A very wise young woman gave me the title of this post while I was listening to the post-screening panel discussion of The Black Girl Project. She declared, “love is not an emotion, it’s a discipline.”

While the young woman was referring to romantic love, I’d like to remix the sentiment of the quote, so that it applies to my writing. I eat, breath, and sleep by the pen. It is the only activity that tugs on my heart and truly the only thing that I can see myself doing at 95 years old. Massaging words will never get old and constructing thought-provoking sentences remains my livelihood.

I’m not sure how I got to this place of writing particularly about gender & sexuality. I guess that I would blame it on going to the queerest university in the United States lol. While it did not teach me how to write, New York University made me the social thinker that I am.

That being said, this week’s hiatus of content on my blog is due to just that…thinking. After penning my second article for Clutch, its popularity must have gotten wind with one of the editors over at Carnal Nation. Not only did they ask to repost my piece on Female Masculinity, but they invited me to pen some original content for the site. As Carnal Nation pieces typically are longer than the standard 500-750 word blog post, it took tremendous time and effort for me to think through my intellectual argument and make it digestible. I finished my first piece tonight and I am excited to share it with you all to see your thoughts. Just to give a teaser, I titled the article Hip “Pop” is Drag: Butches, Femmes, & Homothugs (this title may be changed by the editors though, so don’t hold your breath lol). I essentially discussed popular stereotypes of homosexuality in hip “pop” (my name for this contemporary popular music that is so different from original hip hop). It was a tough intersectional argument, but I pray that I nailed it. I like to come out the womb kicking anytime I start writing for a new site.

I’ll be sure to post the article on my blog once it’s up. I suspect that it will be published sometime next week.

As I profess my love for writing, I need to do a better job at discplining myself to keep y’all updated through posting on my blog. I sometimes feel like there’s no point in writing unless I have something “deep” to say, but not everything has to be deep. Sometimes simple thoughts are enough

Thank you everyone for your kind words and support through the writing process. It has truly been a crazy two days.

xoxoxo

Arielle Loren

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed writing these last few weeks on my usual topics. I guess it makes a difference when you know you’re writing for an audience versus simply for yourself. I’ve been privileged to have my piece on Female Masculinity published by two major online platforms, Clutch Magazine and Carnal Nation. Both very different in audience, yet appreciative of my provocative style of thinking and rants on gender. If you haven’t read my piece yet, give it some love and drop some comments on both sites. Thanks for being dedicated thinkers and readers!

On female masculinity…

When I declare, “I am a beautiful woman,” what image comes to mind? Am I smoothly brown-skinned with a figure 8 frame? Am I thin with a flat stomach? Am I stunning with some extra curves?

What about if I have arms of Kobe Bryant? Or the legs of Usain Bolt? Can I have the jaw line of Barack Obama?

Would I be “woman” enough for you? Perhaps, you wouldn’t call me a woman at all. You’re not alone and I’m not pointing the finger. Womanhood and femininity remain inextricably intertwined causing female masculinity to be outside the norm. Thus, your visual discomfort is expected.

The truth is that I don’t have the characteristics of Bryant, Bolt, or Obama. I probably look like your stereotypical image of a “beautiful” Black woman (with a crazy afro); however, I know women who look the opposite. The need to redefine beauty standards and womanhood goes beyond “liberal” ideology and discussion. It’s about women’s empowerment, self-confidence, and inclusion. It’s about recognizing that not all women, even if solely a minority, have to look like each other. It’s bigger than the discourse of body image and weight in popular culture. This is the need to confront the taboo of female masculinity and pay homage to all the women who have lived outside the standard of beauty for too long. In fact, we should chuck the standard all together.

Read the rest on Carnal Nation and Clutch Magazine