47 Search results for "taboo"

What We Carry: A Coming-of-Age Tale of Grief, Therapy, and Reckoning
by Christian M. Ivey “What We Carry” is a powerful coming-of-age story that follows Drew, a young Black college student grappling with grief, anxiety, and the long shadow of racial trauma. Get yo ass up, Drew! My alarm rang, a nasty, raggedy rang, almost soundin’ like it was yellin’ at me. Get yo ass up, […]
Being a bi grey asexual means continually redefining desire away from limiting social constructs
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 By Latonya Pennington I knew that I […]
Richard Akuson: the ‘A Nasty Boy’ editor talks the future of his queer fashion magazine and life as an asylum seeker in the U.S.
by Kathleen Anaza Richard Akuson obtained a level of success and visibility that could be the envy of many young people around the world. Before the age of 25, he was a licensed lawyer and opened a boutique PR firm within the Nigerian economy’s all-time highest youth unemployment rate. With all this success, his most […]
Despite appropriation, vampiric whiteness will never be able to suck the blood out of Black art
I haven’t trusted Billie Eilish since I became aware of her nearly a year ago. The context in which I learned about her was a valid and necessary social media post which lamented how fucked up it is that Eilish has apparently gone out of her way to dress “modestly” so as to not be […]
Black women face greater scrutiny than white women for being polyamorous
The societal impact of straying from what is considered a norm is greater for Black people than it is for our white counterparts. by Sarah Thomas Of the many places to learn about my sexuality, That 70’s Show was as good as any. There were tons of make-out scenes and implied sex during its […]
These 2 films reveal the powerful ways Black queer women find pleasure despite heteronormative violence
By Kim M Reynolds Audre Lorde defines the erotic as a “creative source,” something that is incredibly generative and “self-affirming in the face of a racist, patriarchal, and anti-erotic society.” The erotic functions as a respect for life, a recognition and practice of intentionality and sense of love that combats the individualistic and oppressive world […]
Black women speak to being socialized to fear their own pleasure, & what we can do about it
By Caroline Colvin For a subset of society whose bodies are so sexualized, so desired, and so sought-after, Black women and femmes as a whole feel a substantial amount of shame when it comes to our sexuality. When you’re a Black woman or femme, pop culture encourages you to be the video vixen — or, […]
Shame and fear prevent Black teens from going to the gynecologist
By Victoria Daniels Editor’s Note: This Sexual Health and Awareness month, we will be exploring related issues at BYP, and we are interested in publishing works that address these topics. What does sexual health look like outside of cishetero norms? Where does the #MeToo movement go from here? What can we do to better support […]
As the state increasingly regulates our health, Black women are finding freedom in herbal medicine
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.
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 […]
Menstrual cups are for Black people, too
by Neesha Powell-Twagirumukiza I’m on a self-ordained mission in the name of periods. A few months ago, I came across a story in Teen Vogue about Black people who menstruate and are disgusted by menstrual cups. As a Black menstruator whose quality of life improved once I began using menstrual cups, I charged myself with […]
How learning to work with my Ancestors created a relationship of reciprocity and parental support
by Taylor Amari Little My Ancestors are my protectors. No, really. Truly ride or die. It is imperative that you know this. As you probably know, sometimes parents ain’t shit. Though this is nothing unusual of cisgender heterosexual men in U.S. society. For me, that was my father who was absent for the majority of […]