Aja Barber

Have we all been problematic in the past? Oh hell yes. I know I have.

I first met Darlene Howell McNerney through my sister.

When I help people clean out their wardrobes, the items I come across that hang in the back closet never seeing the light of day are usually pieces purchased in a frenzy — out of necessity instead of joy.

Hugh Hefner - people either love him or hate him, and there doesn’t seem to be a lot of room for middle ground. He was an abuser and civil rights advocate.

I refuse to write some sort of inane rubbish about how sweatshirts are the new sweatshirt.

Recently I went through another round of unfriending on Facebook. It keeps things tidy, the arguments thoughtful and my head from exploding. This time around I just got rid of any white person that felt passionate about "certain political topics," but wasn't showing up for people of color, as we watch the meteoric rise of fascism in America and police violence. I’m not obligated to educate anyone for free, especially if they don’t appear to be absorbing what I’m saying or having the tough conversations on their wall with their peers.

Whenever Lena Dunham starts trending on Facebook or Twitter, it’s become this thing where I suddenly morph into Angry Tyra.

We can never get enough handy gift guides, so we asked our lovely writer Aja what she has planned for her holiday shopping this year.

The TJ Maxx beauty section is lit right now, and I made you a full list of the products you can currently find on their shelves — basically, what I bought last Sunday.

I've been really trying to think about every purchase I make and its overall impact on the world. However, I recently broke code and indulged in the Marimekko for Target collection.