In 2013, Zeba Blay was one of the first people to coin the viral term “carefreeblackgirls” on Twitter. It was, as she says, “a way to carve out a space of celebration and freedom for black women online.”

Carefree Black Girls is an honest journey of a black girl from depression to self-acceptance through her essays on popular culture. She reviews how culture forms how people view themselves. This is especially true for the author as a Black female. She describes the difficulty with accepting and feeling safe in her black body under the sense of judgment and safety. Young black people are often commenting on each other negatively through social media and rappers as well as the role of black women in television and movies. She refers to the history and culture of growing up as a black woman. She explores how depression can result from all the expectations can have devastating results. Therapy and support are important for creating a supportive environment for the concept of being a carefree black girl.

Book Stats 
Stars: 3.5 Stars
Start Date : 02/7/24
Ending Date: 02/11/24
Genre: Non-Fiction Essays about Race, Feminism etc
Form:  Digital E-Arc/ Audiobook
Page Count: 240
Publishing Date: 10/19/21
Point of View: Collection of Essays

In my backlog of Netgalley arcs that I never got a chance to read and review but since it's Black History Month ,Why Not?

Carefree Black Girls is a collection of essays written on topics of race, colorism, mental health, girlhood, problematic faves, and everything else in between for the Black Woman and Black Girl in today's society. Zeba Blay, having written about pop culture for many years( which she was the first one to be credited with the term Carefree Black Girls) looks through the lens of her own experiences growing up a black woman as well as other black women who are a part of Black Culture/ Black Excellence.

There are Eight Essays along with an Introduction which I'm going to rate individually so I can get a collective rating.

Introduction: 4.0 Stars- This was a solid introduction which the author told about her motivation about why she decided to write these essays.

Bodies: 3.0 Stars- This one was pretty much about Lizzo , fatphobia and fake body positivity in today's society. How black female bodies who are more curvier are treated compared to bodies that are slimer. This was ok for the most because I am a big girl myself so I relate but for some reason this essay went on too long. Like the first part was about Lizzo and towards the end it felt like a little bit of a tangent which I felt a lot of essays as I listened tended to do. 

She's a Freak: 3.0 Stars- Honestly this one really could have been good if it didn't feel like a tangent again towards the end. This was about the sexualization of black women of young age which she talked about Megan the Stallion and how she owns her sexuality. Also brief talks about the double standard of black woman sexuality and black male sexuality.

Man, This Shit is Draining.: 5.0 Stars- Talking about the work field and how it's draining to report on certain topics that the author does which she gets hate mail and racial slurs thrown at her. This one gets a 5 stars because that last part when she went on F- bomb laced rant telling these people what they can do, I felt that shit. lol

Extra Black:2.5 Stars- Talks about Colorism in Hollywood and how Black Skinned Actresses are more quicker to get roles than Dark Skinned Actresses. This one needed more research and felt like she skimmed over things that really could have hammered her message down more. She did briefly talk about Old Hollywood but I think she really could have used that to her advance. She could have really nailed it home on the fact that actresses like Lena Horne, Dorothy Dandridge, because of their light skin didn't play the Maid/ Mammy roles compared to Hattie McDonald, Butterfly McQueen and others who were darker skinned. That while yes ,Lena and Dorothy were still discriminated against because they were black so they still couldn't get major roles, they still were in a better position than Hattie and Butterfly. She just skimmed over it briefly but she did mention that Lena didn't get a role that later a white actress did get because she would be the love interest of White Male Co-Star. Like Come on this is Old Hollywood during the Jim Crow Laws. We knew that was not going to fly. Thank God for Virginia Vs. Loving...

Cardi B is So Problematic: 1.0 Star- I don't think I needed a whole freaking essay about Cardi B and Problematic things she has done and said. Also dealing with her beef with Nicki Minaj. This should have been left on the cutting room floor. With Lizzo, I understood since we were talking about Body Positivity. With Cardi it just felt like it had no sense of direction. Do we want to talk about Transphobia in the Black Community which needs to be talked about for real? Do you want to talk about Racism? Do we want to talk about Allyship and what to do to help the Black LBGTQ Community? Do we just want to go on a tangent about Cardi for 45 mins and just tack on Transphobia, Racism, Allyship in there somewhere? Because I didn't need this one at all. She could have just done an essay about trying to be an Black Woman Ally or done research about the Ball Culture and its impact on the Black Queer Community.

GirlHood:2.5 Stars- This felt all over the place which I was trying to figure out the correlations with Girlhood but I did like the fact of her being a Spice Girl Fan. The first part with her talking about growing up being a fan of Spice Girls and relating to Mel B is relatable to girlhood but the last part... I don't even know. I really thought it would be tied back into the She's a Freak Essay on how black girls get called "fast" or get sexualized because some girl bodies developed so quickly that sometimes they lose the innocence of girlhood. Like being 10 or 12 years old and because your body is developed a grown ass man is looking at you. I really thought she could have gone that route with it.

Strong Black Lead: 5.0 Stars- The Strongest of the essays for some reason. I enjoyed this one and how the author talked about her mental health.

Free of Cares: 4.0 Stars- This was a pretty good essay to end it and tie in the name of the Book.

Final Rating: 3.5 Stars

I just feel like with a lot of these essays, she really could have made her arguments stronger by getting examples from the past to back up her examples of the present. Yes ,I know she's in her 30's like me but most of these essays feel like a tangent or a rant and not a well thought out essay about a topic she's compelled to talk about. Honestly her best two Essays were the essays dealing with her personal experiences more than trying to link it with pop culture. Maybe she should have done a collection of essays more forcing on her experience being a black woman alone and just left the pop culture element out of it.

I didn’t know what to expect from the author, I expected some feminist moments along with struggles of black women. This could be triggering for some folks so read the content warnings. She talks about the stereotypes that have been placed on black women and the struggles of being over sexualized. It is def thought provoking and makes you think a little deeper. She brings us on a journey of looking at the significance of influential Black women throughout history, including Josephine Baker, Michelle Obama, Rihanna, and Cardi B. Incorporating her own personal experiences as well as astute analysis of these famous women, It is an empowering and celebratory portrait of black women and their effect on American culture. She also examines the many stereotypes that have clung to Black women throughout history.
I received a complimentary electronic copy of this collection of essays from Netgalley!

Readers familiar with Zeba Blay and the @carefreeblackgirls online presence will be ready to champion Blay's expanded work on finding joy and freedom as a Black woman in today's world. Tying together personal experiences with historical accounts of Black women and their tales of freedom and joy, this is a must-read.

THis was a wonderful collection of essays about femininity and embracing your identity for Black women. While i am not the intended demographic for this book, I very much vallued the perspective of the writer, and how pop culture influences the identity of Black women. This book calls out the problematic and white supremacist ways of thinking that influence how Black women navigate the spaces they're in.

A beautiful collection of stories on how Black women, young and old, are depicted throughout our culture.

Honest and raw, and while not "new" in it's themes or commentary, I still enjoyed it immensly.

"Carefree Black Girls" is a thoughtful, important look at the way Black women have been portrayed in pop culture. Told through a series of brief essays, this quick read spans decades and formats to tell unique stories, some of which were known to me and some of which were new.

Beautiful collection. After reading the arc I received on netgalley I purchased my own copy. There are some tough topics but I appreciate the addition to the narratives. We need more books about Black girls by Black girls for Black girls.

I really loved this series of essays - I'm a big pop culture fan and was already familiar with the majority of the subjects Blay covers (even though I hadn't followed her). I loved her voice, insight, and structure of the essays, and while each essay is its own individual piece, the collection as a whole works well together and complements each other. Blay uses well known pop culture figures (for example, the first essay on "Bodies" opens by discussing Lizzo), but she is not just recounting events, she is contextualizing them and putting forth her own (persuasive) argument on those topics. I was already familiar with several of these topics and perspective, but still really enjoyed spending time with this book and the way Blay contextualizes and discusses each aspect.
If you enjoy pop culture and essays centering the Black experience (or are looking to diversify your reading), I highly recommend this collection. I'm excited to see what her next book will be.

I remember seeing the hashtag #carefreeblackgirls go viral, and loved seeing the celebration of black girl joy, so I was excited to see this collection of essays from the film critic Zeba Blay.

This book is a deeply powerful and moving collection of essays examining black women and their influences on popular culture. From Josephine Baker to Lizzo, it's an examination of stereotypes, racism, trauma. But also an exploration of joy and achievement and breaking the mold.

I really appreciated a lot about this collection, not the least of which is encouraging me to explore more deliberately the work of black women artists. But I also was in awe of how, even in the midst of talking about the zeitgeist of black artists, she was able to bring in so much of her personal difficulties and struggles. This was at times difficult to read, but I believe that makes it all the more important and valuable a read.

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for this advance reader's copy.

I enjoyed this anthology that celebrates how black women have been portrayed in popular culture and deconstructing stereotypes surround women of color.

I wasn't really sure what to think of this, but I liked the premise, so I decided to pick it up.

This collection of essays touches on everything from the expectation of black women's bodies to inspiring black women to some of Zeba's own person struggles as a black woman.

I wasn't expecting this book to touch me as much as it did. I was expecting to be educated and to learn a great deal about Blay's perspective as a black woman living in our country as a immigrant, as a woman, etc.

I didnt expect to understand so much of her perspective from my own perspective. And to feel so keenly that I could understand so well so much of what she was saying. While some of the expectations, criticisms, prejudices and judgments she mentioned are truly based in race alone, some of them do extend beyond and thus I understood them and felt them.

I would very much love to recommend this book to many because of that.

Thank you so much for the ARC.

Thank you Netgalley for letting me read and review this book. Carefree Black Girls is a collection of essays by Zeba Blay. It delves into the works and achievements of a variety influential black women. There are essays by dancers, singers, artists, actresses, and writers. They talk about racisms, misogyny, stereotypes and different situations they go through. The book also talks about the strength of black women. "Blay seeks a path forward to a culture and society in which Black women and their art are appreciated and celebrated."

I learned a lot in this essay collection, and enjoyed this read. A book everyone should read. We should all celebrate and appreciate Black women and their art.

Wow… this was amazing. Wow

LIKES:
1) it’s unapologetically raw- Blay makes sure that we understand her feelings are not there to pacify you, but to show you her struggle and how she has worked through it
2) Black feminism- yep, it’s different and necessary
3) teaching me new things- this book gave me a different appreciation for Lizzo and Cardi B. They are so much more to the Black Women community that is put out there by social media.
4) highlights mental health illness- so necessary in a community where we all just want to sweep it under the rug. Definitely a must read for that part alone. Black women need this

DISLIKES:
🚫
None… please go out and get your copy! I just put the physical copy on my wishlist!

I received a complimentary electronic copy of this collection of essays from Netgalley, Zeba Blay, and publisher Vintage/Square Peg, a division of St. Martin's Press, on December 9th, 2022. After reading the forward from the author, I almost passed on reading Carefree Black Girls - I thought I was already depressed enough to give it a miss. I'm glad I had second thoughts, as this is an exceptionally uplifting series of essays, whatever your color or circumstance. It is a collection I can highly recommend to friends and family, one I will want to access again when my spirits need a lift.

I learned a lot. Damn. This was so good because it taught me so much. There were some tough essays to read but necessary to be written. Especially for a white person to read and experience through the lens of a Black woman and just sit with. Just let her stories, comments, opinions roll over me. I didn't realize the weight that was put on Black women and I'm definitely glad I read this.

What a raw and real group of essays. This author put a soul out there for the world to see and examine. These stories pushed me and made me quiet my mind and listen, to open my ears and my heart to the story. I needed to see how it was for Zeba Blay wihtout enjecting my own story or my own thoughts into it. I found a lot of it moving & fascinating. I paused a few times to look up things I didn't know so I could have the images or the feel of it to understand. I think it took a lot of courage for this author to put this out there, and I appreciated it.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Race in the US is a complex topic that carries a lot of nuance, but these ideas are simplified in our era of memes, tweets and quick social media posts. I appreciate Zeba Blay taking time to delve deeper in Carefree Black Girls. She expresses her exhaustion, distress, anger, fear, and, indeed, joy while acknowledging that her perspective, while it might shared by others, certainly can't be comprehensive. This is a book I'd love to read chapter by chapter with others as I think those conversations would be even more impactful than simply reading the book on my own.

What a great book that celebrates black women, but with a critique of how their achievements are ignored or downplayed. Although no dark-skinned women have singular experiences, dark-skinned women are not provided the luxury of being “carefree”, unlike their white women counterparts. Additionally, the woven auto narration of the authors stories & struggles is astounding. To end with this quote “how do black women find freedom?”

Thank you, Zeba Blay, for sharing your essays with the world. I read this book slowly, one chapter only per day, choosing to really dig in and digest the thoughts, truth and information she wrote about. I found the chapter 'Strong Black Lead' to be incredibly emotional.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.