TheoreticaLEIGHspeaking
Oh Bethenny. I don’t believe for one second that Omarosa was invited to your show for any other reason than you need a ratings boost, especially since word is, Ellen is totally not into you anymore. And that’s okay. But here’s what happens you invite an intelligent, smart and opinionated Black women into a hostile […]
HelloBeautifuls! It’s me, @Leighdav, Editorial Director of HelloBeautiful.com! Last weekend I had the pleasure of traveling down to New Orleans for the Essence Music Festival. I can’t remember if this year marked my fifth or sixth time taking my talents to New Orleans for the annual musical and cultural fair, but it was certainly one […]
Whenever issues of young Black masculinity become part of the national discourse, I often make reference to my little brother. As I am not yet a mother, he is my benchmark for how the world treats young Black male bodies. At 25 years-old he is 6’2, slender, fair-skinned with a small bit of facial hair […]
It’s been a full business week and Beyonce singing live over a track of her own background vocals at the inauguration is still leading the news cycle as if it’s an issue of great national importance. Tonight’s “20/20” episode is titled, “Culture of Deception,” in which Beyonce will be featured alongside college football star Manti Te’o and disgraced […]
I like the show Girls. I think Lena Dunham is a smart, witty and savvy writer and am thrilled for her success. While I am a bit befuddled by her being assailed as the second coming to Gloria Steinem, I get why people like the show, and I get why people like to hate the […]
Blame (or thank) Lena Dunham for inciting what feels like a recent onslaught of feminist writing tackling the complexities of singleness, fertility and prolonged adolescence. The feminist–or post-feminist–communities seem to be torn on whether to embrace or shun Dunham’s depictions of young women today as entitled party girls who accidentally smoke crack, dabble in anal […]
May 8, 1968 – August 30, 2012 Today Music Producer and Hip-Hop Pioneer “Baby Chris Lighty” was found dead in his Bronx home of an apparent self-inflicted gun shot wound to the head. Our prayers are with his family and friends. May he rest in peace. I’ve hated the word suicide since I was 13 […]
Jozen Cummings approaches our table at the Harlem Tavern with his cell phone in hand. I can’t see what he’s typing, but the intensity of his fingers gliding across his iPhone implies that he’s likely contacting a woman (or women). He’s wearing shorts, a loose hanging red fatigue inspired tank top and Chucks–a look that’s […]
Every time I hear Aaliyah’s 2001 hit, “Rock The Boat,” a sly smile creeps upon my face. Most often, I slip away to a dance floor, or, if there isn’t one close by, I begin to sway my hips–back, back, forth & forth–I imagine I’m her, I feel sexy and in control, I feel happy. […]
Gabby Douglas got a fantastic hair makeover this week from celebrity stylist Ted Gibson, who tamed her tresses with a middle-part and soft curls. Gabby tweeted her happiness with the transformation, and though, we’ve all agreed nothing is “wrong” with her hair, we’ll all be watching with glee as she continues her media appearances, likely […]
Sunday evening, I was sipping on my second glass of Sangria with my best girlfriend, when we were joined by our brilliant and equally quirky friend and neighbor! I told her she looked great, (she did), and then asked where she was headed so nicely dressed? “To Times Square to watch the Curiosity rover landing!” […]
While the majority of the (Black) music coverage at SXSW has focused on the huge celebrity hip-hop acts (50 Cent, T.I., Kanye, Snoop Dogg, etc) a few of us actually went down to Austin with the intention of music discovery. I had the opportunity to hear some amazing musicians whose lyrics I didn’t already know […]
