This is so beautifully put. I'm so grateful for writing that helps me kind of sink into a better understanding of something, such that my preconceptions of the topic wash away and I'm able to experience just a glimmer of another person's experience.

Growing up in the 80s, women were portrayed in media in one of maybe 3 ways - beautiful and good (also, pretty much always white), ugly and bad/annoying (often fat, sometimes white), or harmless and comforting (old, usually white). I never knew how I thirsted for media that portrayed women's experiences in all their depth and richness until I started to see that kind of media - Finally, finally, finally someone was telling stories of womanhood that reflected my experiences.

Here's praying for a world that greenlights more and more rich, in depth, authentic portrayals of multi-faceted black people, black relationships, black sex. Story-telling is a powerful human need and seeing someone like yourself portrayed well, in a way that supports your desires and ambitions, is fucking huge.

Anyway, thanks for this.