2314 Search results for "child"

What do you do when childhood trauma makes you close off from the care you need to heal it?
Editor’s Note: June is LGBTQ Pride Month. At BYP, we will be exploring gender, sexuality, transgender issues and queer theory, and we are interested in publishing works that address these topics and the things surrounding them. We want to hear from you! Send us your pitches at info@blackyouthproject.com My parents love me more than anyone […]
The trans child in me still needs to feel wanted
by Jamila Dawn Mitchell I’m writing this because I need to feel wanted. That’s it. It may sound selfish to most. To a psychologist, though, this makes sense. Most things we do are done in spite of our desire to want to be loved. The sense of belonging is the essence of our humanity and […]
How my experience as a Black man working with children was tainted by racism
Editor’s Note: This month at BYP, we will be exploring Education & Schooling, and we are interested in publishing works that address these topics. What are the implications of charter and private schools in communities of color? How do we counteract anti-Black textbooks and teachers in our childrens’ education? How did you heal from bullying […]
The ghost of the racist “father of modern gynecology” is still killing Black infants & child-bearers
By Naomi Alexis The so-called “father of modern gynecology”, James Marion Sims, trafficked in enslaved Black women, likely impregnating them through rape, in scientific experimentations for the purpose of advancing his career in medicine. When experimenting on these enslaved women, he did so without anesthesia. He developed tools through trial and error and repeatedly performed […]
The Child and The Question Asker, a short story
CW: Mention of child loss Everything is a cult. All flesh is bound to shift. Religion is a cloak, pockmarked with heartache, torture, and selfishness. These are the facts of my world, its edges stacked on top of each other and topped with salty syrup. Life is an ever revolving door of orange desert sand […]
Black daughters and genderqueer children need your protection too, not just your sons
by Zesiro Maji This essay discusses Black death and racist state violence against Black children Timelines and headlines are saturating Black people with images, stories, and video clips of Black Death. It’s a somber, sobering reminder of the grim reality of what it means to be a Black person in America. The unrelenting violence against […]
Comic: The cishet obsession with children’s genitals is really weird, and transphobic
Soft Content Warning: Physical Trauma involving babies (circumcision) and vague allusions about adult fascination with underage genitals. by JeCorey Holder So I’ll just go ahead and ask: when are straight people going to unpack their weird obsession with children’s genitals? In the same vein as people who claim a firm pro circumcision stance and then […]
Gameschooling is a critical tool that helps Black children learn
by Tonya Abari Tanya Butler grew up on the backroads of a small, predominantly white Pennsylvania town. Much of her time was spent at her grandparents’ home, playing games with her younger siblings and cousins. Nights filled with shuffling and double-dealing weren’t about winning or losing–they were about learning. Games taught Butler and her […]
Combating colorism: All Black children are worth defending
This essay contains discussions of r/pe and sexual violence against and the trafficking of missing Black women and girls “One after another referred her to Missing Persons, to Juvenile Court, to her neighborhood service center, to family counseling. She was a customer come too soon to the new store, stock not yet in, sales personnel […]
Protecting Black children should never mean re-injuring them, owning them, or denying their sexual autonomy
by Donnie Moreland This essay contains discussions of domestic violence and sexual assault Ruminations of my daughter’s hypothetical death play on repeat, ever since her birth. I’ve accepted them as inescapable conditions of parenthood—Black parenthood especially. I also believe the story of Julia Martin’s death in 2016 partially informs my anxieties in raising a daughter. […]
Comic: Homophobia and the weird double standards it creates about indecency with children
by JeCorey Holder Content Warning: This essay mentions pedophilia and childhood sexual abuse On today’s episode of Straight People Seem to be Physically Incapable of Minding Their Basic Heterosexual Business, let’s talk about the highly selective ignorance folks seem to lean on in regards to exposing kids and babies to sexuality. Tell me why […]
Childhood trauma and pornographic visions of the Black phallus made me ashamed of masturbation
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. This […]