The Potty Mouth Granny

  • Whole, With or Without Him

    I’ve always joked that I’m the youngest only child—caught in that strange little space where the age and gender gap between me and my siblings made me feel like I was raised solo. But that strange little space turned out to be a gift. It taught me how to enjoy my own company. I had…

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  • The Origin of No-Fault Divorce (And Why Folks Love to Misunderstand It)

    Let’s talk about no-fault divorce—the thing folks, especially men online, love to blame for the downfall of the American family like it came through in the middle of the night and snatched stability right out the house. Now listen… I’m a history buff. And one thing about me? I’m not going to just accept a…

    thepottymouthgranny

  • Are Women the Reason Marriage Is Dying?

    Every few months, like clockwork, somebody somewhere declares that women have “ruined” marriage. We’re too independent. Too educated. Too loud. Too unwilling to “submit.” And I always pause when I hear that… not because I’m confused, but because I’m fascinated. Because what they’re really saying is: Marriage was working just fine… when women had no…

    thepottymouthgranny

  • Breaking Up With a Word That Knows Me Too Well

    I’ve decided to stop using the N-word so much because, at its core, it’s an ignorant term. But let me not sit up here and lie. I get my sick kicks out of using it. There’s a spark in it for me—something rebellious, something familiar, something that rolls off the tongue a little too easy.…

    thepottymouthgranny

  • Ain’t No Apology in My Story

    I can’t speak for all Black women, but I know this much—I don’t owe a motherfucker an explanation about anything in my life. I was a mother to two children by the age of twenty-one. I received welfare assistance. I didn’t get my GED until I was twenty-seven. I know what it means to start…

    thepottymouthgranny

  • Hidden Gems of Chicago – Jackson Park Highlands District

    Tucked into the South Shore area like a well-kept secret with good manners, the Jackson Park Highlands District is one of those neighborhoods that makes you slow your car down. Not because you’re lost — because you’re looking. Developed in the early 1900s, it was designed as an upper-middle-class enclave. Tree-lined streets. Curving boulevards. Large…

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  • Losing My Brother: A Soliloquy

    November — He was missing. Missing is a strange word. It sounds temporary. Like misplaced keys. Like a sock behind the dryer. It suggests retrieval. Resolution. But this was different. Received a call telling me that he was missing. Sending my son to the police station to file a missing person report. Asking friends on…

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  • Black Trump Supporters

    The sociological aspect of Black Trump supporters is fascinating. Some genuinely believe that aligning themselves with white supremacy—the ideological backbone of this administration—will earn them acceptance, protection, or proximity to power. A seat at a table that was never built for them. What they don’t seem to grasp is that in systems built on racial…

    thepottymouthgranny

  • The Life I Planned at Eight

    As I lay in bed contemplating my existence, a random thought floated into my mind: did I ever actually want to get married, or was that desire planted there by society? When I was a little girl, I had big plans for myself. I wanted to be a lawyer—specifically a prosecuting attorney—so I could lock…

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  • What is Feminism?

    Feminism is the radical, sometimes inconvenient idea that women are fully human—with minds of their own, bodies that belong to them, and lives that are not side quests in someone else’s story. Feminism is about autonomy. At its core, feminism says women deserve political, economic, social, and personal equality. Not favors. Not protection. Not pedestal…

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