This week, Walter Thompson-Hernandez interviewed a handful of South L.A. residents about the complexity of identifying a Blaxican. Read that and other essays from Refinery 29, The Cut, Rookie, and more.
"Meet The Blaxicans Of Los Angeles" — BuzzFeed Ideas
Can you be both black and Mexican at the same time in South L.A.? For BuzzFeed Ideas, Walter Thompson-Hernandez interviewed a handful of Blaxicans from Los Angeles about the complexity of identifying as both black and Mexican. In his essay, he retraces the history of the term and describes the challenges of those who have embraced both cultures. Read it at BuzzFeed Ideas.
Walter Thompson-Hernandez
"Dressing Myself for the First Time" — Refinery 29
For a few years of her life, Michele Filgate wanted to be ugly. As a teen, she thought that girls who dressed up and tried to make themselves look pretty were "vapid, anti-intellectual, and narcissistic," she explains in an essay for Refinery 29. That's why she actively rejected trendy clothing, arming herself with ill-fitting sweaters and old jeans and wanting her appearance to match how she felt on the inside. It wasn't until recently that Filgate has started to confront these self-esteem issues. Read her essay at Refinery 29.
David Cortes / Via refinery29.com
"Stop Flirting by Committee" — The Cut
We're all guilty of flirting by committee — sharing screenshots of conversations with potential suitors and consulting on how best to respond to a text with a horde of friends. For The Cut, Alana Massey makes the case for an end to this habit, and she explains why we do it in the first place. "When we rely on them to conduct our personal communication, we’re trying to absolve ourselves of responsibility for things not working out — which can be comforting in the face of romantic disappointment ... It means withholding our emotions and sabotaging opportunities to be forthright and vulnerable in the ways that actually endear us to people." Read it at The Cut.
Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller/IMAGNO/Austrian Archives / Getty Images / Via nymag.com
"How Sexism in the Church Almost Ruined My Life" — Jezebel
Jennifer C. Martin and her husband have always had an egalitarian marriage, a bond in which the partners treat each other as equals. But after her husband was fired from his job as a teacher at a Christian school, Martin realized that many Christians are raised with a complementarian view of marriage. "It’s a relatively positive spin on a patriarchal relationship—God loves you and your husband equally, women!," she explains in a Jezebel piece. "It’s just that one of you is going to stay home with the babies and let your spouse be in charge whether you like it or not." In her essay, she explains how sexism in church nearly ruined her life. Read it at Jezebel.
Illustration by Jim Cooke / Via jezebel.com