Sasheer Zamata is the newest guest on Rookie‘s wonderful Ask a Grown Woman series. In it, she discusses flattering attention, street harassment, racist boyfriends and the right time to lose your virginity.
To the teen who says that street harassment has made her scared to leave the house, Zamata gives out the following words of wisdom:
Harassment shouldn’t hinder your progress because you have things to do! You gotta go learn, you gotta go work, you gotta go take care of yourself and keep being fabulous — and if you keep thinking about the people who are harassing you, then they win.
Zamata, like most of us, has experience with this.
Her advice to the latina girl whose boyfriend both uses the n-word and insists on calling her white is also kind and on-point:
No matter what [your boyfriend’s] calling you, if it’s a thing you’re uncomfortable with, then you should totally tell him. Relationships are based on communication and being open and if you feel like what he’s saying is insulting or it’s hurting your feelings or it’s making you feel weird, you should let him know.
And that’s just her relationship advice. She then goes into how feeling uncomfortable when your white boyfriend casually throws the n-word around is a totally normal reaction to have.
BLESS SASHEER ZAMATA. BLESS ASK A GROWN PERSON.
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