Nichole Perkins is a freelance writer, based in her hometown of Nashville, TN. She began writing about pop culture, race, gender, and sex at the website Postbourgie.com and has written for BuzzFeed, Think Progress, Talking Points Memo, and rogerebert.com. Nichole also writes poetry, fiction, screenplays, and is currently working on a collection of personal essays.
In Cole Lavalais’ debut novel Summer of the Cicadas, Viola “Vi” Moon hopes to leave her experience at a mental health facility behind when she enrolls in a small black college in the south, but the stability she hoped she’d gain fractures more quickly than she anticipated. Vi thinks the best way to regain her sanity is to begin a relationship with Perry, the only son of a black, Southern elite family. When
If Taraji P. Henson were your girlfriend, your wardrobe would magically become whatever slick, powerful, and comfortable means for you. If Taraji P. Henson were your girlfriend, she’d put a pillow on the floor and tell you to sit so she could scratch your scalp while you watched Coming to America together for the thousandth time. She’d confess she really didn’t like it when Derek Luke and Tyrese were “play-fighting” over her characters Cookie and…
This is Nichole Perkins' first essay for The Toast. Her previous work for The Butter can be found here. My ringtone is the theme from the Lynda Carter-led Wonder Woman series. The journal I use for ideas and outlines features a comic version of the heroine looking prettily from the corners of her eyes. I have several sets of Wonder Woman underwear that I put on when I want good luck or good…
“…my crew don't mind it thick (Uh-uh)/ Every woman ain't a video chick (Nah)/ Or runway model anorexic/ I love what I can hold and grab on…” Posdnuos, “Baby Phat” by De La Soul
In the south, we're known for appreciating a "thick" woman, and for a very long time, I was upset that I didn't have the hips, ass, and breasts my people lift in praise. My mother
