#Sesali Bowen

[qbdatabase]

Growing up on the south side of Chicago, Sesali Bowen learned early on how to hustle, stay on her toes, and champion other Black women and femmes as she navigated Blackness, queerness, fatness, friendship, poverty, sex work, and self-love. 

Her love of trap music led her to the top of hip-hop journalism, profiling game-changing artists like Megan Thee Stallion, Lizzo, and Janelle Monae. But despite all the beauty, complexity, and general badassery she saw, Bowen found none of that nuance represented in mainstream feminism. Thus, she coined Trap Feminism, a contemporary framework that interrogates where feminism and hip-hop intersect.

Notes from a Trap Feminist offers a new, inclusive feminism for the modern world. Weaving together searing personal essay and cultural commentary, Bowen interrogates sexism, fatphobia, and capitalism all within the context of race and hip-hop. In the process, she continues a Black feminist legacy of unmatched sheer determination and creative resilience.

Bad bitches: this one’s for you.

[queerbauten]

okay girlies I have Plum points that expire on the 27th, so tell me which book I want to buy

[creepykuroneko]

Read! Read! Read!

Don't just read Nietzsche and think that makes you smarter than everybody else around you.

Read books published in different eras by various authors. Disabled authors, authors of color, women, non-binary, various lgbtq authors. Read the works of Malcolm x, Angela davis, James baldwin, Abbie hoffman, Sesali Bowen, Julissa Arce, and many more.

I'm about to clock into work but would love to add more to this later.

i made this as a reply to a repost of one of my own posts but i think its important enough to be its own post

If you want to be punk, listen to the music first, its incredibly diverse with diferent sub genres like hardcore, crust, D beat, power violence, street punk, oi, queercore, Anarcho-punk and riot grrrl.

IMPORTANT- listen to local punk bands and support your local scene and community

band recomendations-

-Black flags -Bad brains -Minor threat -Capitalist casualties -Circle jerks -Crass -Dead kennedies - DIscharge - Doom -Dystopia- Electro hippies- GBH - Nausia - No consent -Operation ivy -Subhumans -Zulu

For the dress sense, there are a ton of DIY vidoes on the internet. Don't buy anything expensive like those £200 jackets on the internet, they're a rip off. If you want to make patches, Anarcho-stencilism has a subreddit and deviant art full with stencils and a guide on how to make patches. Thrift stores are where its at for clothes since they're cheep

If you want to be punk, having the ethos is very important too. Anarchist politics(like mutual aid, squating and general anti-state/capitalst action) are very linked to punk as well as anti-fascism.

Don't be afraid of doing things wrong, we're very accepting in the punk community, as long as you don't give in to consumerism, listen to the music and support left wing(actual left wing not like democrats) politics then your likely to get along with almost everyone.

And beware of TikTok, theres alot of flase info on there and people who give bad advice.

Be gay do crime

(Im not an authority on punk, take this all with a pinch of salt. if you disagree with me on anything thats valid, punk has been around for a while now which means its gonna contradict itself sometimes and different people are gonna have different opinions on it since it is a living and evolving subculture)

[thingsreadinthedark]

RELATE RELATE RELATE.

Bruh. I do not give a fuck what others have to say about me because I love myself and I know that it’s a waste of time to hate yourself. Don’t waste your own time like that. Self-love is very important and it’s not easily won. When you’ve got it, don’t give it up for anyone.

[fat-psychward-sockgrippussy333]

Finally finished reading Bad Fat Black Girl by Sesali Bowen and I'm legit like

Likeeeeee

....

[katrinapavela]

I work very hard on my #Scandal analysis, which are my own original work/framing. This is a labour of love that I value, but it is still labour done for free. DO NOT PLAGIARIZE MY WORK FOR YOUR OWN PROFIT!

[stormqueen]

BOOKS READ IN 2022

Books 73-81 (1-9) (10-18) (19-27) (28-36) (37-45) (46-54) (55-63) (64-72)

Fine Print, vol 1 by Stjepan Šejić

Sirens and Muses by Antonia Angress

Autism in Adults by Dr Luke Beardon

Bad Fat Black Girl: Notes From a Trap Feminist by Sesali Bowen

Money Shot, vol 1 by Tim Seeley & Sarah  Beattie (authors), Rebekah Isaacs (artist) and Kurt Michael Russell (colourist)

Blackberry Wine by Joanne Harris

Mary, Queen of Scots by John Guy

America: Fast and Fuertona by Gabbi Rivera (author) and many artists

Not That Bad: Dispatches From Rape Culture, edited by Roxane Gay

My 2022 challenge for myself was 75 books, so this batch had me completing my yearly goal in October! Yay!

[jjksblackgf]

tag nine people you want to get to know better

tagged by @ressjeon and @sugakookitty my loves <3

fav color: black, black, and more black. sometimes yellow and orange

currently reading: bad fat black girl (notes from trap feminism) by sesali bowen

last song: another sad love song - toni braxton

last series: the office (us)

last movie: i'm not a movie girl lmao, the last one i watched was more than a year ago, and it was last holiday with queen latifah

sweet/spicy/savory: all of them

currently working on: some blowjob stuff, some dp stuff, we'll see which comes first...

(no pressure) tagging: @sweetestofchaos @rkivian @agustdef @pixieknj @baljinciaga @pjmsdior @namjinsmoonchile

[gabbaray]

rules: tag nine people you want to know better

tagged by @jvitzu 🙇🏾‍♀️ tysm!

three ships: zutara, naruhina, janine x gregory

first ever ship: probz mamoru and usagi from sailor moon or like ash and misty

last song: edge of great by julie and the phantoms

last film: encanto (i think?)

currently reading: bad fat black girl by sesali bowen

currently watching: rupaul’s drag race, grand crew, abbott elementary, demon slayer, ranking of kings

currently consuming: nada but lunch is soon

currently craving: the shake shack milkshake i got with my lunch!

tagging: @dasfreefree, @babyfairybaekhyun, @simplyyinspired, @leillee, @tokionj, @areafiftydun, @darlingaffogato, @jhenne-bean, @kaizoku-okubey

[shamelessrepresentation]

Shameless: The Ignorance of Liam’s Racial Identity and Problematic Portrayal of Veronica

Shameless, a show about the Gallagher family living in the South Side of Chicago, explores many different real-life issues such as alcoholism, financial problems, and family conflicts throughout this 11 season series. Although Shameless helps display many American problems in a truthful light, the representation of Black people in the show is problematic because of the whitewashing and harmful narratives that are displayed. In Shameless, all of the characters are predominately white, except for two characters, Liam and Veronica. This blog post will focus on the representation of these two characters in a series where everyone else is white.

Liam is the only Black child in the Gallagher family, and in the beginning seasons, he doesn't play much of a role considering his age and lack of verbal skills (Murphy, 62). Despite this, he still embodies Black representation on the show. (Murphy, 62). Liam becomes more known in season seven when he is given a free ride to a prestigious private school and season eight when he is more vocal. Although it’s not stated how Liam got a free ride, it soon becomes obvious he was to attend this school to be the school's token Black child. This notion is conveyed throughout season eight, such as episode one around 21:20, when the viewers watch as Liam is pulled numerous times from his class to be put in the playground that the tours walk by and the tour guide says they have diversity at the school. Here is one short video montage clip from multiple episodes showing Liam being taken away from his class: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjP2ejCz2m4 . Sesali Bowen talks about this in her article, "We Need To Talk About Shameless' New Liam & His New School." where Bowen says, "Unbeknownst to the Gallagher family, Liam was only allowed to attend his new private school to be their shining example of diversity, even at the expense of his education." And while this spotlights a real issue that happens regarding diversity quotas at schools, Shameless still falls short in representation due to whitewashing communities in the show and the Black characters, such as Veronica, fitting into racial stereotypes.

Pictured: Liam at his new private school being the only Black male there.

It isn't until season ten where Liam comes to terms with his racial identity and the whiteness his family and community have imposed on him and his life. Not only does whiteness occur in the show, but also Liam is mistreated often as well. Liam is used for all sorts of manipulative things like helping Frank, his father, steal things because his innocence is easy to take advantage of. Trin Moody says in the article, "Time To Get Critical About Representation in Shameless," says, "His family's ignorance of his identity is glimpsed over… [and] the characters give little acknowledgment to his mistreatment." When he decides to move in with Todd, a Black friend, and his family, he becomes connected with his ancestral roots. When he sees Todd's house is full of pictures of Black representation, including Obama, he feels welcomed and encouraged to accept his blackness. Therefore, Liam embraces his race and dismisses his family's disapproval of moving out and working on his identity. Liam’s change of identity is not only shown in his room decorations but also in how he dresses and looks with a new hairstyle, an afro. Liam also talks with a Black family member, Maver, who later becomes a mentor for Liam and teaches him how to live in America as a black man. Mavar is critical to Liam's development because he can connect with another person of his race and get valuable lessons he wouldn't have received from his white family that doesn't understand what it's like to be Black. In this video clip, around 2:09, Mavar describes what it's like to live in America as a Black man to Liam, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhSGWLria4k . This video is one of the many lessons he teaches Liam throughout the season. Overall, seeing this significant change from season one to season 10 in Liam's character development is vital when thinking of how he went from "being plopped at the Gallagher dining table for Shameless to earn some diversity points." (Moody) to being his own person and character with personal triumphs without his white family members being present.

Pictured: Liam in a clothing item (dashiki) and hairstyle (afro) specific to his race.

Another Black character that has a problematic representation is Veronica, a neighbor to the Gallaghers, and like a second family member to them. Throughout the series, Veronica also mentors and helps Liam in understanding and embracing his identity. In season ten, episode one, Liam even asks Veronica to teach him about slavery and they eat food their ancestors ate in the past. And while this brings up important history of Black people, the scene still has a light-hearted undertone, which can take away from its seriousness. This shows that although Shameless includes important topics regarding diversity, it still doesn't result in the Black characters being represented accurately. Although Veronica is viewed as a strong Black woman who has two daughters, a business, and a healthy relationship, she is also is portrayed as a sex-worker for some of the beginning seasons. She does this type of work to make money for her and her white partner, Kevin, to stay afloat, but this portrayal still doesn’t represent her well. Especially because her character is portrayed too sexually in the show, not only from her side work but the way she is dressed. Veronica wears many revealing and skimpy clothing, which can further sexualize her and take away her personality and character. From the very beginning seasons, there are many shots of Veronica having sex and/or her wearing only her bra and underwear often, when looking at scenes of her female white best friend, Fiona, she doesn’t have nearly as many scenes similar to Veronica’s. This is not okay because it can portray Black females in a false and horrible light that can say they are here for only sexual purposes.

Pictured: Veronica in a more revealing top while Fiona is all bundled up.

Nicole Murphy talks about how Veronica's character has been developed well enough to not be a token character in the show, but "her job as an internet sex worker and her relationship with her boyfriend Kevin are often shown in ways that slide easily into the jezebel myth." (Murphy, 63) This myth is explained as one that labels Black women as hypersexual females who influence white men into their beds (Murphy, 63). Therefore, it's evident that Veronica's representation is highly problematic, considering the myth roots stem from slavery. Throughout the series, Veronica uses her body to gain profit or something else via a sexual act with a white man. In season nine, episode three, Veronica helps one of the Gallaghers get a recommendation to an academy by doing this. This is also a considerable problem because Veronica is used for white gain, meaning she helped Carl, a white male, get something while she got nothing in return. Therefore, while Shameless has walked in the right direction in some aspects, the show is lacking greatly in proper representation for both Liam and Veronica. Hopefully in the next season, there will be better representation of both characters as they continue living in the South Side of Chicago.  

Pictured: Veronica making a joke that Fiona looks like her, which can indicate her outfit is revealing.

Works Cited:

Bowen, Sesali. “‘Shameless’ Gets Political With A New Liam & His New School.” Shameless Liam School, Chicago Immigration Race Issues, 6 Nov. 2017, www.refinery29.com/en-us/2017/11/179867/shameless-liam-school-racist-season-8-episode-1.

Moody, Trin. “Time To Get Critical About Representation in ‘Shameless.’” Medium, Incluvie, 27 July 2020, medium.com/incluvie/time-to-get-critical-about-representation-in-shameless-4fa2f6faac98.

Murphy, N. L. (2014). Class Negotiations: Poverty, Welfare Policy, and American Television. Austin: University of Texas.

[myfavemedia]

Some critics have already accused [Deidra & Laney Rob a Train] of being too light-hearted and sanitized for such a gritty and serious subject matter. This is a critique I don’t recall hearing about shows like Shameless — which, while not rated PG, is definitely funny — or movies like Juno. Poverty is inherently sad, as are bank robbery, unplanned pregnancy, and murder. We have made room to explore all of these themes satirically in film. That we want poverty, incarceration, and/or mental health struggles to always be tragic when it comes to people of color says more about our culture than it does the creative team behind [Deidra & Laney Rob a Train].

Sesali Bowen calling out racist double standards in their Deidra & Laney Rob a Train review

[myafrofeminism]

Black Feminist books to start with written by black women :)

-Undrowned by Alexis Pauline

This is an environmentalist book about how we can learn about feminism from Marine mammals.

-Thick and other essays by Tressie McMillian Cottom

This book is personal and touches based on the author herself (Tressie) with sexual assault, the loss of her baby, body image and more!

-Bad fat black girl by Sesali Bowen

This is another book that is read through the lens of the author. In this book, Sesali talks about growing up in Chicago and learning how to sex work, poverty, self-love, and queerness. She also expresses the combination of the Hiphop culture and feminism.

[thingsreadinthedark]

BAD FAT BLACK GIRL: TRAP FEMINISM

It’s the way she’s linking these situations and then wraps in Megan thee Stallion and Tory Lanez for mee!

This book is something else! I love it. The way she looks at Bey & Jay’s relationship and also identifies the same scam playing out among these billionaires. Bruh!

"Black women can no longer afford to be martyrs, healers, parents, or scapegoats in our relationships. It’s a fucking scam. The stakes are too high. It’s costing us our sanity, our livelihoods, and in some cases our lives. If you experienced a string of break-ins in your neighborhood, would you still leave your doors and windows unlocked, just because your property manager or HOA president promised the neighborhood was safe when you moved in? No. So don’t ignore the realities of intimate-partner violence, romantic terrorism, and all the other ways niggas generally “ain’t shit,” or assume that you’ll somehow be the exception to the rule. Accept that they are the way they are and act accordingly. " — 79% in 'Bad Fat Black Girl' by Sesali Bowen

Listen, this book is a whole word!!!

Y’all need to read it!

[bookclub4m]

Episode 153 - Humour (non-fiction)

This episode we’re talking about Humour Non-fiction! We talk about how truthful stand-up comedy is, identifying books from the call number, giant mosquitos, and more!

You can download the podcast directly, find it on Libsyn, or get it through Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, or your favourite podcast delivery system.

In this episode

Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray | RJ Edwards

Things We Read (or tried to…)

Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law by Mary Roach

99% Invisible, Episode 471: Mini-Stories: Volume 12 (features Mary Roach talking about several “footnotes” from Fuzz)

Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War by Mary Roach

You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories about Racism by Amber Ruffin, Lacey Lamar

I Want to Be Where the Normal People Are by Rachel Bloom

The Little Mermaid - Part of Your World (YouTube)

Fuck Me, Ray Bradbury (YouTube)

We Are Never Meeting in Real Life by Samantha Irby

Other Media We Mentioned

Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson (Wikipedia)

I Am America (And So Can You!) by Stephen Colbert and others

Science ...For Her! by Megan Amram

A Super Upsetting Cookbook About Sandwiches by Tyler Kord

Bike Snob: Systematically Mercilessly Realigning the World of Cycling by BikeSnobNYC

I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence by Amy Sedaris

Jumanji (Wikipedia)

Giant mosquitoes scenes (YouTube)

Bee Movie

Anna meant a B movie (Wikipedia)

Solutions and Other Problems by Allie Brosh

Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void by Mary Roach

A Pocket Guide to Pigeon Watching: Getting to Know the World's Most Misunderstood Bird by Rosemary Mosco

Late Night with Seth Meyers (Wikipedia)

The Amber Ruffin Show (Wikipedia)

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (Wikipedia)

Wow, No Thank You.: Essays by Samantha Irby

Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things by Jenny Lawson

Hot Poetry Inside || LoadingReadyLIVE Ep86 (begins with the humorous monologue about cancer diagnosis)

Decoder Ring - Truly Tasteless Jokes (podcast about joke books in the 1980s that Anna mentioned)

The Devil’s Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce

Links, Articles, and Things

David Sedaris (Wikipedia)

Dave Barry (Wikipedia)

Mary Roach (Wikipedia)

Sarah Vowel (Wikipedia)

Bill Bryson (Wikipedia)

Patrick F. McManus (Wikipedia) (the “outdoor living” author Anna read when she was a kid)

Garfield by Jim Davis (Wikipedia)

Giant Moustique Monument

David Rakoff (Wikipedia)

Molly Ivins (Wikipedia)

Al Franken (Wikipedia)

Nora Ephron (Wikipedia)

Readers’ Advisory for Library Staff (Facebook group)

Popemobile (Wikipedia)

Shirley Jackson (Wikipedia)

Sumarian bar joke (Reddit thread)

Complaint tablet to Ea-nasir (Wikipedia)

15 Humour Non-fiction books by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour) Authors

Every month Book Club for Masochists: A Readers’ Advisory Podcasts chooses a genre at random and we read and discuss books from that genre. We also put together book lists for each episode/genre that feature works by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour) authors. All of the lists can be found here.

Bad Fat Black Girl: Notes from a Trap Feminist by Sesali Bowen

She Memes Well by Quinta Brunson

Fresh Off the Boat by Eddie Huang

Wow, No Thank You. by Samantha Irby

Bury My Heart at Chuck E. Cheese's by Tiffany Midge

Laughing All the Way to the Mosque by Zarqa Nawaz

Barely Functional Adult: It'll All Make Sense Eventually by Meichi Ng

Sorry I'm Late, I Didn't Want to Come: An Introvert's Year of Living Dangerously by Jessica Pan

Please Don't Sit on My Bed in Your Outside Clothes by Phoebe Robinson

You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories about Racism by Amber Ruffin & Lacey Lamar

The Wrong End of the Table: A Mostly Comic Memoir of a Muslim Arab American Woman Just Trying to Fit in by Ayser Salman

The One You Want to Marry (And Other Identities I've Had): A Memoir by Sophie Santos

Me Funny edited by Drew Hayden Taylor

Dear Girls: Intimate Tales, Untold Secrets, & Advice for Living Your Best Life by Ali Wong

How to American: An Immigrant's Guide to Disappointing Your Parents by Jimmy O. Yang

Give us feedback!

Fill out the form to ask for a recommendation or suggest a genre or title for us to read!

Check out our Tumblr, follow us on Twitter or Instagram, join our Facebook Group, or send us an email!

Join us again on Tuesday, July 19th when it’s time for us to pitch our “we all read the same book” books! 

Then on Tuesday, August 2nd we’ll be discussing the genre of Literary Fan Fiction!

[bygty]

get to know tag

(my main was tagged but imma do this on my writing blog as well)

thank you for tagging me ❤️‍🔥 @leiwritess

Rules: Tag 9 people you want to get to know better or catch up with

favorite colour: purple

last song: meet me at our spot - live by THE ANXIETY, WILLOW, Tyler Cole

currently reading: bad fat black girl by sesali bowen

last movie: howl’s moving castle (rewatch)  

sweet, savory or spicy: sweet

currently working on: outlining avèk ou short stories

[maddblackgemini]

Silent Book Chat!! When: December 19 @ 10am PST-6pm PST Where: WhatsApp (by invite only) What: Discussing Bad Fat Black Girl by Sesali Bowen We will be chatting about the book Bad Fat Black Girl! Come join the silent discussion regarding this book which we read during the month of November. We will have questions and discussions about this book via chat only. This will give you a way to chat at your leisure, ask questions, discuss and mingle with others at your own pace. The chat will be open from 10am PST until 6pm PST. Come join us for our monthly silent book chat hosted by @maddblackreads. #readreadread #write #maddblackreads #wellreadblackgirls #diversespines #goodreads #blackreaders #booksofinstagram #bookstagram #booknerdigans #bookaholic #bookaddict #bookstagrammer #diversebooks #bookworm #blackgirlsread #lovetoread #blackwomenread #readblackbooks #blackandbookish #bookreview #blackstoriesmatter #blackbookblogger #bookclubofinstagram #moodreader #readwhatyouown #bibliophile #silentbookchat #badfatblackgirl #sesalibowen https://www.instagram.com/p/CXm4uO5g8Ew/?utm_medium=tumblr