This ...
Body Politics
How Postpartum Bodies Are Affected By Fatphobia
Being pregnant is complicated and societal standards for postpartum bodies can breed parent to child resentment. Parents struggling with image ...
I Am What They Fear: Healing From Eating Disorders While Fat
I could understand that we share an illness that makes us fear food and desire thinness, but the realities of a fat girl with an eating disorder ...
LGBTQ+
What Gender Is My Brain? The Dangerous Phrenology of “Brain Sex”
History raises cause for concern about the stakes associated with relying upon brain imaging to dictate the source of transgender identity. By ...
‘Women and Femmes’ Is Not As Inclusive As We Want It To Be
It needs to be understood that this fight isn't about a "battle of the sexes" but about revolutionizing our understanding of gender structures. ...
Culture
On Black Widow and The Expendability of Childless Women
Natasha’s “sacrifice” sends the detestable message that the only value that childless women have to our larger society is in death. This essay ...
What Olivia Munn and Lizzo Get Wrong About Art Criticism
The reality is that celebrity careers rely on the expertise of critics. On Thursday, Olivia Munn tweeted two pages of a response she had in ...
More
How Thanos Fits Into Real-World Myths of Overpopulation and Scarcity
The Marvel Cinematic Universe may be a fantasy, but it is always worth it to analyze the ways in which media narratives align with, highlight, and bring into question the dynamics of our reality. “Overpopulation ...
TIME Magazine and the Process of Revictimization
The simple act of featuring both Christine Blasey Ford and Brett Kavanaugh within the same pages shows how unwilling society is to dismantle r/pe culture. By Anuhya Bobba This essay contains mentions of r/pe, ...
The Unbearable Weight of Fatphobia: A Conversation with Samantha Irby
"I don't wanna have to teach a lesson on Health At Every Size just to get through every conversation in my day. I'm just trying to live my life.” This interview contains spoilers for season one of Hulu's “Shrill” ...
Five Non-Binary People On Their Favorite Parts of Transitioning
Even within the LGBTQIA community, non-binary issues are largely misunderstood, or ignored altogether. “There were days I felt like a girl and days I felt like a boy, and those days wouldn't always correspond ...
The Caste System is the Biggest Hindrance to the Feminist Movement in India
It is important for us to recognize those who have been victims of the caste system and strive to uplift them. By Jhilam Gangopadhyay TW: mentions of sexual assault in this article The majority of India is ...
You Haven’t Seen What Arlan Hamilton is Capable of Yet
“Who I work for, who I answer to is that Black woman in the back, who I need to reach with my voice.” You may have already heard of LA-based trailblazer Arlan Hamilton, the founder of boutique venture firm ...
Lori Lightfoot and the Limits of Representation
Lori Lightfoot’s Chicago makes a staunch commitment to the values of her predecessor: the destruction of Black and Brown communities and the hoarding of wealth for Chicago’s 1%. By Gloria Oladipo I wish I were ...
It’s More Than A Check: Understanding Reparations
The reparations movement is not a new one, and conversation around reparations aren't either. In recent news, there has been a lot of talk about reparations from U.S. politicians. From Bernie Sanders and ...
The Transgender and Khawaja Sira Communities: Shared Struggles and Tensions
The issues of the Transgender and Khawaja Sira communities within Pakistan today may be similar, but they are both different communities in their own right. By Manaal Farooqi Conversations about transgender ...
What ‘One Day At A Time’ Meant for the Latinx Family in Media
"One Day At A Time" gave viewers an ode to Latinx women in a way that no other show had. By Lory Martinez This month, Netflix announced the cancellation of critically acclaimed series “One Day at A Time” ...
Florida Lawmakers Are Working Hard to Bring Back Racist Poll Taxes
Aiming to mitigate the impact of a new felon enfranchisement measure, Republican lawmakers are turning to Jim Crow like policies. Republicans typically don't like taxes, unless they’re poll taxes. Last week a ...
The Brilliance of Lupita Nyong’o and Black Womxnhood in ‘Us’
Adelaide's fight feels like a reflection of the stories of countless Black womxn, both known and unknown to me. This essay contains spoilers for “Us” Lupita Nyong'o is the best part of Jordan Peele's latest ...
Queer Black Muslim Women Are Still Kept Out Of The LGBT+ Community
Our bodies are all read within social and political contexts. But, some of us are never read as anything beyond bodies. By Vanessa Taylor “Thank you for coming,” a white person told me as they eagerly shook my ...
KNOW HER NAME: Cheryl L. Bedford is Changing Hollywood for Women of Color
“We are the only ones who elevate everyone.” Opportunities for women of color in film and entertainment are severely limited. The status quo for Black women in Hollywood reflects their realities across ...
BURLESQUE: Using Our Bodies as a Form of Resistance and Joy
In this photo essay for #BodyPositivityInColor, burlesque performer Janna Zinzi (a.k.a. jazabel jade) writes about the transformative power of burlesque, its importance to Black and Brown dancers and body acceptance ...
Chelsea Clinton and The Insidiousness of Islamophobia
It is an insidious iteration of white supremacy that vilifies Dweick while simultaneously positioning Clinton’s demeanor as that of a victim. By Anuhya Bobba Last Friday, Chelsea Clinton attended a New York ...
A Call-In: What Terry Crews Got Wrong And How He Can Fix It
Those who consider themselves allies and male feminists need to learn how to listen to the communities they claim to support. By Sherronda J. Brown and Lara Witt It's been more than a week since Terry Crews ...
Captain Marvel Isn’t Interested In What Men Have To Say
Captain Marvel accurately depicts the reality of what being talked at by men is like. This essay contains spoilers for "Captain Marvel" “Captain Marvel” is an ode to the 90s, and to the power of womxn and the ...
The Silent Scream That Is Cosplay
In this essay by TaLynn Kel for #BodyPositivityInColor, she discusses the politics of cosplay, how she navigates it as a fat, Black woman and why it is a liberatory form of self-expression for non-normative bodies. ...
‘Captain Marvel’ and the Power of Women’s Emotions
Captain Marvel serves as reminder that emotional, compassionate, angry, resilient, brave, loud girls and women are dangerous to oppressive structures. This article contains spoilers for the Marvel film, “Captain ...
Nothing About Being Black is Easy, Including Our Hair Care.
Black people are allowed to be honest about our struggle with natural hair. Twitter is an interesting place. There are always arguments and debates happening, many of them inconsequential to my existence. But ...
How Men Can Be Slightly Less Trash
Cisgender men need to intentionally open themselves up to more than just their own perspectives, opinions and experiences. Cisgender men often ask me what they can do as “allies” or “accomplices” to women, ...
Brooklyn Nine-Nine Shows How to Discuss #MeToo in Pop Culture
The latest episode is completely honest about how complicated sexual assault cases are and how women are constantly forced to choose between ourselves, our careers, our livelihoods, and justice. This essay ...
BLACK: An Apology to My Skin—Lovechild of the Sun
In this letter for #BodyPositivityInColor Asia Renée apologizes to her skin for not cherishing it—its richness, its history and its significance as part of her identity. She acknowledges how she was raised without ...
The Erasure of Cy Lauz’s Trans-Focused Lingerie Line
In attempts to celebrate one woman's work, reports disregarded the work of another. In 2013, Cy Lauz soft launched Chrysalis, a lingerie line catering exclusively to trans women. After she had consistent ...
We Need To Banish White Supremacy From Eating Disorders Treatment
For National Eating Disorders Awareness Week, Gloria Oladipo explores the difficulties of receiving treatment as a Black woman and the ways in which the treatment can and should improve by tackling colonialism and ...
Yalitza Aparicio Is Still A Winner
Though Aparicio didn’t win the Oscar, she is still a beacon of hope, a symbol of what indigenous representation could potentially be. By Ruby Mora Yalitza Aparicio has had a bright spotlight on her since her ...
Don’t Forget That Black Womxn Worked To Make R. Kelly Face Consequences
This has been a long, long road marked by Black womxn’s activism. This essay contains discussion of sexual violence against Black girls and womxn. The Chicago Sun-Times reported earlier today that singer R. ...
How Do We Black Queer Folks Talk About Jussie Smollett?
We were right in our willingness to believe Jussie's initial account, given the propensity of white violence and the dystopian reality QTBIPOC live in. This morning, Jussie ...
Yeah, I’m a Bitch.
This body is mine I’ll flip my open sign And I’ll be a bitch as I please. By Cecily Thomas Yeah, I’m a bitch. But I’m not your “Hmph, bitch” I’m that fat bitch. that bitch. I’m the one you ...
Stop Mourning Oppressors: Anti-Condolences For Karl Lagerfeld
The fashion industry continued to let this terrible person hold a place of high-esteem and reduced his commentary to Lagerfeld simply being a bit eccentric. Chanel’s creative director, Karl Lagerfeld, died at 85 ...
DYKES: Our Sexuality Pushes Beyond the Limits of Cisheteronormativity
In their piece for #BodyPositivityInColor, Gisela Factora explores how societal perceptions of lesbianism are often boiled down to a single experience instead of a complex and varied tapestry, and how those ...
MESSY: Body Positivity Means Telling The Whole Truth And Finally Putting Myself First
In this essay accompanied with concept-collage images, Negesti Kaudo reflects on what body positivity means to her, on whether she is ready to reclaim the word "fat", and how she used art as a medium to ...
Mo’Nique’s Integrity Throws A Spotlight On Steve Harvey’s Lack Of It
Harvey has shown us time and again his investment in Black capitalism, in catering to the white gaze, and his disdain for Black women Yesterday, a clip from Steve Harvey’s talk show went viral. In it, he overtalks ...
Ilhan Omar Has Nothing to Apologize For
Ilhan Omar threatens the congressional heterodoxy on Israel, which represents the interests of the Zionist lobby, not the Jewish people. By Jordan Valerie On Monday, the political establishment helped the ...
UNRULY: Subverting Body Terrorism By Celebrating Black Hair
As part of our #BodyPositivityInColor campaign and in recognition of Black History Month, Sherronda J. Brown writes about the larger implications of society’s policing of natural Black hair through a lens that ...
UGLY: How Beauty Was Built Upon White Supremacy
In this essay for #BodyPositivityInColor, Vanessa Rochelle Lewis explores the concept of "ugly" and how it depends on white supremacist, colonialist, cisheteronormative, misogynistic, and ableist constructs of what ...
Why Activists and South Asian Women Oppose Neomi Rao’s Nomination
Neomi Rao’s views on sexual assault, race, LGBTQ rights, affirmative action, and disability rights are nothing short of alarming. This article contains mentions of sexual assault and victim-blaming On Tuesday, a ...
There Is No Liberation For All Bodies Without The Liberation of Fat Black Women And Femmes
In her piece for our #BodyPositivityInColor campaign, Sydney Greene writes about how the body positivity community centers and celebrates cisgender, thin, white women and erases why we need fat acceptance and ...
How Mainstream Body Positivity Has Failed Us
To launch our #BodyPositivityInColor campaign, Sherronda J. Brown discusses why the mainstream movement needs an intervention and how decolonizing our ideas about body composition and function, while centering ...
