A review by nuraitheodora
Carefree Black Girls: A Celebration of Black Women in Pop Culture by Zeba Blay

challenging hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

I love essays about pop culture, especially when they comment on the way pop culture reflects larger systems in our society. Zeba Blay is excellent at this, interweaving pop culture with the issues that white supremacy and racism and misogyny have eroded in our society. Each essay stands on its own, but they also form a coherent narrative — each essay discusses different Black woman stereotypes, using instances or prominent figures in pop culture (women such as Lizzo, Cardi B, Serena Williams) to dismantle the stereotype and examine the harm these stereotypes do to Black women by reducing and forcing them into certain characteristics. Essays I particularly loved were “She’s A Freak”, where she discusses the contrasting stereotypes of Black women as simultaneously overtly sexual and “easy”, and at the same time having no desire at all; “Man, This Shit is Draining”, talking about the ‘Angry Black Woman’, discussing how Black women have so many legitimate reasons to be angry but they are immediately discredited, ridiculed or portrayed as aggressive when they express even a little of it, using examples of Maxine Waters and Serena Williams at the U.S. Open; “Strong Black Lead”, examining the problematic “strong Black woman” stereotype, how it creates the idea that Black women were in some way made to deal with all the traumatic hardships they have to face, while at the same time denying them the space to feel anything but strong. Every essay explores topics I was familiar with, but I got something out of every one - Blay’s writing and perspective is very nuanced and careful, if not carefree.