Carefree Black Girls: A Celebration of Black Women in Popular Culture

Culture critic Blay debuts with an exuberant exploration of the ways Black women have defined pop culture. The creator of the viral #CareFreeBlackGirl cultural movement, Blay ventures beyond the “pithy, abstracted, tweet-able” declarations about Black women being “indeed essential to the... global zeitgeist” to offer a kaleidoscopic analysis of how American culture both needs and “belittles” Black female artists and storytellers such as herself. She begins with an incisive look at how pop star Lizzo’s body has been politicized and publicized, and closes with an intimate meditation on what it means to live in a body that’s become “a reflection of what folks really feel about themselves.” Elsewhere, Blay considers the paradox of Cardi B’s influence as an “aspirational model” and controversial figure who “represents the fallacies and frailties of celebrity.” Throughout, she juxtaposes the cultural figures’ stories against her own experience situating herself in a societal hierarchy based on skin color. While these essays are connected by their collective pain, Blay never exploits her own or others’ trauma; rather, she offers a way to understand grief while “reaching out for a world where we value not just the representation of Black women but Black women themselves.” This fervent work will feel like a balm for many. (Oct.)