Current Events
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Current Event SPR2025 Essivi Collins
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/feb/12/moj-apologises-woman-racism-prison-mother-baby-unit-new-hall In this article, there is a discussion about an unnamed woman who sued the Ministry of Justice after being imprisoned in a mother and baby unit called HMP New Hall near Wakefield. This occurred in England, and the woman detailed racist abuse and being targeted as well as her son due to race. The horrific treatment that the woman endured shows how globally black women in the most vulnerable of positions are treated significantly worse than their white counterparts due to race. This is ongoing and can only be confronted through exposure, which the woman did, stating that she was fighting for women such as herself and her son…
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Current Event: Addressing Misogynoir in Mental Health Conversations
In the TikTok video by Dr. Judith Joseph, she explains the concept of misogynoir, which is a specific form of discrimination where racism and sexism intersect to harm Black women. She describes how Black women are often not seen as individuals, but instead are placed into stereotypes that deny them their unique identities. Dr. Joseph emphasizes that this leads to Black women being misunderstood, silenced, or unfairly judged in both personal and professional spaces. The video sheds light on how misogynoir is different from general sexism or racism—it uniquely affects Black women and creates barriers to how they are treated, respected, and heard. She calls for more awareness and action…
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Current event – Michelle Obama
Student Submission CUNY Hunter College Spring 2025 The picture provided is one of Michelle Obama being depicted as an ape. A common insult rooted in pseudo-science pertaining to the black race. Academia was once impermeable for the black community, and it is still unfathomable for some to perceive black women as intellectuals, educated, and worthy. Black women are no longer just qualified to play the role of slaves or the mammy or the hypersexualized Jezebel. Still, when a black woman of class full wisdom and who is also the first lady of the United States of America has not played the perpetuated role of the stereotypical black woman… she must…
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Current Event: “smashed or passed”
Student Submission CUNY Hunter College Spring 2025 In this TikTok, a young black woman discusses noticing a trend of “white girls [her] age getting engaged and [her] age group still standing in lines getting ‘smashed or passed’.” Another black woman stitches this discussing how a lot of black girls and women never have a ‘classic’ dating experience, i.e. a date planned for them, or a bouquet of roses given to them. She alludes that this is largely due to how society stereotypes black women. Additionally, she discussed how people use the stereotypical excuse “black women are hypersexual;” but if society shows black women that “selling sex is the only way…
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Current Event – Dating a Black girl vs a White girl
Student Submission CUNY Hunter College Spring 2025 Link: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT2Uer9nx/ This video from themembers.co on TikTok which has playlist titled white or black women? and this is the only video in the playlist. The video features an interviewer asking black men about the differences between dating a Black girl and a white girl. One man responds saying that white women don’t cause problems, while another claims that white women listen, whereas Black women argue, nag, and even try to fight. Their comments reinforce harmful stereotypes that portray Black women as combative and difficult while framing white women as more submissive and accommodating. The language used in the video is a clear example of misogynoir, particularly…
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Current Event—Black Women Being The Laughing Stock
Student Submission CUNY Hunter College Spring 2025 Current Event – https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT2XtmjKA/ In this week’s current event, a creator named Asia on TikTok gave her opinion on a recent incident where a reporter named Cordilia James (a Black woman) from the Wall Street Journal was covering the topic of the limited supply, high prices, and danger of consuming eggs. Within the video of Cordilia reporting, her wig was worn lower than usual, nearing her eyebrows. Social media did not hesitate to take this woman’s appearance and blast it throughout the algorithm. Most of the videos I’ve seen were with people laughing at how Cordilia wore her wigs and doing background research…
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Current Event – Too Hot to Handle
Student Submission – Current Event SPR2025 https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT26qLccD This week’s current event comes from TikTok, specifically from the beauty community. In the video, Melinda Berry, a former Too Hot to Handle contestant turned beauty influencer, is trying on blushes gifted to her by a beauty brand. She begins with one shade of blush that complements her skin tone, already on her face, as she showcases a lighter shade that would not suit her skin tone. Melinda tried the lighter product, but it didn’t work as expected. She continues to make the point of the video that one suits her and the other doesn’t. She remarks, “That one is for fair skin…
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Current Event – 2025 Grammys
Student Submission – Current Event VCU SPR25 https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8Y2bJt9 https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8Yj1uEy
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Current Event – Soft Life
Student Submission – Current Event VCU SPR25 These findings are a lot more obvious about the subject of misogynoir, but I wanted to discuss them anyway. As they both mentioned, they have presented a more reserved persona which has been mistranslated as them being inherently aggressive. As we have discussed, there is this notion that black people, especially black women, are a lot tougher than their white “counterparts.” Society just cannot see a black woman as “soft” and “delicate.” Which is why we have the “angry black woman” stereotype. I find it especially interesting with the original tweet as it comes across like she did not see the underlying misogynoir.…
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Pop the Ballon or Find Love ?
Student Submission – Current Event VCU FA24 My current event is a tweet sharing a clip from a YouTube ‘dating show’, in which a woman enters a room with 20, or so, men with balloons, which they pop if they would not date her. These videos have recently become popular with many creators making their own versions. The premise of these videos is problematic, upholding transactional views of, particularly romantic, relationships. The specific clip, posted to Twitter (X) by user Raye (@sweetbabyrayes), shows a Black man explaining why he popped his balloon, stating that he isn’t a fan of weave and implying that her application reveals her natural hair braids…
