482 Search results for "identity"

‘Mixed-ish’ and the anti-Black myth of post-racial insulated societies
Perhaps due to my own intentional insulation inside of a cultish virtual world of angry Black radicals, last week I witnessed an overwhelmingly negative response on social media to the trailer for mixed-ish, ABC’s upcoming black-ish spinoff. Originally conceived as an episode of black-ish, mixed-ish will focus on Rainbow Johnson’s (Tracee Ellis Ross) childhood growing […]
Mental Health Awareness Month shouldn’t be the only time I can talk openly about my mental health
Editor’s Note: May is Mental Health Awareness Month and National Masturbation Month. This is also the month that we celebrate Mother’s Day. At BYP, we will be exploring these topics alongside the theme of Imagination and the Arts, and we are interested in publishing works that address these topics and the things surrounding them. By […]
Queer Black folks talk about masturbation, confront shame, and affirm their right to self-pleasure
Editor’s Note: May is Mental Health Awareness Month and National Masturbation Month. This is also the month that we celebrate Mother’s Day. At BYP, we will be exploring these topics alongside the theme of Imagination and the Arts, and we are interested in publishing works that address these topics and the things surrounding them. Science […]
Morehouse’s new policy accepting trans men misses the point by clinging to the gender binary
By Ramon Johnson The Morehouse community has long had difficulties facilitating an inclusive campus environment for marginalized gender identities. This is particularly troubling given the high standards, goals, and ideals expressed as the foundational principles of the institution.
Black liberation requires making room for uncomfortable manifestations of mental illness
May is Mental Health Awareness Month and National Masturbation Month. This is also the month that we celebrate Mother’s Day. At BYP, we will be exploring these topics alongside the theme of Imagination and the Arts, and we are interested in publishing works that address these topics and the things surrounding them. We want to […]
How we failed Nigel Shelby and allowed the abuse he endured
This essay contains discussion of suicide and suicidal ideation. by Maximillian Matthews There was Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, Audre Lorde, Barbara Smith, bell hooks, RuPaul, James Earl Hardy, E. Lynn Harris, Essex Hemphill, Bayard Rustin, and of course, James Baldwin. I did not know about any of them when I needed them most. I […]
Theon never betrayed the Starks: How ‘Game of Thrones’ minimizes forced captivity & slavery
This essay contains spoilers for HBO’s Game of Thrones and mentions rape. We have finally reached the moment when the war between the Night King’s army of the dead and the Westerosi resistance begins, the cataclysmic event to which 8 seasons of one of the most groundbreaking television series have been leading up. Along the […]
Intergenerational trauma is gendered, and other life lessons from my Black mother & sister
Editor’s Note: April is Black Women’s History Month. Throughout this month, Black Youth Project is celebrating Black women. This month is also National Minority Health Month, Autism Awareness Month, Sexual Assault Awareness Month, Child Abuse Prevention Month. We are interested in publishing works that address these topics and the things surrounding them.
On being a Black cynic when the world’s laughter is so loud
by Donnie Moreland There is an old adage, from Black folk, which goes as follows, “We laugh to keep ourselves from crying.” It is strange that such a crudely simple sentiment could provide such a weighted testament to the trepidations, and fears, of an entire people. And yet I can think of very few words […]
In a world where my parents let me be as free as Dwyane Wade & Gabrielle Union let Zaya
How beautiful if nothing more than to watch her sashay down the catwalk. How beautiful to hear her parents cheering for this young girl as she strikes a pose, then another, then another—each more fierce than the last. I don’t even begrudge the black fanny pack strapped over her shoulder like the worst damn fashion […]
Being a “chooser” in a dating field that deems Black women undesirable
by Tracey Onyenacho I have only been on four dates in my entire life. The amount of rejections I have received when asking men out are countless. In the past, I did what I have always done and chalked the lack of interest up to the way I positioned myself in the dating field. Often, […]
I have no interest in “white allies”
By Gyasi Lake I have no interest in “white allies.” The construction of the white identity was implemented to unify white people across economic classes into an ideology that justified the further subjugation and exploitation of Black people, an ideology that holds true today. The concept of a white-identifying ally genuinely working in tandem with […]