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youngblackfeminist · 10 years ago

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Welcome to Meet a Young Black Feminist! Today is our first interview, and our first Black feminist is Brittany Josephina, the creator of the blog mindofataurus.tumblr.com. If the name sounds familiar, it most likely is: you’ve probably seen her spiritual uplifting posts through the Tumblr blogosphere, or you’re probably seen some of her beautiful tweets or Instagram posts. I’ve been reading her work for over two years, and the things I’ve learned about myself and the world has been tremendous. Brittany single-handedly introduced me to the whole topic of self-love, and her brave, bold walk in being a free woman who determines her life is truly inspirational.

She’s all about supporting women in their growth, and bonding together in sisterhood. As I talked with her, her passion is so abundant. Read her thoughts on feminism, Black womanhood, and female empowerment below. Read the interview below:

Note: My words are in italics. Brittany’s are in bold.

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Let’s talk about you first. How did you come to start MindofaTaurus, and what’s some of your passions, goals, interests, etc.

MindofaTaurus started almost four years ago. And it started off first as astrology – hence the name MindofaTaurus – and as a little girl, I was always very interested in knowing more about myself, and understanding the world around me as well. So, my birthday’s on April 20th, and that makes me on the cusp, so when I was growing up, I would always say “I’m an Aries! I’m an Aries!”, and when I get older, I was like, “Wait, no, I’m a Taurus.” So I definitely found it interesting that as a person, I’m so complex, and I feel like people are like that in general, and that’s how MindofaTaurus began.

When I started sharing my experiences about who I was and how to grow spiritually, people started getting really interested, so that’s how it got to this point now, where I focus on spiritual health, self-care, and just being a woman in this time, and just sharing my experiences. My personal goals are to expand into a bigger site, writing books, and motivational speaking, and a lot of self-care workshops, for everybody, but definitely for women, and creating a sisterhood, where we can all come together and share our experiences and grow together.

You see, I’ve been reading MindofaTaurus for almost two years now, and I’ve found it so helpful. I mean, you single-handedly introduced me to the whole thing of self-love, self-care and things like that. So I’ve been a huge fan of it for a while now.

That’s amazing.

Yeah, and that’s some of things I was trying to go for with YoungBlackFeminist. Like a community of women who can come together and talk about these things, like feminism and the like.

That’s great. I totally support what you’re doing because it’s really important and necessary.

Thank you. But I was just wondering, about the general details, because – how old are you? I couldn’t find it anywhere on your site! And I just figured I’d ask you in person.

[Laughs] I just turned 21.

Oh, okay. I’m 18, and I’m just about to go into college soon.

Yay, good for you girlie!

Are you in college right now?

I am. I’m going into my senior year this fall.

What are you majoring in?

Psychology, with a minor in Fine Arts.

Nice. [Some girl talk later.] So, let’s get started with the questions: Would you call yourself a feminist/Black feminist or womanist? If so, what does it mean to “be one” for you?

I would call myself a feminist and a Black feminist, for the simple reason that I am Black and I am a feminist. I think that feminism is overall what you describe it to be, but at the core of it, it’s equality for women and equality of people, and overall, just the empowerment of who you are, that’s what our feminism is: it’s not just limited to being a Black women, but being a woman, supporting other women, getting that equality, that you already deserve and you shall have.

So, what do you think led you in becoming one in the first place? Was it kind of on accident, or did you search out for it?

Well, that’s a great question. I would say I didn’t know I was a feminist by how I grew up, how I was raised. I have three older sisters, and I come from a family full of women, and everything is about empowerment, and being yourself and loving yourself and demanding the respect that you deserve. So I think many women in their lives they’re like, “Oh, wait, I’m a feminist!” So likewise, how I was raised, I was, “Oh, I am a feminist. This is how I was raised.”

I think that’s kind of similar to how I came to it. It’s kind of like that discovery: “Oh wait, this is me already.” I mean, about a few years ago, when I first came to it, what I was learning, it just clicked within me. ‘I believe in this, this is what I’ve always been feeling, and now, here’s a reason for it. Here’s the underlying network of things that causes the things I’ve been seeing and hearing for so long. Wow, I believed that and that’s so not true and unhealthy and I can see why now!’

Exactly! And I think that’s perfect, because a lot of women shy away from the word, “Oh, I don’t know what that’s like”, but it’s kind of like the word beauty. Beauty is who you are. Feminism is who you are. Of course, if you want your equality and you believe in yourself, that’s feminism by itself, and I think that connects to Black feminism. Like, if you’re Black, you feel, I have to reach a certain standard of what it means to be a Black feminist. But no, if you’re Black, and if you’re a feminist, then that’s it. There’s no certain way of being a Black feminist. There’s no specific way of being a feminist. You’re a woman, you know?

And, you know, I really appreciate the flexibility of feminism. It meets every women’s needs at any part of her life. But what would you say is your favorite thing about being a feminist?

Sisterhood! And sharing our experiences. I just simply believe in empowerment and love, so my feminism is about self-care and I believe one of the most radical acts you can do is love yourself, is take yourself, is to demand respect, is to know your worth. So in my feminism it’s about bonding and growing with other women because there’s so much I learn about myself through engaging with other women, like what we’re doing.

And, I guess you kind of answered my next question, because would you call what you do on MindofaTaurus feminist?

Oh, hell yeah! [Laughs] Oh definitely. Because again, my work is love, pure love what I do there.

Because I love the quotes you post on there, especially like Marianne Williamson.

Oh my goodness, I love her so much. One of my favorite authors.

Yeah, I can really tell that vibe from your work overall. So, you have feminism overall, but as a Black woman, what have been your experiences with that unique point of view?

Well, I would say, with feminism, there’s different sections of it, different issues come up. Because like beauty, that’s an important topic within Black feminism, and it’s prevalent within the Black community. Light skin, dark skin kind of thing, body shapes, body image, self-esteem. So, me as a Black woman, I’ve dealt with that.

So, like colorism and body image? Yeah. Especially with Black women’s struggles over straight hair, natural hair. Like there’s still this tug and pull of understanding our own beauty instead of pushing it closer and closer to white standards of beauty.

Exactly.

But you can see a major turn towards natural hair within Black women. But again, you still see a preference in media to only highlight light-skinned, straight or very loosely curled haired Black women. So, it’s getting that demand to represent all kinds of Black women; I think that’s an important thing to embrace and chase within Black feminism specifically.

Absolutely. And also with feminism, I think some people might think, especially with white feminists, to not really talk or even mention those things. But with feminism, it’s important for us all to learn from each other, and I want to approach feminism with open-mindedness, that there are other sections of feminism that I am not familiar with yet, and I don’t have to speak about it, but I can learn from them, and support these women; so, most definitely, embracing beauty of all shades, all shapes is a large part of Black feminism. Just loving and embracing who you are.

Yeah, that’s really important. And you know, it’s not just for Black women. It’s for all races. I think women of color all deal with some form of that separation of white standards of beauty and not feeling good enough. That’s a conversation that keeps coming up, but it needs to be talked about.

Absolutely.

So what would you say is one major lesson you’ve learned about womanhood so far in your life?

Number one, as a woman, is taking care of yourself, and taking the time to learn who you are. I always think when I meet women who say “I don’t know how to love myself. I don’t think I love myself at all,” my response to that would be is that it’s not that you don’t love yourself, but you don’t know yourself, and when you take out the time to be yourself, you realize you are loved. You realize that there is a lot to love about yourself. So, when I think about womanhood, it’s about taking time to discover who you are as a person, and share ideas and philosophies with yourself, so you know who you are. Because no one can really tell you who you are; you tell them who you are. Embracing womanhood is about discovering who you are.

Which brings me to connecting with other women. Again, there’s so much I’ve learned about myself through engaging with other women. I’m on dance teams I’m a part of, groups I’m a part of at college, just helps me to understand the other experiences women go through, and just helps me realize that you’re not alone in your experiences as a woman in this world. It’s definitely through the relationships and friendships that you experience as you grow that moves you into adulthood.

And to kind of piggy back on your point, you were saying know yourself as a person, and I appreciate that. Because I think what more people need to appreciate about womanhood is that it’s not this ridged thing for all women. It’s different from woman to woman. So, “womanhood” has this flexibility that can apply to every woman’s personhood. Basically, a woman gets to determine what’s her womanhood.

Exactly. And again, that just makes me think, what it means to be a woman? To be a woman means to be who you are! There’s no expectations, and you shouldn’t place any expectations on who you are. And giving others the permission to do the same in your progress is a spark to true healing and change in this world.

I definitely agree. And you put that so beautifully. So, that’s womanhood in general - what would you say you’ve learned about your womanhood specifically?

Hmm…I would say it’s love. Being who I am. And sharing who I am with other people. And just recognize what your personal gifts are. Every woman has her personal gifts that they can offer this world. So my womanhood is expressing who I am and not holding back. And not being afraid of being too much.

So, when you say “too much”, what do you mean?

I just think I’m an abundant person. And I think all of us are, but we are all so complex and we have all these different sides to us, and we shouldn’t have to play small, and we shouldn’t have to limit ourselves in a particular way to make other people comfortable. Instead, I just like being who I am and that’s just it.

So, that kind of leads into my next point: What do you think is one thing women need to embrace about themselves? And I honestly think what you just said is one major thing: not being afraid of being too much.

To embrace whatever you consider your flaws. I say I’m perfect in the sense of that I’m already good enough as a person, worthy enough, but I’m not perfect in the sense of that I have everything together. I don’t ever want to project that image. I think that it’s our flaws that make us interesting, that make us connected to other women. So I think it’s embracing all about yourself – not just the pretty, not just the cool. And go into the spaces that make you feel uncomfortable and that you don’t want to readily share with others - that’s also perfect and beautiful and necessary, because it’s you, it’s a part of you that you need to share with others.

And that’s something I’m learning in my own life now, so I’m glad you brought that up. So: if you could say one thing to a budding Black feminist, or just a young Black girl, what would you say?

I would say you are beautiful. Period. You are beautiful as you are. And you don’t have to be any kind of way to be considered beautiful. Who you are, period, is beauty. And you are your own standard of beauty. Take great care of yourself, love yourself, and also, take care of your sisters. Take care of each other.

That’s beautiful. And I heard you say earlier that you’ve had a lot of women in your life. That you have three sisters, and you grew up in a very women-heavy family? So has there been exactly one woman who’s been an inspiration for you, in your life? If so, what do they continue to teach you?

That woman would hands-down be my mother. She is the most spunky, loving, caring, abundant, free-spirited, independent woman I know in this world. She is amazing. And she’s always caught onto the importance of service and importance of love, loving yourself, and the importance of taking care of yourself. And not only did she speak these principles to me and my sisters, but she also demonstrated it. And I think that’s what’s powerful: she’s all about womanhood, she’s all about sisterhood, she’s all about giving back. And she demonstrated it in the various people that she’s helped, different charitable acts she’s done for people. And she really takes care of herself but also takes care of other people. So she’s selfless, but she also takes good care of herself. So it’s beautiful to really see that dynamic aspect of, “yeah, you can love yourself, but you can also take care of other people, and you don’t have to deny yourself in the process.

Wow. That is powerful.

Yeah, it’s amazing. And again, she’s herself! She’s so open, and free-spirited, and she’s given me permission to do the same.

And I can see that. Just from what you post online, I can see a lot of that spirit as well.

Well, Brittany, I’ve had a great time talking with you, and that’s the end of my questions. But do you have anything else you would like to say? Kind of an ending point?

I would say to always remember that you are always in an empowered position in your life. And either if or when the world doesn’t see your beauty, your worth, you take that time to see your own worth. Because ultimately, other people don’t have the permission to determine who you are. You shine, and you don’t hold back, because there’s other people who are watching you as you grow up.

Wow. That’s excellent.

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What are your thoughts? Let’s hold mini discussions in the comment section below: what would you say has been a major influence in your life?

Come back for our next interview on Sat., June 13th!

#feminism #black feminism #brittany josephina #mindofataurus #meet a youngblackfeminist #meet a ybf #meetaybf #young black feminist

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