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Sydney Nicole Sweeney
Sydney Nicole Sweeney

24 Followers

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Feb 12

Yes, please, we should ALL be masking in public: An open letter to empathetic people 🙏🏾

“There was a time when pretty much every person of sense regarded mask-wearing as the bare minimum — something only conspiracy theorists or anti-science politicos pushed back on. Back then, being cautious about the vaccine was met with more empathy than non-masking. Now, the reverse seems to be the case.” — Note: This is a 10-minute read. You don’t have to read it all in one sitting, but please, read the whole thing (on the toilet works just fine). And if you like what I have to say, then maybe others will, too—so please share. Thank you ❤

Public Health

12 min read

Yes, please, we should ALL be masking in public: An open letter to empathetic people 🙏🏾
Yes, please, we should ALL be masking in public: An open letter to empathetic people 🙏🏾
Public Health

12 min read


Jul 19, 2021

No, because I can’t be the only one who thinks Drake’s dating life is still so cringe

On the rapper’s infamous history of romantic faux pas, the irony of high-profile women avoiding him like the plague, and why celebrity couples occasionally fascinate me. — The other day, rumors started swirling that Drake has a new gal pal. Her name is Johanna Leia and she has an ass (BBL?) worthy of Twitter discourse. Almost thicker than her butt, though, is the stack of cash Drake must have needed to take Leia on a Friday night…

Drake

10 min read

No, because I can’t be the only one who thinks Drake’s dating life is still so cringe
No, because I can’t be the only one who thinks Drake’s dating life is still so cringe
Drake

10 min read


May 19, 2021

Introducing ‘Brown butter’: a playlist spotlighting dark-skinned women in R&B

Colorism is well and alive in one of Black music’s most popular genres. Everyone who listens to R&B needs to help combat it. — Note: This blog post provides background to why I created Brown butter. If you already know all about the effects of colorism in the Black community and the Black music space, feel free to skip over my educative spiel and scroll down to see the playlist. If you have an…

Colorism

5 min read

Introducing ‘Brown butter’: a playlist spotlighting dark-skinned women in R&B
Introducing ‘Brown butter’: a playlist spotlighting dark-skinned women in R&B
Colorism

5 min read


May 6, 2021

Let’s talk about Justin Bieber’s hair

Because that shit is more than just ugly. It’s racist — and proves that Bieber’s “allyship” is performative. Gasp! — Damn, I wish people of color could stop talking about cultural appropriation — I really, really do. But white people won’t let us; they just won’t. Because every day another Caucasian person who claims to be “woke” does some dumbass, racist shit, without fail. And I’m over it — over…

Cultural Appropriation

8 min read

Let’s talk about Justin Bieber’s hair
Let’s talk about Justin Bieber’s hair
Cultural Appropriation

8 min read


Mar 29, 2021

Craig David was basically the godfather of the infamous Flavas dolls

In the early 2000s, the brains behind Barbie debuted a new line of hip-hop- and Black-culture-inspired fashion dolls called Flavas. The verdict? They were problematic (and swiftly discontinued after a year of poor sales). Their legacy? Not entirely tainted, thanks to none other than U.K. R&B legend Craig David. — I forget important things often. Birthdays, invoices, appointments, prescriptions, deadlines, an empty gas tank. I. Stay. Forgetting. My absentmindedness is selective, though — and isn’t everyone’s? The average person doesn’t remember the Pythagorean theorem or the Bill of Rights, but they sure as hell remember the iconic intro to “Ambitionz…

Fashion

11 min read

Craig David was basically the godfather of the infamous Flavas dolls
Craig David was basically the godfather of the infamous Flavas dolls
Fashion

11 min read


Aug 15, 2020

Normani, babygirl, what is you doin’?

Signed with RCA Records, former Fifth Harmony multihyphenate Normani has enough star power to blow today’s one-dimensional pop newcomers right out of the water. The problem: she has very little music to prove it. #FreeNormani (lol) — I’m obsessed with Normani Hamilton for a simple reason: she’s a young, black female performer who sparkles with more multidisciplinary star power than any other solo pop act I’ve seen rise to celebrity over the past half-decade or so. I am not only willing to die on this hill, but…

Normani

9 min read

Normani, babygirl, what is you doin’?
Normani, babygirl, what is you doin’?
Normani

9 min read


May 28, 2020

Sparkles, spunk & sex appeal: how Bratz became today’s cool-girl blueprint

Almost twenty years later, the iconic toy brand’s biggest fans are now grown-up it-girls and IG baddies living their #bestlives — not only are these women pulling Y2K fashion and beauty inspiration from the fashion dolls’ aesthetic nostalgia, but also the inclusive, girl-powered ethos and bad-bitch attitude best embodied within…

Feminism

11 min read

How Bratz became the cool-girl blueprint
How Bratz became the cool-girl blueprint
Feminism

11 min read


Mar 20, 2020

He was the best I’d ever had. But that wasn’t good enough

A rejected essay submission specially written for the L.A. Affairs column of the Los Angeles Times. Our almost-relationship combusted on my 23rd birthday. He was too broke to take me to dinner — or even gift me a one-dollar greeting card. That night, I ate shitty pasta in my little…

Love

7 min read

He was the best I’d ever had. But that wasn’t good enough
He was the best I’d ever had. But that wasn’t good enough
Love

7 min read

Sydney Nicole Sweeney

Sydney Nicole Sweeney

24 Followers

Sydney Nicole Sweeney is a journalist based in Los Angeles.

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