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 [...]
Tag Archives: Stereotypes
What we talk about when we talk about ‘tokenism’
Here’s something I’ve been ruminating on for a while, forcibly brought to the forefront of my mind given recent events, so apologies if it’s not terribly coherent. A quick perusal of comments sections across the breadth of the internet throws up the ‘but do you want tokenism?’ defence. I mean, practically every comment section has [...]
Why I Love… Candles
Among the many shimmering stars – yoghurt, crispbreads/rice cakes, Special K – of the GirlPlanet™ firmament, candles are right up there as a cultural signifier of girlieness. No, don’t deny it. I have done the (completely unscientific) research: all my girl friends have candles. All of them. Some are used as fancy air fresheners in [...]
The Electrician Always Buzzes Twice
Perception is a powerful thing. What we see, and what we think when we look are inextricably linked in the dark and murky recesses of our brains. I was thinking of this last Thursday afternoon, after the fire alarm in my building went off.
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:
Posted in America, Magazines, Society
Also tagged Feminism, Glamour, Men and Women, Relationships, Survey, WTF
10 Responses
The Friday Pretty: Hipsters
A short one for you all today, soz. Like last week, I struggled for a theme. But then an article about hating hipsters made me think; in the middle of all this loose hate, surely there must be some hipsters we like? Personally, though I mock mercilessly, I’m all for hipsters. They’re having fun with [...]
Black Fridays: We’re Still Using ‘Jungle Fever’? Really?
It’s Friday, I’m Black – it’s Black Friday! First things first – sincere apologies for the brevity of this post, but I am in the process of moving house. My mind seems to have been packed with the rest of my belongings – I have a feeling it’s nestling somewhere between the DVDs and books… [...]
Posted in America, Black Fridays, Fashion, Magazines, Movies, Society, Style
Also tagged Black People, Fashion, Jungle Fever, Magazines, Popular Culture, Race, The African Experience
5 Responses
Black People Don’t Camp, And White People Don’t Drink Supermalt*
It’s true. I read it in the paper. Of course, the kneejerk reaction is to say huffily, “Well, that’s just a stupid generalisation!” Which it is, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t true. I say this as someone who actively enjoys camping, loves to go hiking, and will traipse quite merrily around an old property for hours.
How Does Your Bookshelf Stack Up/Break Down?
I recently finished Stranger In A Strange Land, a collection of Gary Younge’s journalism in his role as the Guardian‘s New York correspondent; I can’t recommend it highly enough. Each piece is perfectly pitched – he’s a very fluent writer, and his convictions bleed through everything he writes. I love the way he writes; his [...]
Posted in Books, Culture, Identity, Literature, Society
Also tagged 'Lady Things', Author, Feminism, Literature, Men and Women
3 Responses
Srsly, U Guys? SRSLY?
I can’t believe someone got paid actual legal tender, i.e. money – and not, you know, potatoes – for this piece I spotted over on Yahoo! earlier today. When I saw the title – 10 surprising signs that they’re interested - my left eye began to twitch; a sign akin to Peter Parker’s spidey senses tingling. By the time I’d finished [...]
Identity Politics
This post is coming out on the day we Brits will be going to the polls for the general and local elections. 2010′s election campaign is one that we’ll not soon forget, I think. The live debates, the emergence of the Liberal Democrats as a viable ‘top 2′ party, bigotgate, the scary waxiness of Mr Cameron… [...]
Posted in Black Fridays, Culture, Identity, London, Politics, Society
Also tagged BNP, Election, London, Nick Griffin, Race, Religion
5 Responses
Welcome To Lagos
It got a little neglected by the audience, what with the first of the televised Leaders’ Debates on ITV1 (Boo! Hiss! Whisper it, a little bit boring!), but at 9pm last Thursday night, BBC2 aired the first in a three-part series called Welcome To Lagos. I was alerted to the programmes by blogger Vex In The City, [...]
Posted in Black Fridays, Identity, Television
Also tagged BBC, Black People, Nigeria, Telly, The African Experience, Welcome To Lagos
6 Responses
The (Imagined?) Politics of The R&B Music Video
Please excuse the incoherence that’s about to unfold. So there I was in the gym yesterday, running 10 kilometres (WOO!) to nowhere, when the new Timberlake and Timbaland video came on. Accordingly, and with the appropriate amount of consideration behind it, here are a few rambling thoughts on R&B videos. (FYI, I’m including all mainstream ‘Black’ [...]
Posted in America, Music, Politics, Society
Also tagged Feminism, Justin Timberlake, Music, Music Videos, R&B, Race
5 Responses
From Naija With Love
I was all done for the year, I swear. Then this fool gets all up in my grill, with his seasonal humdinger of a news story. Dammit, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, you just couldn’t be cool! You just had to attempt a terrorist act on a plane from Amsterdam to Detroit. You just had to have ‘links [...]
Posted in America, Nigeria, Politics
Also tagged Africa, Al Qaeda, America, Heroes, Jasper Schuringa, Nigeria, Terrorism, The African Experience, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab
2 Responses
All Singin', All Dancin'
Many years ago, my sister took me along to a comedy showcase at one of the most fantastic, diverse and yet criminally underrated theatres in London, Theatre Royal Stratford East [Gerry Raffles Square, E15]. That evening, we sat in the packed audience, enjoying the comedic talents of Geoff Schumann, Curtis Walker and I think a young(er) Richard [...]
Posted in Culture, Identity, London, Radio, Theatre
Also tagged Advertising, Black People, Choice FM, Music, Radio
2 Responses
