Clarkisha Kent | Episode #303

Clarkisha Kent is a Nigerian American writer, culture critic, former columnist, and author of Fat Off, Fat On: A Big Bitch Manifesto. Committed to telling inclusive stories via unique viewpoints from nigh-infancy, she is fascinated with using storytelling and cultural criticism not as a way to “overcome” or “transcend” her unique identities (as a FAT, bisexual, and disabled Black African woman), but as a way to explore them, celebrate them, affirm them, and most importantly, normalize them and make the world safe enough for people who share them to exist. As a University of Chicago graduate with a B.A. in Cinema and Media Studies and English, she brings with her over eight years of pop culture analysis, four years of film theory training, and a healthy appetite for change. Her writing has been featured in outlets like Entertainment Weekly, Essence, gal-dem, PAPER, BET, HuffPost, MTV News, The Root, and more. She is also the creator of #TheKentTest and the co-creator of The Kelli & Kat Test—both of which are media litmus tests designed to evaluate the quality of representation that exists for Black women, women of color, and fat [Black] women respectively.  Currently, Kent is working on a novel about a Black female outlaw and a TV comedy pilot about an immortal familiar.