Episode 3.18 The Monáe Test with Taylor Crumpton

Secret Feminist Agenda

Content warning for discussions of police violence.

This week I’m talking to journalist and totally-not-a-bot Taylor Crumpton. We talk about how Taylor went from grad student to freelance journalist, how Twitter is a platform for both highlighting marginalized voices and exploiting Black women’s labour, and why it might not be a good idea to burn the flag (hint: the reason might surprise you). In fact, we touch on so many topics that I’m anticipating an extra-long list of links. And here it is!

• First off, go read everything Taylor has written and then share it online. If you want a link straight to that piece about a girl fighting off an alligator, here it is.
• Taylor talks about getting her start as a writer through The OpEd Project, which is dedicated to “increas[ing] the range of voices and quality of ideas we hear in the world.”
• Taylor also talks about being told in grade school that she couldn’t write, which reminded me of lawyer, writer, and podcaster Hadiya Rodrigue’s incredible essay “Black on Bay Street,” which recounts similar experiences of being gaslit and discouraged as a student.
• I tried to find you a good piece about Beyonce’s pregnancy photoshoot and the symbolism of the images and the misplaced critique of her fetishizing pregnancy, but everything I found was so absolutely terrible that I’m going to link to Taylor’s piece on Medium instead!
• You probably already know Zoé Samudzi‘s work but just in case, here’s her latest piece on why facial recognition technology doesn’t work on Black people and how that might actually be a good thing.
• I actually didn’t know about Wear Your Voice magazine, which (it turns out) is an incredible platform for intersectional feminist work and I immediately read like five articles so you should go check it out.
• Just in case you aren’t familiar with Black Twitter, here’s a good intro to its importance and influence.
• This article is probably my favourite piece on paying women (i.e. #GiveWomenYourMoney). I couldn’t find the original invoice for emotional labour that I mentioned to Taylor, but while I was looking for it I found this website that will help you calculate how much the patriarchy owes you, and it is very satisfying. It accounts for menstrual products and wage gap!
• Last link! (Told you this list would be long.) This article explains how racism impacts people’s ability to call cabs, and how services like Uber and Lyft improve access to vehicles for people of colour.

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The podcast theme song is “Mesh Shirt” by Mom Jeans off their album “Chub Rub.” Listen to the whole album here or learn more about them here. Taylor’s theme song is “Learned from Texas” by Big K.R.I.T.

Secret Feminist Agenda is recorded and produced by Hannah McGregor on the traditional and unceded territories of the Squamish, Musqueam, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations.