"'Sex and the City' for brown girls"?

Robin Daléa as Rasha in
The Real Girl's Guide to Everything Else

When I first ran into this web series over a year ago, it was still in the making. I was so excited that the lead was a woman of color, co-starring yet more women of color, that I stalked the site for a month in anticipation of its premier. Eventually my attention was diverted elsewhere. Regardless, I was able to rediscover this little gem of a show and it has already completed its first season, comprised of six short ‘chapters.’

The Real Girl’s Guide to Everything Else is focused on a Lebanese-American journalist, Rasha, whose agent nearly drops her because her work is too intellectual and feministic. With the help, and pushing, of her friends, Rasha embarks on a ridiculous mission to appease her agent without compromising the integrity of her work. What I love most about this series is that it’s not afraid of talking about race. It’s not afraid of addressing tokenism. And it’s certainly not afraid of having fun with Islam. Charming, cute, goofy and funny, The Real Girl’s Guide to Everything Else is sure to keep you entertained, if not for the story, then for the eye candy.

http://therealgirlsguide.com/

Welcome!

Welcome to Kandəke (CAN-DUH-KEE), a blog designed by a queer woman of color, for queer women of color, predominantly about queer women of color culture, media and life in general. All readers are welcome!

Kandeke is a play on kandake (also, kantake), an ancient Nubian word meaning Nubian warrior queen. This word survives in English today as the name Candace. I chose this word not only because of its empowering attachment to well-respected, uncompromising women in ancient African civilization, but also because Africa is the cradle of civilization, and as such, all-encompassing. I wish that, through this blog, I can offer a space for women of color to know what’s out there by them, for them; to openly celebrate LGBTQ culture, life and progress; and to simply pass the time.

I can only hope this blog will be as much fun for you to read and discuss as it is for me to research and write it. Shall we begin?

The Girl who Played with Fire

For those of you who've seen The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (if you haven't, I highly recommend), the second movie to this trilogy opened earlier this month, The Girl who Played with Fire. Due to its limited release, I have yet to see the second installment to this exciting trilogy. Nevertheless, according to imdb.com, the remaining movies are about as good as the first. Let's hope they're right! From Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance to The Hunger Games, great trilogies have always allowed me to wallow in another world just long enough to satisfy my obsession but not so long that I lose interest. Not to mention, the Swedes just know how to do it right. Let the Right One In, anyone?

[Image courtesy of National Public Radio: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128249224]