Everyone calls me Bim. Everyone. For most of my life that’s what I’ve gone by. Bim. B-I-M. Three letters, one syllable. Bim. When I was concerned by these things, I would lament its cuteness – “that’s not a sexy name,” I would think. I would put on Billy Crystal’s voice and paraphrase his line from [...]
Category Archives: America
Pulphead aka ‘Sir, do you have a permit for your excellence?’
I am currently reading Pulphead, a collection of essays and magazine journalism from the pen of John Jeremiah Sullivan. I’m about halfway through, and I have already come to an awful realisation: I must never meet Mr Sullivan. If I do, I will probably babble, try and kiss his hands and maybe cry a little. [...]
In Praise of Girlfriends
Source All the talk of Lena Dunham’s new show, Girls, has had me looking into the annals (heh) of popular culture, searching for the representation so sorely lacking in Ms Dunham’s HBO creation. So, a quick question: Do any of the names on the t-shirt above ring any bells for you? They should. For eight [...]
Also posted in Culture, Identity, Television
Tagged Girlfriends, Girls, Popular Culture, Race, Telly
4 Responses
Are The Players Playing?
I’m currently in a job which gives me Fridays off. I’m so grateful for it – as well as having a designated day of non-work writing, it allows me to have a lie-in on a weekday (woo!), and I get to do the necessary-but-boring stuff like paying bills and returning library books.
Oh, hell no!*
*I want you all to imagine that in the sharp tones of authoress Ms Maya Wilkes (played by actress Golden Brooks in much-missed sitcom Girlfriends) Tuesday afternoon’s rain brought with it a thick fug of wild rumours of the demise of the relationship between Will Smith and Jada Pinkett. (And of course, the firm assurances [...]
Also posted in Humour, Love, Movies, Society
Tagged Break Ups, Men and Women, Relationships, WTF
3 Responses
Why I Love… Awkward Black Girl
Do you harbour fantasies of being the greatest dancer at the party even though all evidence suggests otherwise? Do you stare at your co-workers, incredulous, because you have no idea how to connet with such cretins? Do you hate your boss, but channel your work-based rage into offensive gangsta rap lyrics? Do you often find [...]
Also posted in Humour, Identity, Television, Video, Why I Love...
Tagged 'Lady Things', Black Girls Rock, Funnies, Internet, Women
1 Response
Who You Callin’ Nappy?
Well this is embarrassing. I am the blogger who cried wolf: “I’m taking a blogging break, everybody! Yup, two months!” I said. “No, I can’t stay – I NEED A BREAK.” And then I returned, and not even a full week has passed. But don’t worry – this is only a small relapse into the [...]
PLUG!
Another thing I wrote for The Guardian, about Men’s Health‘s new feminist blogger here, for your ease and my ego. You love it. (Right?)
Cokes and Fantas
Last week, someone retweeted some ridiculousness into my Twitter feed. No need for me to set it up, take a look at the nonsense: THIS CAN’T BE LIFE.
The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same
Last week, I clicked a link on The Hairpin, which led me to a 1,000-man survey from the American magazine, Glamour (except they called it the ‘Extra-Hot, Extra-Juicy Guy Survey, obvs). So I went through the 50-page slideshow, stopping and extracting the most interesting answers to me. Below is a small selection of those:
Also posted in Magazines, Society
Tagged Feminism, Glamour, Men and Women, Relationships, Stereotypes, Survey, WTF
10 Responses
Black Fridays: What’s Race Got To Do With It?
I read a fantastic piece on Jezebel several months back, written by Danielle Belton of The Black Snob. The article was about the tiers of commercial celebrity gossip which exist within mainstream media. Citing the then-recent Alicia Keys/Swizz Beats nuptials, Belton explained why the mainstream media did not mention the controversy surrounding their union – [...]
Also posted in Black Fridays, Identity, Music
Tagged Black People, Childhood, Labels, Music, Music Videos, R&B, Race, The Opposite of Joy, WTF
6 Responses
You Better Call Tyrone…
I just read a sequence of tweets which had me crying with laughter. They came from the feed of @BabylonSista, who you should follow if you’re on Twitter. Enjoy: So, my little sister was about 4 yrs old & just getting into Xmas. She was being rowdy & Dad told her to calm down or [...]
Badass Women: Claudette Colvin & Rosa Parks
Today, 55 years ago, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. It was an incident that would spark one of the biggest and most well-known chapters in the Civil Rghts Movement. The resulting bus boycott gave us several of the iconic images of the CRM and Rosa Parks [...]
Also posted in Love, Politics, Society
Tagged Black Girls Rock, Black People, Civil Rights Movement, Claudette Colvin, Feminism, Joy, Race, Rosa Parks, Women
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Virgin Territory
After a lifetime of taking my life lessons from the big screen, I’ve learned that losing your virginity is fun. On the metaphorical journey of losing one’s innocence, you get to bond with your friends, perhaps even go on a road trip. A lot of the time ‘crazy’ misunderstandings happen, leaving you in embarrassing situations, [...]
Also posted in Identity, Movies, Society
Tagged 'Lady Things', Film, Men and Women, Movies, Sex, Virginity on Film
5 Responses
Black Girls Rock!
On Saturday night(!), I watched Black Girls Rock. I have my issues with BET – this network consistently commissions/buys/broadcasts ig’nant ish, and for that alone, I cannot fully get behind them. But with this, BET did good. Black Girls Rock is a non-profit organisation set up by former model and celebrity DJ Beverly Bond, to [...]
Also posted in Identity, Love, Review, Society, Television
Tagged Black Girls Rock, Black People, Feminism, Race, Telly, Women
4 Responses
