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Speaker 1: Welcome to the Therapy for Black Girls Podcast, a weekly

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Speaker 1: conversation about mental health, personal development, and all the small

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Speaker 1: decisions we can make to become the best possible versions

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Speaker 1: of ourselves. I'm your host, doctor Joy Hard and Bradford,

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Speaker 1: a licensed psychologist in Atlanta, Georgia. For more information or

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Speaker 1: to find a therapist in your area, visit our website

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Speaker 1: at Therapy for Blackgirls dot com. While I hope you

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Speaker 1: love listening to and learning from the podcast, it is

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Speaker 1: not meant to be a substitute for a relationship with

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Speaker 1: a licensed mental health professional. Hey, y'all, thanks so much

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Speaker 1: for joining me for session four or three of the

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Speaker 1: Therapy for Black Girls Podcast. We'll get right into our

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Speaker 1: conversation after a word from our sponsors. Have you heard

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Speaker 1: bring you new segments like so my Therapist Said, where

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Speaker 1: culture topics that have us all in our feelings and

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Speaker 1: opportunities to connect with other sisters all over the world.

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Speaker 1: Sign up now at Therapy for Blackgirls dot com, slash

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Speaker 1: join Patreon for all the details about what we're planning

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Speaker 1: and to be the first to know when the doors

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Speaker 1: are open. We can't wait to see you inside. As

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Speaker 1: we close out our four hundredth episode celebration, we wanted

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Speaker 1: to shift the focus to how media representation has impacted

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Speaker 1: black women over the years and how changes in the

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Speaker 1: industry inform how we will continue to see ourselves. Joining

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Speaker 1: me are the Cuts beauty editor Asia Ware and founder

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Speaker 1: of Black Girls in Media Tasha mccaskell. With their separate

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Speaker 1: but interconnected experience as journalists and media strategists, we unpacked

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Speaker 1: how one even begins a career in journalism, how the

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Speaker 1: state of the industry shifts, where we find authentic black stories,

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Speaker 1: and the importance of not skipping out on the work.

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Speaker 1: If something resonates with you while enjoying our conversation, please

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Speaker 1: share with us on social media using the hashtag TBG

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Speaker 1: in session. Here's our conversation. Thank you both for joining

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Speaker 1: me today. I'm very excited to chat with you.

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Speaker 2: Thank you for having us super excited.

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Speaker 1: Yes, thank you Yeah, very very excited to hear more

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Speaker 1: about you and your incredible career. So Asia, we'll start

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Speaker 1: with you, if you could just introduce yourself and tell

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Speaker 1: us a little bit about how you actually got started

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Speaker 1: in your career.

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Speaker 2: It's been a journey.

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Speaker 3: I am now a beauty editor at New York Magazine's

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Speaker 3: the cut To make a long story short. I've always

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Speaker 3: known that I wanted to work in magazines, work in

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Speaker 3: fashion and beauty. But I really started interning when I

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Speaker 3: was at Hampton University. I would intern in Essence magazine.

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Speaker 3: I'd interned for radio stations, and when I graduated college,

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Speaker 3: I had an internship at InStyle magazine, which kind of

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Speaker 3: just catapulted my career from there.

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Speaker 2: And yeah, that's how I started.

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Speaker 1: Okay, what about you, Tasha, Yeah, so I started.

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Speaker 4: Off with internships too.

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Speaker 5: I'm from Charlotte, so I was like, how can I

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Speaker 5: get to a bigger city. So I went to grad

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Speaker 5: school at NYU, majored in PR, and I majored in

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Speaker 5: PR and undergrad a ANTI and then yeah, when I

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Speaker 5: was in New York, I just took advantage did internships,

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Speaker 5: went from one to another and just you know, learned

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Speaker 5: what I like in terms of media and the media industry.

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Speaker 4: And then after.

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Speaker 5: I graduated, that's when I wanted to network with other

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Speaker 5: black women and that's when I started Black Girls Media Perfect.

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Speaker 1: So it's like you both have had, I would say,

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Speaker 1: pretty traditional routes into media, right, like the internship kind

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Speaker 1: of funnel. But I definitely want to hear more about that.

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Speaker 1: But I wonder if there is any like particular moment

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Speaker 1: that made you think, like, oh, this is definitely the

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Speaker 1: career for me, Well, what about you, Tasha will start

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Speaker 1: with you.

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Speaker 5: It took me a while, I would say, so I

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Speaker 5: went into undergrad undecided. I really didn't know what I

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Speaker 5: wanted to do when it came to media or let

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Speaker 5: alone my career. So that's when Anti I just really

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Speaker 5: started testing, doing PR classes, doing journalism classes, and I realized, Okay,

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Speaker 5: I like to talk a lot, I like to help

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Speaker 5: people with their brands.

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Speaker 4: So it took me a while.

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Speaker 5: I started off in PR, and then once I moved

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Speaker 5: to LA doing more of it, I kind of realized

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Speaker 5: the PR life wasn't really for me, and then that

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Speaker 5: that's when you know, I started going into social media,

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Speaker 5: growing my personal social media, but then also joining companies

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Speaker 5: on their social media team. So yeah, just giving myself

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Speaker 5: that freedom to explore what I liked, whether it was PR,

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Speaker 5: social media, branding, and entrepreneurship in general.

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Speaker 2: What about you, Asia, Yeah, I'd have to agree.

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Speaker 3: I knew from very early what I wanted to do,

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Speaker 3: but my mom would always be like, you need to

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Speaker 3: try everything to make sure that is really what you

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Speaker 3: want to do. And so when I was in high

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Speaker 3: schools I grew up in New York. When I was

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Speaker 3: in high school, my senior year, I was in a

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Speaker 3: journalism class and we would go to magazines as class trips,

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Speaker 3: and I just remember going to see So we went

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Speaker 3: to People magazine and we went to the fashion and

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Speaker 3: beauty closet and I was like.

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Speaker 2: Oh my gosh.

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Speaker 3: I had always known I wanted to work in fashion

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Speaker 3: and beauty, but seeing that closet and seeing the people

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Speaker 3: working there, I was like, Oh my gosh, this is

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Speaker 3: actually a real. And I just remember all my classmates

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Speaker 3: being like, Asia, we can see you doing this, like

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Speaker 3: this is so you. But there was nobody black, and

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Speaker 3: there was nobody over a size too. And when I

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Speaker 3: went to Hampton, I actually didn't major in communications. For

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Speaker 3: my first semester because I was like, I want to

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Speaker 3: do that, but it seems like it is just a dream.

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Speaker 3: It doesn't seem like it's a reality because I didn't

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Speaker 3: see my self represented. And I had a professor my

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Speaker 3: first year at Hampton who read my writing and she

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Speaker 3: was like, you do not, so I was. I went

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Speaker 3: into Hampton majoring in education because I was like, well,

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Speaker 3: I like kids, I'll just be a teacher and I'll

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Speaker 3: have a style blog because I just needed fashion to

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Speaker 3: be a part of my day to day somehow. And

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Speaker 3: my professor was like, you do not want to do this.

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Speaker 3: If you want to do journalism, you need to just

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Speaker 3: go for it and your lane will make way for you.

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Speaker 3: And that is exactly what happened. But speaking to just

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Speaker 3: trying different things, I too had like Tasha said, I

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Speaker 3: had a pr internship and I was like, okay, well

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Speaker 3: this isn't for me. I had a marketing internship in radio.

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Speaker 3: I really tried everything, but at my core, I knew

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Speaker 3: I wanted to be an editorial. I knew I wanted

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Speaker 3: to be a magazine and I think when it came

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Speaker 3: down to that and I was doing that, I felt

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Speaker 3: really settled and Okay, I know this is exactly what

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Speaker 3: I want to do because I've tried everything else and

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Speaker 3: this is still what makes me happiest and this is

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Speaker 3: where I still feel the most fulfilled.

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Speaker 1: So Asia, do you remember what magazines did you kind

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Speaker 1: of really grow up reading and were very influential to you.

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Speaker 3: Team Vogue was one, which is amazing because I spent

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Speaker 3: two and a half years in my career working at

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Speaker 3: Team Vogue seventeen magazine.

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Speaker 2: But even like early days like Vibe.

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Speaker 3: I remember my older cousins having Vibe magazine and like

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Speaker 3: having the posters on their wall like that. I would

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Speaker 3: so look forward to just taking posters out and putting

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Speaker 3: them on my wall, flipping through like People stylewatching People

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Speaker 3: Style Watch was a thing seeing what it's celebrities where

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Speaker 3: and where can you find to look for less. I

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Speaker 3: was just always like this obsessive teenager with magazines and

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Speaker 3: so yeah, like I said, especially Team Vogue. Being able

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Speaker 3: to work for Team Vogue later in my career after

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Speaker 3: growing up with it was completely full circle.

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Speaker 2: Mm hmm.

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Speaker 1: So, Tasha, I would imagine you have a very unique

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Speaker 1: vantage point because of the organization that you founded, and

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Speaker 1: it sounds like part of the reason why you found

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Speaker 1: it black girls in media was because of the underrepresentation

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Speaker 1: and really wanting to have an outlet to talk with

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Speaker 1: other black women in media. But what are your thoughts

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Speaker 1: about like the current landscape of black women in media.

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Speaker 5: I see a lot of opportunity for us, for black

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Speaker 5: women in the media landscape. I think that the world

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Speaker 5: knows and also we know now that we are the media,

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Speaker 5: We are the culture.

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Speaker 4: We shape what's happening, we shape what's.

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Speaker 5: Trending, and so us knowing that now and walking in

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Speaker 5: that power through content creation and being able to have

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Speaker 5: our own platforms now. Just like Aga said, like when

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Speaker 5: we first started off, I remember when I went to

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Speaker 5: New York for the first time, I worked Fashion Week

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Speaker 5: in those rooms and not seeing anybody that looks like you.

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Speaker 4: We had to fight for those opportunities.

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Speaker 5: And so now the fact that we're able to have

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Speaker 5: our own platforms on social media, I see a great

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Speaker 5: trend of us being able to, you know, just dominate

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Speaker 5: when it comes to media, create more outlets and more projects.

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Speaker 4: And just really own the narrative.

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Speaker 3: I think for me, it's been really influential to have

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Speaker 3: black women as mentors in my career, and so I think,

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Speaker 3: like Tasha said, the landscape is changing. I think in

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Speaker 3: fashion and beauty especially, it has been a slow it's.

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Speaker 2: Been very slow to build with seeing more black women.

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Speaker 3: But again, like having black women as mentors in my

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Speaker 3: career has completely changed my career. And so I think

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Speaker 3: the big thing there is just like like reaching as

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Speaker 3: we climb, right, like when we get in, like not

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Speaker 3: closing the door behind us. Like we are in these

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Speaker 3: spaces not only to be representative of just Black women

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Speaker 3: as a whole in the media, but we are also

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Speaker 3: in these spaces to make sure that other Black women

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Speaker 3: are coming up behind us.

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Speaker 1: And I'd love to stay with you Asia to talk

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Speaker 1: a little bit of because you are in a more

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Speaker 1: traditional kind of media space, right and we know, you know,

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Speaker 1: especially with like Joy and Reed's show being canceled and

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Speaker 1: like there's been lots of commentary around traditional media spaces

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Speaker 1: and black women. How do you besides mentorship, are there

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Speaker 1: other things you can think of in terms of Black

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Speaker 1: women continuing to create lanes for themselves in traditional media.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean I always tell people all the time.

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Speaker 3: I remember when I was interning, before I could get

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Speaker 3: an internship in magazines, everyone would always say, you need experience.

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Speaker 3: You need experience, You need experience, right, And I was like, well,

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Speaker 3: I can't get experience if you're not giving me experience.

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Speaker 3: And so I started my own blog when I was

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Speaker 3: in college. I was probably a freshman, I think, still

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Speaker 3: in college, I started my own blog and I was like, look,

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Speaker 3: if you aren't going to give me an opportunity, I'm

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Speaker 3: going to create an opportunity myself. And I think with

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Speaker 3: a lot of black women, that is ultimately what it

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Speaker 3: comes down to, because again, like a lot of times,

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Speaker 3: they just need black women to check off a box

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Speaker 3: like Okay, we've done out higher, and especially in today's

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Speaker 3: political climate with DEI and everything, like, we aren't a

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Speaker 3: first thought, right, And so I think a lot of times,

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Speaker 3: like what I've always learned is just as a black woman,

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Speaker 3: we have to be great at everything, right.

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Speaker 2: And so I felt like I didn't have a choice

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Speaker 2: but to create.

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Speaker 3: My own platform. And even now working at a magazine,

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Speaker 3: I still do my own thing because you just have to.

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Speaker 2: You just have to.

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Speaker 3: And so I think along with mentorship, it's been like

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Speaker 3: always having your lane, like it's been the most important

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Speaker 3: thing to me, and it's I think learning to be

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Speaker 3: great at everything is something that as black women, we

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Speaker 3: just have to do in these positions, but it also

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Speaker 3: is what kind of helps to build our career because oh,

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Speaker 3: you said you need somebody for this, but we're not

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Speaker 3: good enough for this. Okay, well I can also do that.

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Speaker 3: And does it put us at a disadvantage? A lot

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Speaker 3: of something isn't unfair, absolutely, but it's just from what

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Speaker 3: I've always seen in this traditional media landscape, it is

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Speaker 3: what sets us apart.

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Speaker 1: So I'd love to hear you both kind of talk

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Speaker 1: about because you know, the independent space is like substas

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Speaker 1: and even podcasts and I think blogs You've mentioned several times.

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Speaker 1: Asia Riter does definitely feel like black women thrive in

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Speaker 1: those spaces and continue to set up shops there because

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Speaker 1: we don't know if traditional spaces will be available to us.

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Speaker 1: So how viable do you think these more independent lanes

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Speaker 1: of media are.

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Speaker 2: I think it's extremely viable.

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Speaker 3: I mean even when we look at you know, having

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Speaker 3: your own platform, whether it's a sub sect, whether that's

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Speaker 3: a podcast, you have no limits to what you can say, right,

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Speaker 3: And I think a lot of times me I'm grateful

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Speaker 3: that I work for a publication that never tries to

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Speaker 3: turn down my voice or anything like that.

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Speaker 2: Right, But I have been in that space before.

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Speaker 3: I've been in places where it's like, oh, this may

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Speaker 3: be too urban or something like that. Right, But when

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Speaker 3: you have your own platform, there are no limits to

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Speaker 3: what you can say. And I think that is when

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Speaker 3: your audience in your community find you. And a lot

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Speaker 3: of times that community looks just like you, right when

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Speaker 3: a black woman starts a podcast, Like, yes, the audience

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Speaker 3: can vary, but a lot of times the community is

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Speaker 3: built on black women because black women support black women,

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Speaker 3: especially like somebody being in the beauty industry and looking

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Speaker 3: at the black dollar and look at how black women

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Speaker 3: spend money on beauty, Like we are each other's community

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Speaker 3: and we will never let each other fail. And so

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Speaker 3: I think just having your own platforms in that way,

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Speaker 3: it comes down to not being limited on what you say,

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Speaker 3: not being limited on the community that comes to you.

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Speaker 3: And so I think it's extremely viable and I love

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Speaker 3: seeing more women go into it.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, I agree, And even from the exposure aspect, right

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Speaker 5: like back in the day when we were starting off

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Speaker 5: our careers and you would see black women in the

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Speaker 5: rarity of it. But whenever we would see a black

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Speaker 5: woman in a higher position in a corporate setting, we

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Speaker 5: would look up to her, but it's like we would

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Speaker 5: have to be in the building to actually contact her.

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Speaker 5: And I think the fact that we have our own platforms,

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Speaker 5: Like you know, how many young girls see Asia's content

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Speaker 5: and it's like, I want to do exactly what she does.

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Speaker 5: So the importance of us sharing what we do as

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Speaker 5: a person, as a black woman, but also as a career,

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Speaker 5: that inspiration through that value through our platforms is super important.

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Speaker 5: And it's like, if you're given a platform, if you're

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Speaker 5: given these gifts, why not share it?

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Speaker 4: So yeah, I'm loving it.

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Speaker 1: I would like to kind of go back to talking

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Speaker 1: to the people who may be listening to you, who

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Speaker 1: may be in college or thinking like, oh, I want

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Speaker 1: to do what Asia and Ta should do, Like it

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Speaker 1: seems like they have really cool jobs. I do know

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Speaker 1: that like a lot of the internships and things that

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Speaker 1: maybe you had a chance to participate in either don't

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Speaker 1: exist or they're extremely competitive. So what would you say

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Speaker 1: to people who are maybe looking at what you're doing

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Speaker 1: and trying to call out a lane for themselves, what

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Speaker 1: advice would you give them?

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Speaker 5: The advice I would give is still the same thing

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Speaker 5: kind of how I'm sure Asia can attest to this

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Speaker 5: is being hungry. I think we shouldn't lose that aspect

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Speaker 5: of starting off our careers. When I did my internships,

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Speaker 5: you know a lot of them, some of them were,

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Speaker 5: you know, a stipend, but some of them, like Fashion Week,

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Speaker 5: were free, and I wasn't looking to necessarily be comfortable

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Speaker 5: or get paid. It's just I was willing to do

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Speaker 5: anything to get started, to learn and get my foot

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Speaker 5: in the door. So I think that it's important to

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Speaker 5: not forget that, yes, realize our value and especially want

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Speaker 5: to get paid as black women because we're so far behind,

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Speaker 5: but also be willing to find humility when first starting

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Speaker 5: golf and just making those connections. When I did my

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Speaker 5: first internship at VH one, I went on LinkedIn and

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Speaker 5: I messaged a black woman who works at VH one, and.

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Speaker 4: She pretty much gave me that foot in the door.

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Speaker 5: So, you know, don't be afraid to step outside the

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Speaker 5: box to contact women that look like you.

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Speaker 4: And when you get in those doors, put the work in.

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Speaker 2: You said exactly what I was about to say, put

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Speaker 2: the work in.

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Speaker 3: I always tell young women right now, do not stare

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Speaker 3: away from the work.

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Speaker 2: I think that.

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Speaker 3: I think it can become very smoking mirrors sometimes, right,

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Speaker 3: because I have so many young girls tell me like,

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Speaker 3: oh my gosh, I love your life, you know, I

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Speaker 3: love that you get to travel here, and I love

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Speaker 3: that you get to do this with this brand and

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Speaker 3: all these things, and that is all so lovely and

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Speaker 3: so great. But that is not even like ten percent

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Speaker 3: of the job. You cannot steer away from the work.

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Speaker 3: And so I think it's even Tasha, like you were saying,

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Speaker 3: like majority of the internships I did were free. Even

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Speaker 3: when I was interning at InStyle, I was barely making

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Speaker 3: any money weekly, like barely, and all the money I

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Speaker 3: was making I was just putting back into my blog.

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Speaker 3: But I didn't care about the money. And it was,

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Speaker 3: like you said, building the connections. I would reach out

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Speaker 3: to anybody if I was just free in the office,

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Speaker 3: I'd be.

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Speaker 2: Like, Hey, if you need my help, I'm here. Hey,

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Speaker 2: if you need my help, I'm here.

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Speaker 3: And I think, especially with social media nowadays, it can

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Speaker 3: become such a like, oh my gosh, I want to

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Speaker 3: do this because this looks cool, or I want to

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Speaker 3: do this because you know, I want to do all

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Speaker 3: these things.

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Speaker 2: I want to go to this event. I want to

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Speaker 2: do that. And like I said, those are all great things.

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Speaker 3: But I think the biggest advice I would give is

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Speaker 3: to just not steer away from the work. Like we

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Speaker 3: work so hard to be able to be in positions

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Speaker 3: black we are now, and then there's black women before us, right,

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Speaker 3: that came and we're able to be in these rooms.

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Speaker 3: And because they showed up in the great way that

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Speaker 3: they did, we are now able to be in those rooms.

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Speaker 3: But again, you cannot steer away from the work. And

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Speaker 3: it is so much more than just the cool, pretty

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Speaker 3: outside things, Like there's real work that goes into what

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Speaker 3: we do.

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Speaker 1: More from our conversation after the break, Aja, I wonder

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Speaker 1: if you could talk a little bit more, because I

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Speaker 1: feel like this has been a conversation I've seen online

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Speaker 1: about people trying to skip steps essentially right, which is

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Speaker 1: kind of the look you gave me. Seems like you've

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Speaker 1: seen this conversation too, Because I do think because of

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Speaker 1: social media and like because of the advent of like

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Speaker 1: lots of independent platforms, it is easy enough for like

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Speaker 1: a brand to send me something and I can review

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Speaker 1: a product, and like I have my own version of

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Speaker 1: like the column that you have at the cut, right,

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Speaker 1: But what are some challenges are things for people to

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Speaker 1: kind of be aware of that they might not know

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Speaker 1: if they are thinking they can just skip steps.

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Speaker 3: Skipping steps, skipping steps, just it doesn't get you to

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Speaker 3: where you're looking to be, right, like you you.

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Speaker 2: Just I'm trying to figure out that the best way

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Speaker 2: to put this.

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Speaker 3: But it's like when I look back in my career

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Speaker 3: and again, like I say, things have changed drastically. And

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Speaker 3: so I know that when I was interning and it

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Speaker 3: was for free and all these things, like certain things

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Speaker 3: just aren't looked at the same nowadays. And I have

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Speaker 3: one of my best friends, Blake ch always says it

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Speaker 3: is expensive.

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Speaker 2: To dream, right.

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Speaker 3: I say that because I tell people all the time,

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Speaker 3: like I was able to intern for free, or to

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Speaker 3: stay at publications making barely any money for years, right,

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Speaker 3: because I was able to have a mom that was like, look,

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Speaker 3: you can stay home and you can hustle, and you

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Speaker 3: can do this.

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Speaker 2: I believe in you. Things like that, And so I.

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Speaker 3: Say it is expensive to dream in that way because

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Speaker 3: I know that that is a privilege, right, And so

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Speaker 3: I get that sometimes people want to skip steps because

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Speaker 3: sometimes you genuinely can't afford to be in these spaces,

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Speaker 3: you know, And it's even like it comes down to

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Speaker 3: looking the part. So I understand how hard it can be,

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Speaker 3: and I too understand how much of a privilege it

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Speaker 3: was for me to not skip steps. But what happens

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Speaker 3: when you skip steps is you get into rooms sometimes

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Speaker 3: and you there's just certain things that you learn in

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Speaker 3: the process and throughout the journey that you need for

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Speaker 3: when you get to where you actually want to be.

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Speaker 3: I think what makes my job different, right, is that

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Speaker 3: journalism is actually a hard scale. Having journalistic integrity and

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Speaker 3: all these things like these are things that you learn

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Speaker 3: throughout the process and throughout the journey.

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Speaker 2: Right.

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Speaker 3: It's very different than just popping up a camera and

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Speaker 3: going on screen.

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Speaker 2: And I think that both are respectable.

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Speaker 3: But I just think that there are things that you

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Speaker 3: learn throughout the process. There's a certain grit that you

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Speaker 3: get throughout the process. There's certain relationships that you build

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Speaker 3: throughout the process. I mean, if I would have skip steps,

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Speaker 3: I wouldn't be where I am today because half of

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Speaker 3: the bosses that I had connected the dots for me

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Speaker 3: to be where I am. And so the people you

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Speaker 3: meet along the way, the lessons you learn along the way,

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Speaker 3: they all add up. But again, when you skip the steps,

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Speaker 3: you end up in rooms and a lot of times

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Speaker 3: have no idea what to say, what to do. And

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Speaker 3: so as privileged as it is to not skip steps,

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Speaker 3: it is something that is it's necessary.

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Speaker 5: It just reminds me as Angels talking my favorite rapper, Nipsy,

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Speaker 5: he just says, it's a marathon. And I think that

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Speaker 5: it's so important to remember that we're in such a

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Speaker 5: fast world, you know, fast everything. Even when we listen

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Speaker 5: to our podcast, We're in the car, I'm rushing to

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Speaker 5: yoga and then you get on TikTok. You see viral

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Speaker 5: tiktoks and people might become famous overnight. But it's just

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Speaker 5: important to realize what are you in it for. If

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Speaker 5: you're in it for the long game, like Asia said,

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Speaker 5: you can't missteps and you want to do it the

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Speaker 5: right way. You want to be here for a while.

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Speaker 5: You want your work to be purposeful. You don't want

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Speaker 5: it to be here today and gone tomorrow. So yeah,

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Speaker 5: it's important to have that mindset and learn and be patient.

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Speaker 5: It's not going to happen overnight. I started black Oes

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Speaker 5: and media in twenty eighteen, and I'm still learning. It's

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00:22:32,720 --> 00:22:35,720
Speaker 5: still a startup, you know, I'm still growing learning. Nobody's

440
00:22:35,720 --> 00:22:39,280
Speaker 5: done this before and my family, so it's just being

441
00:22:39,320 --> 00:22:43,920
Speaker 5: able to be patient, not compare, and just keep going

442
00:22:43,960 --> 00:22:44,960
Speaker 5: forward day by day.

443
00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:45,760
Speaker 4: I think that's key.

444
00:22:47,280 --> 00:22:49,359
Speaker 1: So Asia, you mentioned something earlier that I want to

445
00:22:49,400 --> 00:22:51,960
Speaker 1: go back to, specifically around what I think is like

446
00:22:52,000 --> 00:22:54,760
Speaker 1: the mental health tool of kind of being a black

447
00:22:54,800 --> 00:22:56,680
Speaker 1: woman in a space where there are not a lot

448
00:22:56,720 --> 00:22:59,280
Speaker 1: of us. Right, Like you mentioned this idea of having

449
00:22:59,320 --> 00:23:01,560
Speaker 1: to do all the things great so that like if

450
00:23:01,760 --> 00:23:03,960
Speaker 1: one door closes, you can kind of be ready for another.

451
00:23:04,400 --> 00:23:06,280
Speaker 1: And while I do think it can help you to

452
00:23:06,359 --> 00:23:09,399
Speaker 1: be propelled into opportunities, I do think that there is

453
00:23:09,440 --> 00:23:11,800
Speaker 1: also a toll. And you mentioned right like it's not fair,

454
00:23:11,840 --> 00:23:13,879
Speaker 1: but it is what it is. I wonder if you

455
00:23:13,920 --> 00:23:17,120
Speaker 1: could talk about maybe some of the mental health implications

456
00:23:17,119 --> 00:23:19,320
Speaker 1: are some of the challenges kind of related to being

457
00:23:19,320 --> 00:23:21,480
Speaker 1: a black woman in the media.

458
00:23:21,880 --> 00:23:26,480
Speaker 3: Yeah, I remember just being an intern and I think

459
00:23:26,520 --> 00:23:28,440
Speaker 3: I was twenty one years old when this was said

460
00:23:28,440 --> 00:23:32,320
Speaker 3: to me. I came into an internship and I said, I.

461
00:23:32,240 --> 00:23:36,000
Speaker 2: Went to an HBCU and they were like, oh, is that.

462
00:23:35,960 --> 00:23:39,520
Speaker 3: A sorority, and of course HBCU stands for historically Black

463
00:23:39,520 --> 00:23:40,760
Speaker 3: colleges and universities.

464
00:23:41,119 --> 00:23:41,680
Speaker 2: And I just.

465
00:23:41,680 --> 00:23:46,320
Speaker 3: Remember I didn't even know how to respond because I'm like, no,

466
00:23:46,640 --> 00:23:49,520
Speaker 3: like and the fact that you'd even say that, I mean,

467
00:23:49,680 --> 00:23:53,679
Speaker 3: they're the amount of things that were said to me,

468
00:23:53,760 --> 00:23:57,920
Speaker 3: whether it was like about being black or whether it

469
00:23:58,040 --> 00:24:01,200
Speaker 3: was about my body and things that I wore. I mean,

470
00:24:01,840 --> 00:24:05,600
Speaker 3: I even now have things that are said to me

471
00:24:05,640 --> 00:24:09,119
Speaker 3: and I can't even believe that people would be comfortable

472
00:24:09,280 --> 00:24:12,640
Speaker 3: saying it around me. And the mental health told that

473
00:24:12,640 --> 00:24:15,680
Speaker 3: that takes is real because a lot of times what

474
00:24:15,760 --> 00:24:19,520
Speaker 3: that looks like is like swallowing your pride in that moment, right,

475
00:24:19,520 --> 00:24:22,800
Speaker 3: Because if a lot of times I speak up the

476
00:24:22,840 --> 00:24:25,480
Speaker 3: way I want to speak up, right, then it's like, oh,

477
00:24:25,480 --> 00:24:27,840
Speaker 3: there goes the black girl being aggressive, or it's like

478
00:24:28,400 --> 00:24:31,000
Speaker 3: that is exactly what we expected. That's the exact type

479
00:24:31,040 --> 00:24:33,280
Speaker 3: of reaction that we expected from her.

480
00:24:34,080 --> 00:24:36,080
Speaker 2: And it does take a mental health toll on you.

481
00:24:36,160 --> 00:24:39,919
Speaker 3: I mean, I started therapy I think when I was

482
00:24:40,040 --> 00:24:42,440
Speaker 3: twenty five, and a big part of it was because

483
00:24:42,640 --> 00:24:45,879
Speaker 3: I remember telling my mom, like, I cannot make it

484
00:24:45,960 --> 00:24:51,320
Speaker 3: through this industry without having some type of therapy. It's

485
00:24:51,359 --> 00:24:53,880
Speaker 3: also a very vain industry, right when when you talk

486
00:24:53,920 --> 00:24:57,000
Speaker 3: about fashion and beauty, Like again, a lot of times

487
00:24:57,000 --> 00:25:00,800
Speaker 3: sometimes it's like I am again grateful for being at

488
00:25:00,840 --> 00:25:03,320
Speaker 3: a publication and having a boss that is amazing, and

489
00:25:03,359 --> 00:25:05,080
Speaker 3: so I don't have to deal with these things right now.

490
00:25:05,119 --> 00:25:07,119
Speaker 3: But in the past it was very much like you know,

491
00:25:07,400 --> 00:25:10,080
Speaker 3: the promotions you get are based on like.

492
00:25:10,359 --> 00:25:12,120
Speaker 2: What do you look like or what like.

493
00:25:12,280 --> 00:25:15,800
Speaker 3: It is rooted in vanity, but it's also rooted in

494
00:25:16,160 --> 00:25:20,479
Speaker 3: like politics of years of racism, and it is a

495
00:25:20,520 --> 00:25:25,080
Speaker 3: lot and so, like I said, I had to turn

496
00:25:25,160 --> 00:25:28,280
Speaker 3: to therapy while being in this industry because I remember

497
00:25:28,359 --> 00:25:31,000
Speaker 3: a lot of times when I started with my first therapist,

498
00:25:31,359 --> 00:25:33,560
Speaker 3: everything would always be about work, work, work, work, work,

499
00:25:33,640 --> 00:25:38,520
Speaker 3: and even trying to explain to her what this industry is,

500
00:25:38,560 --> 00:25:41,040
Speaker 3: because I think when you're on the outside looking in,

501
00:25:41,119 --> 00:25:44,720
Speaker 3: sometimes you just sometimes don't understand how much it can

502
00:25:44,800 --> 00:25:47,240
Speaker 3: take a toll on your mental health. But I mean, yeah,

503
00:25:47,240 --> 00:25:49,240
Speaker 3: I think the biggest thing for me has always just

504
00:25:49,760 --> 00:25:52,800
Speaker 3: being like, Okay, I really was told that, and I

505
00:25:52,880 --> 00:25:56,320
Speaker 3: need to swallow that and keep a pushing and talk

506
00:25:56,320 --> 00:25:58,680
Speaker 3: about it in my next therapy session because again if

507
00:25:58,720 --> 00:26:02,240
Speaker 3: I react and it's like, oh, well, will I not

508
00:26:02,280 --> 00:26:05,679
Speaker 3: get that promotion because I reacted that way, or again,

509
00:26:05,720 --> 00:26:06,760
Speaker 3: it's just going to be like.

510
00:26:06,880 --> 00:26:09,159
Speaker 2: There she go act in the ways we expect her

511
00:26:09,160 --> 00:26:09,520
Speaker 2: to act.

512
00:26:09,920 --> 00:26:12,280
Speaker 3: It's also very rough for me because I've always been

513
00:26:12,400 --> 00:26:15,280
Speaker 3: very committed to being real, into being authentic, which i

514
00:26:15,280 --> 00:26:17,439
Speaker 3: know is like such a cliche word, but I'm like,

515
00:26:17,600 --> 00:26:22,920
Speaker 3: I am a real hardcore black girl, and I think

516
00:26:22,960 --> 00:26:25,360
Speaker 3: that sometimes that can be a lot to digest.

517
00:26:25,760 --> 00:26:27,679
Speaker 2: And I'm big on like who I'm for, I'm for

518
00:26:27,800 --> 00:26:28,399
Speaker 2: and who I'm not.

519
00:26:28,440 --> 00:26:31,600
Speaker 3: I'm not everybody's cup of tea, but that also comes

520
00:26:31,600 --> 00:26:34,120
Speaker 3: with mental health implications, right, because it's like.

521
00:26:34,760 --> 00:26:36,920
Speaker 2: You have to be okay with like, Okay, I'm not.

522
00:26:36,960 --> 00:26:39,680
Speaker 3: This person's cup of tea, but then they may treat

523
00:26:39,720 --> 00:26:42,840
Speaker 3: me a certain way when I'm at an event. I

524
00:26:42,880 --> 00:26:46,520
Speaker 3: think that I've had to build really, really, really tough skin.

525
00:26:46,720 --> 00:26:49,760
Speaker 3: I don't think ten years ago you could have never

526
00:26:49,800 --> 00:26:51,600
Speaker 3: told me that I would even have skin this tough.

527
00:26:52,000 --> 00:26:54,200
Speaker 4: Yeah, I would love to add to that.

528
00:26:54,400 --> 00:26:57,679
Speaker 5: I know when I first started off, like even at

529
00:26:57,720 --> 00:27:00,359
Speaker 5: my internships, you know, we mentioned how we were a

530
00:27:00,400 --> 00:27:02,000
Speaker 5: lot of the times the only black girl in the

531
00:27:02,040 --> 00:27:05,960
Speaker 5: space and just how isolating that can be, especially me

532
00:27:06,760 --> 00:27:09,040
Speaker 5: from North Carolina coming all the way to New York

533
00:27:09,400 --> 00:27:14,919
Speaker 5: and going into these internships and really for one feeling secluded,

534
00:27:15,320 --> 00:27:17,000
Speaker 5: you know, in a big city by myself, but then

535
00:27:17,040 --> 00:27:19,520
Speaker 5: also going into office and not seeing anyone that looks

536
00:27:19,560 --> 00:27:22,640
Speaker 5: like me, not really seeing anyone who I can confide in.

537
00:27:23,160 --> 00:27:26,760
Speaker 5: Just that isolation was a lot for me. And when

538
00:27:26,800 --> 00:27:28,800
Speaker 5: I moved to New York, that's actually when I first

539
00:27:28,840 --> 00:27:31,760
Speaker 5: started having anxiety. I had like my first like panic

540
00:27:31,760 --> 00:27:34,800
Speaker 5: attacks when I lived in New York, and so I

541
00:27:34,840 --> 00:27:38,600
Speaker 5: think that that might have been I'm just now realizing

542
00:27:38,640 --> 00:27:41,240
Speaker 5: that why I started Black Girls in Media. I started

543
00:27:41,359 --> 00:27:44,560
Speaker 5: then because I'm thinking, like, Okay, who can I talk to,

544
00:27:44,720 --> 00:27:47,320
Speaker 5: who can I get support from. I know I'm not

545
00:27:47,359 --> 00:27:50,240
Speaker 5: the only one feeling this way, and that's just the

546
00:27:50,280 --> 00:27:55,200
Speaker 5: importance of community and therapists or platforms like this Black

547
00:27:55,200 --> 00:27:58,040
Speaker 5: Girls in Therapy where we can be able to have

548
00:27:58,080 --> 00:28:00,760
Speaker 5: that safe space. And I feel like we didn't always

549
00:28:00,840 --> 00:28:03,960
Speaker 5: have it. So that's also the importance of media and

550
00:28:04,000 --> 00:28:05,040
Speaker 5: the growth that we're doing.

551
00:28:05,600 --> 00:28:07,360
Speaker 1: Mm hmm. In Touch, I'd love for you to talk

552
00:28:07,400 --> 00:28:11,080
Speaker 1: more about people finding that sense of community in their networks,

553
00:28:11,080 --> 00:28:13,480
Speaker 1: whether they be in the places they work or outside

554
00:28:13,520 --> 00:28:15,359
Speaker 1: of that. Like what tips would you have for people

555
00:28:15,400 --> 00:28:17,200
Speaker 1: looking for community in the industry.

556
00:28:18,440 --> 00:28:22,280
Speaker 5: So I think that for one, when I in Asia,

557
00:28:22,359 --> 00:28:24,359
Speaker 5: you can attest to this or let me know. I

558
00:28:24,359 --> 00:28:27,760
Speaker 5: feel like we didn't have ergs back then. Now I

559
00:28:27,800 --> 00:28:31,560
Speaker 5: think a lot of companies have ergs. I was at

560
00:28:31,840 --> 00:28:35,879
Speaker 5: HBO last year when I was living in La and yeah,

561
00:28:35,920 --> 00:28:39,719
Speaker 5: we had monthly gatherings with the ergs within the organization

562
00:28:39,960 --> 00:28:42,880
Speaker 5: where all the black people in the company would come together.

563
00:28:43,000 --> 00:28:45,240
Speaker 5: I don't know how what's going to happen with those

564
00:28:45,280 --> 00:28:47,640
Speaker 5: now that the D and I things are changing, but yeah,

565
00:28:47,680 --> 00:28:50,640
Speaker 5: those finding those kind of networks within your company can

566
00:28:50,760 --> 00:28:53,760
Speaker 5: really help with that support and being able to vent.

567
00:28:53,840 --> 00:28:56,200
Speaker 5: But you know, still recognize like these still your coworkers,

568
00:28:56,200 --> 00:28:59,720
Speaker 5: so be mindful. And then also, yeah, external communities like

569
00:28:59,760 --> 00:29:03,560
Speaker 5: Black Girls and Media other organizations where you can come

570
00:29:03,600 --> 00:29:07,440
Speaker 5: together outside of work, have webinars. We had a webinar

571
00:29:07,760 --> 00:29:11,720
Speaker 5: last week about imposter syndrome within Black Girls and Media

572
00:29:11,720 --> 00:29:15,080
Speaker 5: and a member in the group shared something that happened

573
00:29:15,120 --> 00:29:17,720
Speaker 5: at work where she felt really isolated. So, you know,

574
00:29:17,800 --> 00:29:21,120
Speaker 5: being able to decompress after a work day and have

575
00:29:21,160 --> 00:29:23,960
Speaker 5: that safe space in group chat. I think it's important

576
00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:26,960
Speaker 5: to seek out those kind of groups that are outside

577
00:29:27,000 --> 00:29:29,600
Speaker 5: of your family and friends, who you know, like Asa said,

578
00:29:29,640 --> 00:29:31,680
Speaker 5: not everybody. If you're not in the media industry, you

579
00:29:31,800 --> 00:29:34,880
Speaker 5: might not understand what's going on. So being able to

580
00:29:34,960 --> 00:29:37,880
Speaker 5: have people who understand the industry, who look like you,

581
00:29:38,080 --> 00:29:40,600
Speaker 5: who can feel you, that can just really help you

582
00:29:41,200 --> 00:29:44,760
Speaker 5: with that isolation feeling and just being supported and to

583
00:29:44,840 --> 00:29:46,600
Speaker 5: be able to keep thriving as well.

584
00:29:47,840 --> 00:29:51,040
Speaker 3: I'd say for me what worked is really just and

585
00:29:51,160 --> 00:29:54,880
Speaker 3: in addition to having ergs and having those communities within

586
00:29:55,040 --> 00:29:58,040
Speaker 3: our companies, I think when it came to just meeting

587
00:29:58,080 --> 00:30:01,160
Speaker 3: people in the industry, I always gravitate to work who

588
00:30:01,240 --> 00:30:04,800
Speaker 3: is real, Like who do I not have to be

589
00:30:05,000 --> 00:30:09,160
Speaker 3: this like industry version of Asia for right, because a

590
00:30:09,160 --> 00:30:10,840
Speaker 3: lot of times you almost feel.

591
00:30:10,640 --> 00:30:13,080
Speaker 2: Like you have to have a veil up around these people.

592
00:30:13,600 --> 00:30:16,720
Speaker 3: And so I've been very grateful to find certain people

593
00:30:16,720 --> 00:30:19,880
Speaker 3: in the industry who are just like family. And I

594
00:30:19,920 --> 00:30:23,000
Speaker 3: think that's very hard because a lot of times people

595
00:30:23,000 --> 00:30:27,040
Speaker 3: can be just very superficial in these industries and things

596
00:30:27,080 --> 00:30:29,880
Speaker 3: like that, and so for me it's just been leaning

597
00:30:29,920 --> 00:30:33,160
Speaker 3: on who is real, who is raw and.

598
00:30:33,200 --> 00:30:35,240
Speaker 2: Who you don't need a veal up around.

599
00:30:35,480 --> 00:30:38,640
Speaker 3: And that is true community, right, because we don't only

600
00:30:38,680 --> 00:30:40,880
Speaker 3: have to come together to talk about industry things, but

601
00:30:40,960 --> 00:30:43,160
Speaker 3: we can just we can talk about everything together and.

602
00:30:43,120 --> 00:30:44,440
Speaker 2: You become family.

603
00:30:44,480 --> 00:30:47,560
Speaker 3: And I think it's hard and rare to find in

604
00:30:47,600 --> 00:30:50,080
Speaker 3: the industry, but when you find that, you hold on

605
00:30:50,160 --> 00:30:52,200
Speaker 3: to it because again, like we were saying before, it's

606
00:30:52,240 --> 00:30:55,920
Speaker 3: just not everybody can understand the things you go through, right,

607
00:30:56,200 --> 00:30:57,360
Speaker 3: You want to be able.

608
00:30:57,120 --> 00:30:59,320
Speaker 2: To have those people who you can turn to, like, girl,

609
00:30:59,360 --> 00:31:01,920
Speaker 2: can you believe if X, Y and Z happened?

610
00:31:01,960 --> 00:31:05,160
Speaker 3: And it doesn't just sound like this crazy story or

611
00:31:05,160 --> 00:31:08,240
Speaker 3: sometime it can sound like really privileged. Again, you need

612
00:31:08,240 --> 00:31:11,080
Speaker 3: people who just are real and raw and you can

613
00:31:11,160 --> 00:31:11,600
Speaker 3: lean on them.

614
00:31:11,640 --> 00:31:12,400
Speaker 2: They're like family.

615
00:31:13,080 --> 00:31:16,160
Speaker 1: So what would you say the landscape of media and

616
00:31:16,240 --> 00:31:19,200
Speaker 1: specifically black women in media looks like in the next

617
00:31:19,240 --> 00:31:20,320
Speaker 1: five to ten years.

618
00:31:20,640 --> 00:31:24,239
Speaker 5: I would say I see it growing and thriving. Like

619
00:31:24,320 --> 00:31:28,560
Speaker 5: we mentioned earlier, just I see new platforms developing. I

620
00:31:28,600 --> 00:31:33,200
Speaker 5: see more just opportunities developing. When it comes to the

621
00:31:33,280 --> 00:31:37,080
Speaker 5: content creator space, the corporate space, I see a lot

622
00:31:37,120 --> 00:31:40,479
Speaker 5: of I feel like traditional media is coming back. I

623
00:31:40,520 --> 00:31:43,160
Speaker 5: know a lot of times people still want to have

624
00:31:43,240 --> 00:31:45,960
Speaker 5: like physical copies in their hand. A lot of people

625
00:31:46,000 --> 00:31:49,640
Speaker 5: these days are feeling nostalgic. We want to sometimes go

626
00:31:49,720 --> 00:31:53,480
Speaker 5: away from this digital life. We want to feel things

627
00:31:53,520 --> 00:31:57,080
Speaker 5: that feel real. So I see just us really dominating

628
00:31:57,120 --> 00:32:01,000
Speaker 5: when it comes to all forms of media, controlling that

629
00:32:01,520 --> 00:32:04,760
Speaker 5: narrative and talking about things that matter, talking about things

630
00:32:04,800 --> 00:32:10,959
Speaker 5: that are deep, meaningful, while getting paid what we're worth too.

631
00:32:11,440 --> 00:32:16,280
Speaker 2: That part pay black women what they are worth, because.

632
00:32:17,600 --> 00:32:20,360
Speaker 3: I just think the pay disparities, that the fact that

633
00:32:20,400 --> 00:32:23,040
Speaker 3: in twenty twenty five the gap is still as huge

634
00:32:23,080 --> 00:32:24,719
Speaker 3: as it is. I think in the next five to

635
00:32:24,760 --> 00:32:26,520
Speaker 3: ten years, that is what I want to see change.

636
00:32:26,560 --> 00:32:30,240
Speaker 3: But I also I just in these opportunities that come,

637
00:32:30,320 --> 00:32:33,360
Speaker 3: I want to see all types of black women being

638
00:32:33,360 --> 00:32:35,680
Speaker 3: able to get these opportunities. I think that it is

639
00:32:35,800 --> 00:32:40,560
Speaker 3: not enough to just say, okay, we have black women here.

640
00:32:40,600 --> 00:32:43,680
Speaker 3: I think you need black women from different socioeconomic backgrounds.

641
00:32:44,000 --> 00:32:48,120
Speaker 3: You need black women who have different educational backgrounds. Where

642
00:32:48,160 --> 00:32:51,040
Speaker 3: we grow up has such an impact on us. Right

643
00:32:51,280 --> 00:32:54,400
Speaker 3: where we study has such an impact on us family background,

644
00:32:54,840 --> 00:32:58,000
Speaker 3: and so I think there is diversity within diversity, and

645
00:32:58,040 --> 00:33:00,840
Speaker 3: that is what I really hope to see in the

646
00:33:00,880 --> 00:33:04,080
Speaker 3: next five to ten years. I just want to see

647
00:33:04,240 --> 00:33:08,120
Speaker 3: all types of black women being able to have these opportunities.

648
00:33:08,840 --> 00:33:15,000
Speaker 1: More from our conversation after the break. Have you heard

649
00:33:15,040 --> 00:33:18,440
Speaker 1: the news Therapy for Black Girls is launching our community

650
00:33:18,480 --> 00:33:22,400
Speaker 1: on Patreon. It's your space to be seen, heard, and

651
00:33:22,600 --> 00:33:26,240
Speaker 1: understood in an even more connected way. We're excited to

652
00:33:26,280 --> 00:33:29,760
Speaker 1: bring you new segments like so my therapist said, where

653
00:33:29,760 --> 00:33:32,680
Speaker 1: we break down viral therapy, hot takes with real mental

654
00:33:32,680 --> 00:33:37,160
Speaker 1: health professionals, TBG community chats where we unpack trending pop

655
00:33:37,200 --> 00:33:40,280
Speaker 1: culture topics that have us all in our feelings, and

656
00:33:40,400 --> 00:33:43,640
Speaker 1: opportunities to connect with other sisters all over the world.

657
00:33:44,280 --> 00:33:47,160
Speaker 1: Sign up now at Therapy for Blackgirls dot com slash

658
00:33:47,280 --> 00:33:50,720
Speaker 1: join Patreon for all the details about what we're planning

659
00:33:50,800 --> 00:33:52,680
Speaker 1: and to be the first to know when the doors

660
00:33:52,680 --> 00:34:00,200
Speaker 1: are open. We can't wait to see you inside. So

661
00:34:00,240 --> 00:34:02,800
Speaker 1: what are some of the media spaces that are particularly

662
00:34:02,840 --> 00:34:05,880
Speaker 1: inspirational or exciting to you right now? Like, are there

663
00:34:05,920 --> 00:34:10,200
Speaker 1: any substacks or independent creators that you found very exciting

664
00:34:10,280 --> 00:34:10,720
Speaker 1: right now?

665
00:34:12,320 --> 00:34:14,239
Speaker 3: Who I was having this conversation a few weeks ago

666
00:34:14,239 --> 00:34:18,680
Speaker 3: out of dinner. There's one content creator, Kira Amanique, and

667
00:34:18,760 --> 00:34:22,600
Speaker 3: she's an Atlanta based creator And I was at a

668
00:34:22,600 --> 00:34:24,759
Speaker 3: black owned brand dinner actually a few weeks ago with

669
00:34:24,840 --> 00:34:26,760
Speaker 3: a lot of black creators when we were talking about

670
00:34:26,760 --> 00:34:31,360
Speaker 3: her and how her content is like commercials. The girl

671
00:34:31,560 --> 00:34:36,480
Speaker 3: does full productions. And it's so interesting because we look

672
00:34:36,520 --> 00:34:39,160
Speaker 3: at white women, right and I'm not going to say

673
00:34:39,200 --> 00:34:43,200
Speaker 3: any names, but they can just go on social media

674
00:34:43,239 --> 00:34:45,400
Speaker 3: and be like, oh my gosh, I haven't washed laundry

675
00:34:45,480 --> 00:34:50,319
Speaker 3: in five days and get these like crazy partnerships just

676
00:34:50,360 --> 00:34:53,239
Speaker 3: because like people think that's cute or people think it's cool, right,

677
00:34:53,600 --> 00:34:57,080
Speaker 3: whereas black women to get even half of the same opportunities,

678
00:34:57,080 --> 00:35:00,680
Speaker 3: we have to do these grand product actions and all

679
00:35:00,719 --> 00:35:03,839
Speaker 3: these things. I just think that alone speaks to paid

680
00:35:03,880 --> 00:35:07,320
Speaker 3: disparities and everything. But if I wanted to highlight one person,

681
00:35:07,520 --> 00:35:11,920
Speaker 3: I think Kira would be it because she just absolutely

682
00:35:12,239 --> 00:35:14,400
Speaker 3: kills it when it comes to production. And I know

683
00:35:14,400 --> 00:35:16,560
Speaker 3: I was talking to her about a year ago and

684
00:35:16,600 --> 00:35:19,800
Speaker 3: she's like, she doesn't have any management anything, and I'm

685
00:35:19,840 --> 00:35:23,600
Speaker 3: just like girl, But I think she alone speaks to

686
00:35:23,760 --> 00:35:28,359
Speaker 3: just the amount of creativeness that that black women have.

687
00:35:29,040 --> 00:35:30,880
Speaker 2: She'd be one highlight on.

688
00:35:31,320 --> 00:35:33,880
Speaker 5: I love Kira, I really do I love her content

689
00:35:34,280 --> 00:35:36,960
Speaker 5: and like you said, just I posted a threat about

690
00:35:37,000 --> 00:35:39,560
Speaker 5: that the other day. Like the Girlies, the Black Women,

691
00:35:39,960 --> 00:35:43,600
Speaker 5: we are putting actual content out there. We're showing how

692
00:35:43,680 --> 00:35:47,520
Speaker 5: creative we are, how talented we are, how multi hyphenated

693
00:35:47,560 --> 00:35:50,200
Speaker 5: we are. I'm really loving that trend. And also I

694
00:35:50,239 --> 00:35:54,560
Speaker 5: do love substacks. I'm loving reading being able to read

695
00:35:54,680 --> 00:35:58,399
Speaker 5: from CEOs. I know Amani with culture cons she has

696
00:35:58,440 --> 00:36:02,160
Speaker 5: a substat where you know, and then even Donie Taylor,

697
00:36:02,600 --> 00:36:05,080
Speaker 5: they talk in their substacts. It's like they really get

698
00:36:05,120 --> 00:36:09,000
Speaker 5: intimate with their audience. They talk about personal relationships, they

699
00:36:09,000 --> 00:36:12,520
Speaker 5: talk about burnout, they talk about a vacation they just

700
00:36:12,560 --> 00:36:14,560
Speaker 5: went on and what they learned from it. So I'm

701
00:36:14,600 --> 00:36:18,480
Speaker 5: really loving to aside from social media, being able to

702
00:36:18,600 --> 00:36:22,359
Speaker 5: read what people are really feeling behind their content, and

703
00:36:22,800 --> 00:36:24,080
Speaker 5: you know, on a personal level.

704
00:36:24,960 --> 00:36:27,680
Speaker 1: So Asia and Tasha, you are both underscoring. Asia You've

705
00:36:27,680 --> 00:36:29,960
Speaker 1: talked about like blogs like as a part of your

706
00:36:30,000 --> 00:36:34,080
Speaker 1: personal experience, but also Tasha with you highlighting subtects, it

707
00:36:34,120 --> 00:36:37,800
Speaker 1: feels like blogs are kind of making a resurgence. Where

708
00:36:37,840 --> 00:36:39,759
Speaker 1: do you feel like blogs will play a role in

709
00:36:39,800 --> 00:36:41,080
Speaker 1: the future of media.

710
00:36:41,120 --> 00:36:44,799
Speaker 3: I feel like it's absolutely having a resurgence, especially when

711
00:36:44,800 --> 00:36:47,840
Speaker 3: I saw substack come around and I saw everybody go

712
00:36:47,920 --> 00:36:50,760
Speaker 3: to substack. I mean, you even have media brands now

713
00:36:50,920 --> 00:36:54,799
Speaker 3: turning to substack, which has been really interesting for me

714
00:36:54,840 --> 00:36:56,520
Speaker 3: to see. I mean, I see a lot of journalists

715
00:36:56,600 --> 00:36:59,640
Speaker 3: going there. But I think, I mean, I think the

716
00:36:59,640 --> 00:37:03,000
Speaker 3: only reason we really ever straight away from blogs is

717
00:37:03,040 --> 00:37:07,040
Speaker 3: because video content and everything and social media just started

718
00:37:07,080 --> 00:37:11,200
Speaker 3: growing so rapidly. But I think there's such an intimacy

719
00:37:11,760 --> 00:37:15,439
Speaker 3: to blogs. It's such a personal thing. And I think

720
00:37:15,480 --> 00:37:18,759
Speaker 3: again just the community that you build with that is

721
00:37:18,880 --> 00:37:22,040
Speaker 3: like no other Blogging is like so personal to me

722
00:37:22,080 --> 00:37:25,240
Speaker 3: because again I started blogging when I was in college,

723
00:37:25,239 --> 00:37:28,040
Speaker 3: and so I love seeing this resurgence of it. But

724
00:37:28,160 --> 00:37:30,520
Speaker 3: I feel like in the next five to ten years,

725
00:37:30,560 --> 00:37:32,680
Speaker 3: like I don't feel like it's going anywhere. If anything,

726
00:37:32,719 --> 00:37:34,719
Speaker 3: I feel like it is it is going to be

727
00:37:35,280 --> 00:37:36,359
Speaker 3: larger than it's ever been.

728
00:37:38,200 --> 00:37:40,759
Speaker 5: Yeah, I was kind of nervous because I thought I

729
00:37:40,880 --> 00:37:42,799
Speaker 5: was the only one, or not the only one. But

730
00:37:43,120 --> 00:37:46,800
Speaker 5: I didn't know, you know, like with TikTok and like

731
00:37:46,880 --> 00:37:49,520
Speaker 5: this video content. I didn't know if the world was

732
00:37:49,960 --> 00:37:52,719
Speaker 5: ready to slow down and still read because even me

733
00:37:52,840 --> 00:37:55,120
Speaker 5: sometimes it's hard. I've been wanting to read before bed,

734
00:37:55,520 --> 00:37:57,880
Speaker 5: like an actual book, and I have like five books

735
00:37:57,920 --> 00:37:59,560
Speaker 5: that I haven't even cracked up, and I keep buying

736
00:37:59,560 --> 00:37:59,960
Speaker 5: new books.

737
00:38:00,000 --> 00:38:03,200
Speaker 4: It's like why, So yeah, I love to hear that.

738
00:38:03,440 --> 00:38:07,799
Speaker 5: You know, it's definitely a trend that you know we're desiring,

739
00:38:08,040 --> 00:38:12,040
Speaker 5: and I see it growing as well also along with yeah,

740
00:38:12,320 --> 00:38:17,040
Speaker 5: just like traditional print magazines and just being able to

741
00:38:17,080 --> 00:38:18,800
Speaker 5: step away and get intimate.

742
00:38:19,080 --> 00:38:21,160
Speaker 4: So yeah, I'm excited to see that come back.

743
00:38:21,560 --> 00:38:24,360
Speaker 1: Mm hmmm. So, Sasha, I wonder if there are any

744
00:38:24,600 --> 00:38:28,920
Speaker 1: careers that maybe young people might not even know existed

745
00:38:28,960 --> 00:38:32,120
Speaker 1: that you've run across recently, maybe in your organization to

746
00:38:32,200 --> 00:38:34,040
Speaker 1: kind of put on the radar that people like are

747
00:38:34,040 --> 00:38:36,680
Speaker 1: making money doing X Y Z. Are there any kind

748
00:38:36,719 --> 00:38:39,040
Speaker 1: of new media spaces that people should be aware of.

749
00:38:39,800 --> 00:38:43,880
Speaker 5: Yes, I would say for one, like content creation editing,

750
00:38:44,320 --> 00:38:47,640
Speaker 5: even just social media editing, because I have so much

751
00:38:47,680 --> 00:38:50,359
Speaker 5: footage on my phone and I want to, you know,

752
00:38:50,520 --> 00:38:53,279
Speaker 5: showcase more of like the behind the scenes and like

753
00:38:53,360 --> 00:38:57,239
Speaker 5: my struggles when it comes to entrepreneurship and business. But

754
00:38:57,320 --> 00:38:59,560
Speaker 5: it's like I try to do work and I can't

755
00:38:59,600 --> 00:39:02,600
Speaker 5: even so it's like I've hired a few people before

756
00:39:02,760 --> 00:39:05,160
Speaker 5: to hey, can you just edit these tiktoks for me?

757
00:39:05,600 --> 00:39:06,680
Speaker 4: So I see that.

758
00:39:07,200 --> 00:39:12,680
Speaker 5: I see what else, like copywriting, grant applying, Like if

759
00:39:12,719 --> 00:39:15,000
Speaker 5: you're just good at writing in general, you can help

760
00:39:15,000 --> 00:39:16,320
Speaker 5: people apply to grants.

761
00:39:16,880 --> 00:39:17,360
Speaker 2: So yeah, I.

762
00:39:17,320 --> 00:39:20,479
Speaker 5: Would say, like when it comes to just figuring out

763
00:39:20,560 --> 00:39:23,600
Speaker 5: new opportunities and media, like figured out what you like.

764
00:39:23,680 --> 00:39:26,520
Speaker 5: If you like writing, there's so much that you can do.

765
00:39:26,680 --> 00:39:30,279
Speaker 5: You can copyright when it comes to email, newsletters for corporations,

766
00:39:30,600 --> 00:39:34,440
Speaker 5: social media captions, and even at HBO, Like if you're

767
00:39:34,440 --> 00:39:37,720
Speaker 5: good at writing, you can write the descriptions of movies

768
00:39:37,800 --> 00:39:40,520
Speaker 5: and shows and things like that on the platform, so

769
00:39:40,520 --> 00:39:43,759
Speaker 5: so much. When it comes to writing videography, you know,

770
00:39:44,080 --> 00:39:48,080
Speaker 5: there's producing, there's being a PA, you know, helping set

771
00:39:48,200 --> 00:39:52,200
Speaker 5: up the sets and being behind the scenes. So yeah,

772
00:39:52,280 --> 00:39:56,160
Speaker 5: I love the fact that media has so many roles

773
00:39:56,160 --> 00:40:00,759
Speaker 5: in it already, but then just these new creator coming up,

774
00:40:00,800 --> 00:40:04,920
Speaker 5: there's even like specific roles that you can get into

775
00:40:04,960 --> 00:40:05,520
Speaker 5: these days.

776
00:40:05,520 --> 00:40:06,920
Speaker 2: So I really love now mm.

777
00:40:07,800 --> 00:40:10,160
Speaker 1: So it's just something that I have seen journalists talking

778
00:40:10,200 --> 00:40:12,560
Speaker 1: about is that it is not only that you have

779
00:40:12,640 --> 00:40:15,200
Speaker 1: to now right well and like do your pieces, but

780
00:40:15,280 --> 00:40:17,240
Speaker 1: you also have to kind of be a content creator

781
00:40:17,320 --> 00:40:20,400
Speaker 1: in some ways yourself right to get eyeballs on your pieces.

782
00:40:20,719 --> 00:40:22,719
Speaker 1: Can you say more about that and maybe some of

783
00:40:22,760 --> 00:40:25,760
Speaker 1: the things that journalists may not be aware of about

784
00:40:25,760 --> 00:40:27,520
Speaker 1: how to be successful these days.

785
00:40:28,200 --> 00:40:33,680
Speaker 3: Yeah, So I always struggle with this because I don't

786
00:40:33,719 --> 00:40:37,640
Speaker 3: think you have to be I think that it puts

787
00:40:37,640 --> 00:40:38,040
Speaker 3: you at.

788
00:40:37,960 --> 00:40:39,480
Speaker 2: An advantage if you are.

789
00:40:40,239 --> 00:40:43,319
Speaker 3: But I always tell people social media isn't for everybody, right,

790
00:40:44,000 --> 00:40:49,640
Speaker 3: and I think that everyone doesn't necessarily want to post

791
00:40:49,680 --> 00:40:54,480
Speaker 3: their life. Everyone doesn't necessarily like being online everything like that,

792
00:40:54,640 --> 00:40:58,440
Speaker 3: And so why I think my trajectory, my personal trajectory

793
00:40:58,600 --> 00:41:04,000
Speaker 3: has been doing content and being a creator influencer and

794
00:41:04,160 --> 00:41:08,200
Speaker 3: also being in the journalism space. There are majority of

795
00:41:08,320 --> 00:41:12,399
Speaker 3: my coworkers don't care about social media at all, and

796
00:41:12,440 --> 00:41:15,480
Speaker 3: so I always try to tell people I don't think

797
00:41:16,200 --> 00:41:19,080
Speaker 3: I don't think you should force yourself to have to

798
00:41:19,120 --> 00:41:22,160
Speaker 3: do content creation if you want to be in journalism.

799
00:41:22,200 --> 00:41:25,880
Speaker 3: If that's not for you, that is okay, because journalism

800
00:41:25,960 --> 00:41:30,960
Speaker 3: is a great hard skill to have, and learning how

801
00:41:31,040 --> 00:41:33,320
Speaker 3: to write, learning how to report, all of those things

802
00:41:33,680 --> 00:41:36,799
Speaker 3: are just as important. Like I said, for me, it's

803
00:41:36,840 --> 00:41:40,480
Speaker 3: worked amazing because I can have a community for myself

804
00:41:40,520 --> 00:41:42,560
Speaker 3: who also reads my work and all these things, and

805
00:41:42,920 --> 00:41:46,880
Speaker 3: they follow me as I travel from different publications. But

806
00:41:47,320 --> 00:41:50,239
Speaker 3: I do always tell people I don't want them to

807
00:41:50,320 --> 00:41:54,000
Speaker 3: be discouraged because I remember when I was interning and

808
00:41:54,440 --> 00:41:56,320
Speaker 3: I was blogging and I had a lot of followers,

809
00:41:56,320 --> 00:41:58,279
Speaker 3: there were so many people that would tell me, Oh,

810
00:41:58,320 --> 00:41:59,680
Speaker 3: they feel like they're not going to get hired for

811
00:41:59,680 --> 00:42:01,279
Speaker 3: a job, like because they didn't have a lot of

812
00:42:01,280 --> 00:42:02,440
Speaker 3: followers on Instagram.

813
00:42:02,840 --> 00:42:05,600
Speaker 2: And I never wanted anybody to feel like that.

814
00:42:05,640 --> 00:42:07,480
Speaker 3: And I also would always tell people like, don't just

815
00:42:07,520 --> 00:42:09,320
Speaker 3: think because I have a lot of followers on Instagram

816
00:42:09,360 --> 00:42:12,360
Speaker 3: that means that I didn't put in work or do

817
00:42:12,480 --> 00:42:14,600
Speaker 3: all the internships and all these things and do the

818
00:42:14,640 --> 00:42:19,759
Speaker 3: real hustling. And so again, while I think it can

819
00:42:19,800 --> 00:42:23,560
Speaker 3: put you at an advantage of doing both, I don't

820
00:42:23,600 --> 00:42:24,680
Speaker 3: think it's necessary.

821
00:42:25,040 --> 00:42:26,120
Speaker 2: I don't think it's necessary.

822
00:42:26,160 --> 00:42:28,680
Speaker 3: And I say that as again, like I have a

823
00:42:28,719 --> 00:42:31,760
Speaker 3: lot of peers who do not care about social media

824
00:42:31,800 --> 00:42:34,600
Speaker 3: at all, but they're thriving and their work in journalism

825
00:42:34,719 --> 00:42:35,680
Speaker 3: is amazing.

826
00:42:36,680 --> 00:42:39,760
Speaker 1: Perfect well, I have enjoyed learning so much more about

827
00:42:39,760 --> 00:42:41,680
Speaker 1: you both. I appreciate you spending some time with me

828
00:42:41,760 --> 00:42:44,279
Speaker 1: today Tasha, can you tell us where we can stay

829
00:42:44,280 --> 00:42:46,239
Speaker 1: connected with you? What is your website as well as

830
00:42:46,239 --> 00:42:48,000
Speaker 1: any social media handles you'd like to share?

831
00:42:49,160 --> 00:42:54,319
Speaker 5: Yes, So, my personal Instagram is toss Tash J Mack

832
00:42:54,520 --> 00:42:58,359
Speaker 5: with two k's. I'm on LinkedIn to Tasha McCastle, and

833
00:42:58,400 --> 00:43:02,960
Speaker 5: then my business since black Girls in Media that is

834
00:43:03,160 --> 00:43:08,960
Speaker 5: really our username on Everything Threads, Instagram, all of that. Facebook,

835
00:43:09,000 --> 00:43:11,720
Speaker 5: we still have a Facebook group and LinkedIn, so yeah.

836
00:43:11,600 --> 00:43:12,479
Speaker 4: Connect with us there.

837
00:43:12,560 --> 00:43:16,440
Speaker 5: We have a membership where we do events monthly, virtual

838
00:43:16,520 --> 00:43:19,520
Speaker 5: and everything conferences. And also if you're looking to get

839
00:43:19,560 --> 00:43:22,680
Speaker 5: in the media industry or wanting to learn more, definitely

840
00:43:22,760 --> 00:43:25,760
Speaker 5: check us out on Instagram and our website Perfect.

841
00:43:25,800 --> 00:43:27,560
Speaker 1: We'll be sure to include that in the show notes.

842
00:43:27,560 --> 00:43:28,600
Speaker 1: And what about you Asia?

843
00:43:29,800 --> 00:43:33,080
Speaker 3: For me, my social media across all platforms is miss

844
00:43:33,120 --> 00:43:36,200
Speaker 3: Asian Malaya and my ssas I A M I L

845
00:43:36,239 --> 00:43:39,920
Speaker 3: I A on LinkedIn. I'm Asian malaia ware and you

846
00:43:39,920 --> 00:43:40,719
Speaker 3: can follow.

847
00:43:40,400 --> 00:43:44,000
Speaker 2: My work at the cut on at the cut literally.

848
00:43:45,120 --> 00:43:47,320
Speaker 1: Perfect. Thank you again for being here with me today.

849
00:43:47,360 --> 00:43:48,200
Speaker 1: I appreciate it.

850
00:43:49,000 --> 00:43:50,880
Speaker 2: Thank you so much. This has been amazing.

851
00:43:51,400 --> 00:43:53,000
Speaker 4: Thank you, Yes, thanks for all you do.

852
00:43:53,440 --> 00:43:59,040
Speaker 1: Thank you. I'm so glad Asia and Tasha were able

853
00:43:59,080 --> 00:44:01,640
Speaker 1: to join me for this converse. To learn more about

854
00:44:01,640 --> 00:44:03,680
Speaker 1: them and their work, you should have visited the show

855
00:44:03,719 --> 00:44:06,919
Speaker 1: notes at Therapy for Blackgirls dot com slash Session four three,

856
00:44:07,520 --> 00:44:09,480
Speaker 1: and don't forget to text two of your girls right

857
00:44:09,480 --> 00:44:12,319
Speaker 1: now and tell them to check out the episode. Did

858
00:44:12,360 --> 00:44:14,080
Speaker 1: you know? You can leave us a voicemail with your

859
00:44:14,160 --> 00:44:16,880
Speaker 1: questions for the podcast. If you have a movie or

860
00:44:16,920 --> 00:44:18,920
Speaker 1: a book you want to suggest for us to review,

861
00:44:19,280 --> 00:44:21,760
Speaker 1: or even thoughts around topics you'd like us to discuss.

862
00:44:22,120 --> 00:44:25,040
Speaker 1: Drop us a message at Memo dot fm slash Therapy

863
00:44:25,080 --> 00:44:27,520
Speaker 1: for Black Girls and let us know what's on your mind.

864
00:44:28,000 --> 00:44:30,439
Speaker 1: If you're looking for a therapist in your area, visit

865
00:44:30,480 --> 00:44:34,440
Speaker 1: our therapist directory at Therapy for Blackgirls dot com slash directory.

866
00:44:35,000 --> 00:44:39,799
Speaker 1: This episode was produced by Elise Ellis, Indaichubu and Tyree Rush.

867
00:44:40,080 --> 00:44:43,040
Speaker 1: Editing was done by Dennison Bradford. Thank y'all so much

868
00:44:43,040 --> 00:44:45,360
Speaker 1: for joining me again this week. I look forward to

869
00:44:45,400 --> 00:44:48,879
Speaker 1: continuing this conversation with you all real soon. Take good

870
00:44:48,920 --> 00:44:49,160
Speaker 1: care