About Talia Whyte

Posts by Talia Whyte:

Book Review: The Sex Lives of African Women

I saw Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah, the author of The Sex Lives of African Women, at a Brookline Booksmith event last March. I got the book then but didn’t get around to reading it until last month.

The book is based on her popular blog, Adventures from the Bedrooms of African Women, where she interviews 30 women of African descent from all over the world about their sexual habits and feelings. I was impressed by the diversity of women chosen – single and married women, straight and LGBTQ+ women, polyamorous and monogamous women, disabled and non-disabled women, women who are celibate or into BDSM, women living with STDs or endometriosis, etc. The book also touched on racism, sexism, and colorism and how Black women feel about themselves and the partners they choose.

I was particularly disturbed by the amount of sexual assault and rape in the book. These were all stories told under the condition of anonymity. If anything, the book highlighted how pervasive abuse is in the world.

But there were some heartwarming stories in the book too. My favorite was the HIV-positive Kenyan sex worker who has a rough life, and her son decides to become a pastor who doesn’t want to judge his mother’s life.

This is an excellent book about women of color from a sex-positive perspective.

orange line mbta

Can We Talk About The MBTA?

In short: The MBTA is trash!

The public transit system is scheduled to shut down the whole Orange Line train and part of the Green Line light rail from August 19 to September 18.  I have taken the replacement shuttles for the Orange Line several times.  While it is not the best substitute, it’s not the worst either. But you do have to plan your travel accordingly, perhaps leaving for your destination at least 30 minutes earlier. Luckily, I work from home and know my way around the city on foot and on a bicycle.

My real concern is that this shutdown isn’t going to end on September 18.  The shuttle bus is not a long-term solution, especially as we get into the winter months.  I’m not an engineer or transit policy expert, but there is no way the T can fix five years of infrastructure work in 30 days unless they plan to work 24 hours a day with every transit worker on the planet.  I wouldn’t be surprised if the Orange Line didn’t reopen until next year, like March or April 2023!

The following will be the T’s excuses:

  • Week of September 18, 2022: “We found new problems that require the Orange Line to stay closed for a ‘few more weeks.'”
  • October/November 2022: We are still organizing our new strategy going forward.”
  • December 2022: “All of our workers are on holiday break, and we will resume in January.”
  • January/February 2023: “It’s just too cold and snowy for our workers to be outside.”
  • March/April 2023: “We were only able to do so much to fix the Orange Line to get it going again, but we will continue to monitor problems with the possibility of another shutdown over the summer.”

Even if the MBTA miraculously reopens the Orange Line on September 19, I’m not sure I would feel safe taking the train, considering that many cut corners were made by the T to give the false illusion that everything is back in order.

Don’t believe me? Hear it straight from the real experts:

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