Cupcake Noire is a new movement that I've created to represent everything healthy, unabashedly provocative, and luxurious from a black feminist perspective. What does this even mean?
Let's break down the name itself shall we. "Cupcake" is a tiny and delicate yet decadent dessert that consists of frosting (vulva) and the cakey center (vagina) that is too irresistible not to eat. "Noire" is the feminine French word for "black".
Being "healthy" includes everything from drinking water to eating our fruits and veggies to overall emotional, physical, and spiritual well being. All of these factors affect our cupcakes one way or another.
Now "unabashedly provocative" stems from the strong history of sexual oppression placed upon black women since slavery. We have been carrying the burden of asexual to hypersexual stereotypes for the longest time and it's time for a change. Black women have been programed to refrain from embracing their own sexuality. Out with Mammy, Sapphire, and Jezebel...in with Cupcake Noire.
"Luxurious" obviously reflects my passion and obsession with fashion. Nothing gets me and my wallet excited more than an amazing fashion spread featuring beautiful black women. We all know that black women are the eternal muse for all fashion houses since most if not all trends are mimicking our black culture. Bo Derek braids? I think not, Kim.
Lastly, the hardest thing for me was deciding whether or not I considered myself to be a black feminist. After reading, We Should All Be Feminist by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Bad Feminist by Roxanne Gay, I was finally convinced. As a graduate of an all-female historically black college/university, I always believed in equality for all but especially for black women.
This is even why I chose to launch in Women's History Month in between International Women's Day and National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. I don't play when it comes to my black women and I pledge to make a difference one cupcake at a time.
Who runs the world? C U P C A K E S!
Enjoy!
XOXO, Shawna