In contrast to the hypersexualized attire donned by the majority of female characters in fantasy/action movies, Ruth E. Carter’s designs are "feminine, masculine, beautiful, and strong," and challenge the conception that femininity and strength are mutually exclusive.
The new Marvel blockbuster imagines an Africana womanhood impervious to the effects of colonialism.
Especially during Black History Month, it’s important to not only consider, but prioritize, those who exist at the intersection of marginalized identities.
Finally, audiences — many for the first time ever — get to see a complex black superhero supported by a majority black cast, who thrive in positions of royalty and power based on their society’s technological advancement, in an Afrocentric environment.
In early January, H&M came under fire for an ad campaign that many people considered racist and this incident is hardly the first example of a company marketing racist products.
Black women are supposed to relate to and admire these two-dimensional characters, but in reality their lives are multi-dimensional: they’re real people who face obstacles outside of combating racism. Most black girls have gained enough life experience by adolescence to understand that “black girls are pretty, too” and “racism is wrong.” What we’re still grappling with is that being a black girl is still really hard because while we may believe those messages, the people we interact with on a daily basis don’t necessarily understand or believe those messages. And, of course, we are dealing with that racism at the same time that we deal with the everyday problems any other complicated person does.
