07/12/2021
Culture critic Blay debuts with an exuberant exploration of the ways Black women have defined pop culture. The creator of the viral #CareFreeBlackGirl cultural movement, Blay ventures beyond the “pithy, abstracted, tweet-able” declarations about Black women being “indeed essential to the... global zeitgeist” to offer a kaleidoscopic analysis of how American culture both needs and “belittles” Black female artists and storytellers such as herself. She begins with an incisive look at how pop star Lizzo’s body has been politicized and publicized, and closes with an intimate meditation on what it means to live in a body that’s become “a reflection of what folks really feel about themselves.” Elsewhere, Blay considers the paradox of Cardi B’s influence as an “aspirational model” and controversial figure who “represents the fallacies and frailties of celebrity.” Throughout, she juxtaposes the cultural figures’ stories against her own experience situating herself in a societal hierarchy based on skin color. While these essays are connected by their collective pain, Blay never exploits her own or others’ trauma; rather, she offers a way to understand grief while “reaching out for a world where we value not just the representation of Black women but Black women themselves.” This fervent work will feel like a balm for many. (Oct.)
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"A powerful look at how Black women are treated and mistreated....[A] pivotal work" —Library Journal
"Remind[s] us of our beautiful complexity and capacity for fun." —Essence
“An exuberant exploration of the ways Black women have defined pop culture. The creator of the viral #CareFreeBlackGirl cultural movement, Blay ventures beyond the “pithy, abstracted, tweet-able” declarations about Black women being “indeed essential to the... global zeitgeist” to offer a kaleidoscopic analysis of how American culture both needs and “belittles” Black female artists and storytellers such as herself….This fervent work will feel like a balm for many.” —Publishers Weekly
"Blay's personal experiences with astute cultural analysis to explore how joy has become one of the most useful weapons in a Black woman's arsenal." —Bitch Media
"Blay’s welcome voice is candid, vulnerable, and necessary. Her observations about the impact Black women have had and continue to have on pop culture are searing and timely, and will have a lasting impact on how much the world sees and understands us." —Tarana Burke, founder of the MeToo movement, and author of You Are Your Best Thing
“Blay is one of the most formidable cultural critics writing today. Her words reflect intellect, wit, and a level of thoughtfulness that has long made her required reading. I love her candor, I love her passion, but above all, I adore the way she writes about Black women.” —Michael Arceneaux, New York Times bestselling author of I Can’t Date Jesus
"Blay tells her Black girl truth and in so doing doesn’t simply reclaim the narrative but constructs an entirely new one on her own firm and fertile ground.” —Michaela angela Davis, Writer/Image Activist
“Blay is a talent, mixing an encyclopedic knowledge of pop culture, past and present, with incisive commentary on race and gender and the unsurpassed wit of Zora Neale Hurston. A passionate, beautiful writer, Blay leaves me cackling during her much-needed, under-heard sermons.” —Janet Mock, New York Times–bestselling author of Redefining Realness and Surpassing Certainty
"Blay's idea of Black womanhood is an inclusive one, where liberation is not just possible, but doable because it has the space for all Black women—cisgender, transgender, rich, poor, old, young, local, global—magnifying the potential for unity (and success) against the forces which mean them harm. Each essay carries with it truths that feel ancestral. Carefree Black Girls is the testimony I've been waiting to witness." —Robert Jones, Jr., author of The Prophets; creator of Son of Baldwin
09/01/2021
Drawing from pop culture and personal experience, this first book by journalist Blay (creator of the #carefreeblackgirl movement) is a powerful look at how Black women are treated and mistreated—in particular, the way mass culture emulates Black women but also excludes and ignores them. Blay's knack for film and cultural criticism is on full display as she unpacks the desexualization and fetishization of Black women artists like Lizzo and Cardi B and the difficulty (as a Black consumer of culture) of both rooting for and being disappointed by Black celebrities. Blay also shines when reflecting on her experiences as a Black woman and an immigrant; she heartrendingly recalls navigating life in the wake of sexual assault, living with depression and anxiety, and turning to other Black women to help inform and understand herself. The entire book offers critical insight, but the final chapter is particularly necessary reading, on the commodification of Breonna Taylor's death. Blay also closely considers the movement she created and whether Black women can truly be free in a society where their existence is precarious. VERDICT Calling for Black women (in and out of the public eye) to be treated with empathy, Blay's pivotal work will engage all readers, especially fans of Mikki Kendall's Hood Feminism.—Stephanie Sendaula, Library Journal
★ 2021-08-24
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.
