CAREFREE BLACK GIRLS

Essays exploring the lives of Black women through the lens of contemporary pop culture.

“Black girls are everything,” writes Blay, adding that “the culture that Black women pour their talents and their creativity into, the culture that emulates Black women, steals from Black women, needs Black women, is the same culture that belittles Black women, excludes Black women, ignores Black women.” A former senior culture writer for HuffPost, Blay was the first person to tweet #carefreeblackgirl, which became a popular shorthand for celebrating Black women. These well-crafted essays, which the author wrote during a period of deep depression and anxiety, helped her get “reacquainted with the concept of joy and freedom.” She discusses a number of issues including fatphobia; sexual exploitation and trauma; righteous anger and the Angry Black Woman trope; mental wellness and the Strong Black Woman trope; and the pain and insidiousness of colorism. Blay also deftly unpacks the public push back from some Black women against the term “carefree Black girl.” Throughout the collection, she brings compelling and astute cultural criticism together with reflections on her personal evolution as a Black woman. Blay’s thoughtful analysis of everything from viral Instagram moments and popular TV shows to headline news about Michelle Obama and Breonna Taylor makes for an infectious read. A chapter devoted to rapper Cardi B considers how she and other Black women rappers “tell us so much about the culture and about ourselves.” But Blay isn’t writing as a fangirl. With Cardi and other public figures, films, and other media, she navigates both adulation and earned critique as well as those important spaces where the personal is definitely political. She also raises timely questions about homophobia, transphobia, cancel culture, representation, and appropriation.

An insightful, provocative, heartfelt blend of memoir and social commentary that is as revelatory as it is celebratory.