Reina Gossett is a visionary and her work deserves prestige and compensation. As a writer and an organizer, I get a warm flush a few times a month when I get a shout out on social media from my many peers and colleagues in queer feminist POC networks. The last one that gave me real...
Author: Kuchenga (Kuchenga Shenje)
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Dear Rose McGowan, Here’s Why I Won’t Be Watching ‘Citizen Rose’
Rose McGowan seeks to bask in the glow of a compassion only reserved for white women whilst the footprints of her Doc Martens are pressed into our backs. I employ what one could call a ‘survivor’s leniency’. As a complex PTSD sufferer because of multiple sexual assaults, and the recipient of intense therapeutic support which...
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2017 IS THE YEAR WHITE FEMINISM CHECKED HERSELF INTO HOSPICE AND REFUSED TO DIE
May white feminism stay and die in 2017. They have really outdone themselves. My newsfeed curation is constantly being managed by my trigger-happy fingers that have turned ‘unfollow’ into a reflex reaction. Yet, I can be laughing uproariously at some delicious black comedy and I know on the horizon Becky Conquistador waits in her boat...
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If Rihanna Wants To Be Styled As Nefertiti, Y’All Can Keep Your Shady Remarks In The Trash Where They Belong
Perhaps Rihanna is a descendant of Nefertiti and this Vogue cover has some divine purpose. The truth is because of the genocide that was the slave trade, we’ll never know. When I first saw Rihanna’s November cover for Vogue Arabia I found her eye makeup mesmerizing. It’s quite possible the makeup artist used her limited-edition...
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Stella McCartney Did The Most British Thing Ever: She Stole From Africans
These mines so often plundered just keep on giving. And they keep on taking. Designer Stella McCartney dropped the ball. Perhaps she was too busy patting herself on the back for being a vegetarian who cares about the environment to care about being the epitome of British imperialism in the realm of cultural appropriation. For...
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Is Vogue UK Headed Toward Diversity Now That Edward Enniful Is The New Editor?
I am here for all that Edward Enniful’s appointment promises to those of us who believe media and the creative arts can change our world for the better. The shade was so real in late August when Naomi Campbell’s deliciously manicured finger graced the screen of her phone to press ‘post’. She sent a message that...
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Hoteps: Where Are We With Them Now?
The memes we cackle at which ridicule these hoteps may be hilarious, but the high numbers of followers and subscribers they garner suggest that many of us are still struggling with our “strong Black male” problem. I give Black men a lot of leeway. My mother taught me to. She viewed men as emotionally weaker...
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‘Check It’ is Tainted by the Neo-Colonial White Gaze
However much the directors of “Check It” claim to love the participants, a crime has still been committed in this trauma-porn production. In late Spring 2016, I posed for a photo shoot with my friend and activist Charlie Craggs. The publicity was for a self-defense class for trans women and our photographer was the incredibly...
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7 Trans and Gender Nonconforming Make-Up Artists To Follow On Instagram
There are thousands of online make-up artists to follow on Instagram and YouTube, but what about trans and gender non-conforming artists? What about artists who are welcoming towards us? We compiled a list of our favorite artists to look out for. 1. @brownbeautystandards – Don’t tell Tomi Lahren but Umber Ghauri is a professional make-up artist who specializes in...
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Reading Janet Mock’s ‘Surpassing Certainty’ As A Black Trans Woman
The power of Janet Mock rests in her accessibility and relatability. Goddesses must bless Amazon’s algorithms because in late spring 2014 Janet Mock’s bounteous afro halo was featured in a little thumbnail picture of related interests thanks to my previous purchases. In her first book, “Redefining Realness,” I gained a mentor who ushered me into...