May 11, 2022Faking the Funk: When White Women Play BIPOCUpdated: Oct 25, 2021 Rachel Dolezal. Then, we learned about Jess “La Bombalera” Krug. Since then, there have been several examples of White women engaging in cultural appropriation. However, most recently, Hilaria Baldwin née Hillary Hayward-Thomas has been outed as a Massachusetts Bostonian and not the Spaniard she has claimed…4 min read4 min read
May 11, 2022Squid Game: Why It Resonates around the GlobeUpdated: Oct 22, 2021 As a new Kdrama lover, I feel vindicated seeing that Squid Game was the most-watched show of all time on Netflix. But as a sociologist, I realize that the series touches on themes that resonate with people around the world as we grind under the wheel…Kdrama6 min readKdrama6 min read
May 11, 2022Disney+’s Snowdrop FailUpdated: Feb 12 After many trials and tribulations, Snowdrop has finally come to North America. The series comes from the screenwriter-director team, Yoo Hyun-Mi and Jo Hyun-Tak, known for the popular 2019 Korean drama SKY Castle. Snowdrop is a show from the cable network JTBC and takes place in 1987…Kdrama6 min readKdrama6 min read
Dec 13, 2021On Being a ‘Hard Stick’On multiple occasions, nurses have a difficult time finding my veins and have been called a “hard stick.” As a sociologist who recognizes the power of labels, this has often bothered me. Even if I drink a gallon of water the day before an IV, it is still difficult for…Nursing4 min readNursing4 min read
Oct 7, 2021Squid Game: Why It Resonates Around the GlobeAs a new Kdrama lover, I feel vindicated seeing that Squid Game was the most-watched show of all time on Netflix. But as a sociologist, I realize that the series touches on themes that resonate with people around the world as we grind under the wheel of global capitalism. There…6 min read6 min read
Jan 5, 2021Escaping Ordinary Whiteness: Rachel Dolezal, Jessica Krug, and Hilaria Baldwin and the Men Who Help ThemFirst, there was Rachel Dolezal. Then, we learned about Jess “La Bombalera” Krug. Since then, there have been several examples of White women engaging in cultural appropriation. However, most recently, Hilaria Baldwin née Hillary Hayward-Thomas has been outed as a Massachusetts Bostonian and not the Spaniard she has claimed to…Hilaria Baldwin4 min readHilaria Baldwin4 min read
Aug 4, 2020“The 1619 Project” and Black Resistance in a Time of #BlackLivesMatterIf you ask most Americans when enslaved Africans were first brought to what became the United States, they will likely tell you 1619. This is thanks to the Pulitzer-prize winning 1619 Project led by the journalist, Nicole Hannah-Jones. Filled with testimonies of Blacks who endured slavery as well as the…Slavery4 min readSlavery4 min read
May 25, 2020Race and Counting Covid-19 DeathsWhen it comes to African Americans and Covid-19, we have been swinging from one extreme to the other. As my African American friend living in Paris described self-isolating days before her workplace made it official, on this side of the pond, Blacks were minimizing its impact. “Black people don’t get…Covid-193 min readCovid-193 min read
Feb 14, 2020Being More ‘Open:’ Black Women Negotiate Dating and Marrying White MenWhen I was studying at Harvard in the early 2000s, I had a black immigrant professor who had built part of his career gas-lighting anti-black discrimination in favor of 1990s-style black cultural inferiority tropes. My grad school girlfriends and I awkwardly giggled over “the sex parts” of his book on…Black Women6 min readBlack Women6 min read
Feb 14, 2020Two Very Blonde Latinas, Black Artist Boycott, and Erasure of Blackness in the Super BowlBlack musicians boycotted the Super Bowl. Hell, even Afro-Latinx and Afro-Caribbeans boycotted the Super Bowl. So, the NFL brought in two world-renowned Latinas to do their thang. And they did it so well! Shakira knew her audience, so she didn’t do anything from her first or second albums. Most Americans…Race6 min readRace6 min read
