The Awl

laurel

By GiovanniGF on 43 Things That Will Make You Feel Old

Grey chest hair.

Posted on May 14, 2013 at 5:07 pm

By ironhoneybee on 43 Things That Will Make You Feel Old

Oh, #19. I can't stay mad at you, you're the reason I tell myself I don't have to work out anymore!

Posted on May 14, 2013 at 4:59 pm

By Clarence Rosario on 43 Things That Will Make You Feel Old

Happy Birthday?

Posted on May 14, 2013 at 2:49 pm

By Niko Bellic on Ask Polly: My Best Friend Is In Love With My Sister!

"as we are all ladies in our 20s and that is pretty much our main interest"

Time to develop some new interests. I wish Polly would ignore letters from kids whose only problem is that they are growing up. Or maybe I'm just too old for this shit.

Posted on May 1, 2013 at 2:31 pm

By Sarsaparilla on Ask Polly: Only Black Men Like Me, But I Don't Like Black Men

SLAS reminds me of my best friend, who is also Biracial. When we met in college she made me really uncomfortable, in addition to trying to convince me that I was not a "real black girl" she also constantly mentioned her dislike for black man. I like all kinds of men, and it hurt me to hear her say that. I asked her if she liked her dad, brother, grandpa, and male cousins (who are all at least partially black) and she assured me that she did. I told her that her relatives and any male child that she had would be unjustly disliked by women who shared her mindset.

I was raised by socially conscious parents and taught that there is infinite diversity in the black experience and that anything that I decided to do/didn't, did not make me anymore or less black.
I suspect that people like SLAS and my best friend were not taught to value the blackness in themselves and therefore do not value it in others.

After hanging out with my BF for a while I started to dislike black men, and it made me feel sick. My internal dialogue changed, I started thinking "I am not a real black girl,they are all the same, they don't relate to me, I don't relate to them". Then I went home for break and got a much needed reality check. I came back to school and helped my BF change her internal dialogue. She has dated men of all races and is now in love with a black man (AND obviously me her BF)

In addition to getting some male friends as Polly suggested SLAS should try connecting with some black people(that she shares something in common with besides being black). I don't think dating a black man is the answer to her issues, but I think that seeing her blackness and blackness in general in a positive light could change her life. Also try reading some Harlem Renaissance Lit same shit diff decade, I suggest Harlem Renaissance Novels: The Library of America Collection.

Posted on April 24, 2013 at 3:26 pm