Hello all, I know it has been an extremely long time but I am pleased to bring you my first blog post of 2021 during International Women’s Month. Today I am going to express some of my sentiments about the masculinisation and sexualisation of tall Black women whilst sharing some of my personal experiences as a 5’10/11 Black woman growing up in the UK. I Am Not a Tree to Be Climbed So I just want to make it clear that my mother didn’t carry me for nine months to then later on in life be likened to a tree or any form of apparatus which one can climb. I don’t know if this is supposed to be sexy but it’s disgusting and it makes me sick. I’m telling you for free, stop telling tall women that you want to climb them because first and foremost, you are detracting our humanity by comparing us to inanimate objects. Secondly, why can’t you just compliment me about my beauty, fashion sense or hairstyle like a normal person? Instead, you instantly sexualise me when you don’t know me from Adam ...
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My 2020
Hello all, today I am here to share with you a round-up of my 2020. This year saw the whole world get plunged into a global pandemic and it's by God's grace and power that I made it to the end safely. Faith To be frank, my relationship with God has gone through some ups and downs in a sense whereby I have been heavily questioning my actual faith. I feel like it’s been tested in various aspects of my life like my academics and "love life". I was on the verge of dropping out of my PhD because I initially started my degree by stepping out in faith and hoping that God will provide when needed. Long story short, there were fears of how I would be able to pay some of my fees but thankfully after a talk with my supervisor, things have been worked out. I can happily say that I am still on my course (even though it has me in the ropes some days). I am also grateful for the fact that I was able to secure a part-time job that works perfectly with my ever-changing schedule. As for the downs, I ...
My Top 10 Beauty Faves of 2020
Hello all, I've decided to put together a post showcasing all of my favourite beauty products from 2020 along with links to at least 3 places you can purchase them from! I do believe that the products mentioned in this post have become staples for my makeup routine and I couldn't pull off a lot of my looks without them. I am also pleased that I have finally been put on some awesome black-owned cosmetic brands which I see myself using indefinitely for the foreseeable future. Fenty Beauty Pro Fil'tr Instant Retouch Primer I mentioned this primer in my previous post about Fenty Beauty however I hadn't really used it at the time of the post. Now that I finally used this primer, I can tell you this right now this primer in combination with the Fenty Beauty foundation is the absolute dream team for me. I like how it has a slight mattifying effect however it is not extremely drying like some mattifying primers. In the past, the mattifying primers I used to leave a white cast AND ...
From a Young Nigerian in the Diaspora
1st October 1960: Nigeria gained independence from the United Kingdom 20th October 2020: After 12 days of nationwide protests, armed officials fired at unarmed peaceful protesters at Lekki Toll Bridge after CCTV and lights were turned off who were fighting for their human rights If you remember from my last diaspora post, I touched upon the idea of acknowledging the good, bad and ugly aspects of Nigerian history. Well unfortunately, this post will be focusing on the ugly aspects of Nigeria post independence. Well, throughout the month of October, there have been nationwide protests in my homeland Nigeria to end and effectively dissolve The Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). However what has started off as peaceful protests for basic human rights has descended into mass murdering and killing of an armed protesters and it honestly makes me feel sick and makes me feel helpless about my homeland. SARS was formed by the Nigerian Government in 1992 by former police commissioner Simeon ...
Where Have I Been?
Hello all, I know it has been a while since my last blog post but today I am coming to you with the latest post of my PhD Chronicles series which is a life update with everything that's been going on with me over the past couple of months of this crazy 2020! The main reason why I have been away from Thoughts of Chi is because of my beloved PhD and boy let me tell you about my PhD journey so far. Firstly, if anyone told me I would’ve started my PhD during a worldwide global pandemic I wouldn’t have believed you. Nonetheless, whilst my university was closed because of the first lockdown, I was somewhat been able to cherish time at home being at home and subsequently adjusted to life without the lab. Right now, I am focused on getting to the next checkpoint of this degree — my dreaded transfer report and viva next year. Experiments The lockdown literally came just as I started to get into the flow of my experiments and I was finally producing some decent results. It wasn't the ...
Dismantling the Strong Black Woman Trope
Hello all, I know it has been a long time since my last post but your girl was swamped with a hefty progress report which is now done. A lot has been going on for the past few months but today’s blog post is about something that has really been on my heart for the past few weeks. Today, I am here to discuss a few myths and sentiments around the strong black woman narrative. Over the past couple of weeks, I have seen attempts online of black men to uplift black women and alarmingly the recurring traits of what black men seem to love about black women is that that we are “strong” and “fearless”. Whilst I’m very sure that the intention of citing these characteristics was to uplift, it can come across as problematic where it seems as if black women are appreciated when we are able to take on the load of the world. The fact that I always see the topic of protecting black women and baffles and astounds me the very few ignorant men are unable to comprehend that you should have respect for ...
