Girlhood Unfiltered
Publisher: Knights Of
Milk Honey Bees is a South London organisation, set up by Ebinehita Iyere to provide a safe space for Black teenage girls to flourish. This is an essay collection is by twenty of those girls, who range from 15 to 23 in age. The book is divided into three sections – Healing, Empowerment, Resilience – and certain themes are echoed throughout the collection. The girls write about not being listened to, about being treated as adults when they are still young, about being judged for what they look like and what they wear. And they write about moments of joy – in dance, in hanging out with friends, and in finding like-minded other Black girls to talk to. Each essay is very personal, yet speaks to the shared experiences that many Black girls have – at school, with friends and with family. Readers going through similar will feel inspired by their resilience, empowered by their positivity and, most importantly of all, they will feel represented and heard.
Book-ended by an introduction and a series of letters, both by Ebinehita, and with a list of helpful organisations to turn to for support, this collection is a love letter to sisterhood and a powerful rallying cry to be heard – and supported.
