lainad

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  1. Bitter Reaction to Study on Black and Asian Women's Tolerance for Racism

    5/3/12 8:00am by lainad
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    Jellybeans

    [Editor’s Note: Every once in a while, a study comes out that makes you wonder, “What were they thinking?” Contributing Editor Laina Dawes and I are trying to wrap our minds around a recent report involving Black and Asian women, a Confederate, and a pile of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. And no, it’s not a joke. Read on to find out more... --Grace]  Read more >

  2. KONY 2012: Worthwhile Charity or White Man's Burden?

    3/15/12 4:31pm by lainad
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    Still from KONY2012/ Invisible Children, YouTube

    The 30-minute documentary by advocacy group Invisible Children has over 76 million hits on YouTube. For social and political activists like me (well, when I was younger, anyway) the fact that over 76 million people have watched this video shows an impressive reach -- despite its mixed message.  Read more >

  3. Chris Brown and Whitney Houston: Entertainment Industry Fails Black Women

    2/18/12 1:43pm by lainad
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    Chris Brown, Zumapress

    Chris Brown's "comeback" at the 2012 Grammys -- on the heels of the untimely death of Whitney Houston -- is a sad commentary as to how far society has to go in terms of respecting Black women.  Read more >

  4. Shit White Girls Say... To Black Girls: Funny and Important Social Commentary

    1/7/12 10:00am by lainad
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    Franchesca Ramsey, via YouTube

    When Shit White Girls Say…To Black Girls landed on YouTube this week, it seemed that thousands, hell, hundreds of thousands of black women across the globe cried, Hallelujah! and then doubled over with laughter.  Read more >

  5. Kwanzaa – A Celebration of African Culture

    12/26/11 8:54am by lainad
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    Kwanzaa via Flickr

    [Editor's Note: The seven-day festival of Kwanzaa begins on December 26. What's Kwanzaa, you ask? Well, read on! Laina Dawes explains the basics of this celebration of African culture. --Grace]  Read more >

  6. Awkward Black Girl: Do We Ignore Some "Isms?"

    12/13/11 7:21pm by lainad
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    Awkward Black Girl, by actingrl11 via YouTube

    The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl is a wildly popular web series that chronicles the life of J (played by co-creator Issa Rae), a twenty-something Black woman who lives and works in Los Angeles. J has a difficult time fitting in with her peers, and she writes violent and over-the-top misogynist rap lyrics as a way to vent her frustration for not being able to openly express her feelings about her single life, her crappy job, her almost crippling shyness, and her awkwardness.  Read more >

  7. Fans of The Hunger Games: Enthusiastic Readers or Bigoted Fandom?

    11/21/11 10:11am by lainad
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    Hunger Games Rue poster, by Lions Gate Films

    Based on a wildly popular young-adult science fiction book trilogy, The Hunger Games is one of the most anticipated movies hitting theaters in 2012. But months before the movie's premiere, the casting of the film is stirring one of 2011's hottest debates about race in Hollywood. The debate was stoked up again recently, as The Hunger Games trailers and posters were released to the public.  Read more >

  8. From The View to Slutwalk: Dust-ups Over the N-word

    10/11/11 8:13am by lainad
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    The View, ABC

    When discussing the recent media reports about the name of Republican US presidential candidate Governor Rick Perry’s family’s hunting camp, an argument ensued when Barbara Walters used the word “Nigger” when referring to the name.  Read more >

  9. Do Young People Get a 'Pass' To Use Racial and Sexual Slurs Online?

    9/30/11 6:05am by lainad
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    Keyboard, by JuditK via Flickr

    According to a recent Associated Press-MTV poll, 71% of youth between 17-24 use racial and sexual slurs online but would never consider used them in physical interactions with others, but half are unlikely to ask people to stop.  According to the article, many feel that popular social networks like Twitter and Facebook, people feel that the social barriers that make it less likely to use the same words in ‘  Read more >

  10. The Help: A "Feel Good" Movie... But For Whom?

    8/12/11 11:18am by lainad
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    Viola Davis in The Help, DreamWorks Pictures

    The Help, released on August 10th,  has been promoted as a "feel good" movie about strong women, both Black and White. But like the Kathryn Stockett novel on which the film is based, it's a story about a young White woman liberating her socially (and presumably, intellectually) inferior Black maids.   Image Credit: DreamWorksPictures    Read more >

Laina Dawes

Full Name
Laina Dawes
Member Since
February 2006
About Me: 

Laina Dawes is a contributing editor for Blogher and is also a music journalist whose writings can be found at Exclaim! Canada and Hellbound. She also has her own blog at Writing is Fighting. She resides in Toronto, Canada.

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