Popular culture would like us to believe that Black women are invincible. We don’t need help. We don’t need to be handled with tender love and care. Despite whatever trauma or abuse comes our way, we are indestructible. This is why the Welfare Queen stereotype is still so pervasive. Black women should bear the fullContinue reading “Myth of the Black Woman Superhero”
Category Archives: Disability Studies
Meditations on Mad Love: Using Lessons from Polyamory as a Roadmap
I have been thinking a lot about love lately and the importance of unlearning certain cultural scripts about how love should be, including it being only between a man and a woman or monogamous. While we have witnessed great strides towards openness and equality in who and how we love, I am still challenged byContinue reading “Meditations on Mad Love: Using Lessons from Polyamory as a Roadmap”
Graduation SZN | Part 2 – The Tarot Edition
It’s truly remarkable how quickly one’s life can change in the span of a few days or weeks. If I had to pick a tarot card to sum up my life since my last Graduation SZN post in May, I would choose The Tower. The Tower card emerges when monumental life events disrupt our mundaneContinue reading “Graduation SZN | Part 2 – The Tarot Edition”
Post-COVID Fatigue
Today I emerged out of what has been a cascading wave of post-COVID fatigue after my recent experience being sick with COVID-19 for the first time. Although I was mostly recovered and tested negative almost two weeks ago, since then I have experienced a frustrating amount of lethargy. This made me face my worst fearContinue reading “Post-COVID Fatigue”
My New Creative Endeavor: Producing an Autoethnographic Film
Living openly with bipolar disorder requires a continual “coming out” process in multiple aspects of my life. Lately, I have experienced this the most acutely in my work which is inseparable from my lived experience with mental health challenges. In addition to pursing a PhD in Anthropology, I am also a part of a nationally-recognizedContinue reading “My New Creative Endeavor: Producing an Autoethnographic Film”
Spoon Theory & Bipolar: A Conversation with Rebecca W. Morris
My favorite thing about social media is the ability to find kindred spirits and connect with people you would have zero chance of actually meeting in real life. One such person is Rebecca W. Morris, a disabled and chronically ill artist who lives in Spain. She reached out to me about being featured in herContinue reading “Spoon Theory & Bipolar: A Conversation with Rebecca W. Morris”
Decarcerating Perinatal Mental Health & Reproductive Care
This blog post was inspired by my participation in IDHA‘s December 2020 “Decarcerating Care Fireside Chat.” I am grateful to Jessie Roth, IDHA co-director, for facilitating a rich conversation with my fellow interlocutors Jess Stohlmann-Rainey, Dustin Gibson, and Stefanie Lyn Kaufman-Mthimkhulu. When I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, my first thought is that I wasContinue reading “Decarcerating Perinatal Mental Health & Reproductive Care”
A Psychoanalytic Review of Audre Lorde’s The Cancer Journals
Abstract: Read through a psychoanalytic lens, The Cancer Journals by Audre Lorde makes a significant contribution to the understanding of the Self in conflict with societal pressures to be docile and conform. Lorde manages to reconcile her past self with her new reality by rejecting the guise provided by a False Self in order toContinue reading “A Psychoanalytic Review of Audre Lorde’s The Cancer Journals”
Nadia Naomi Mbonde 