The 60-Second Instagram Series For Black Women Who 'Ain't Got Time'
Since the inception of shows like HBO's Insecure and Netflix's Chewing Gum, millennial Black women have sought comic relief from the pressure of simply being us.
As empowering as it is to soak up the fierceness of Olivia Pope and Cookie Lyon, it's hard sometimes to draw a correlation between what being a Black woman looks like and what being a Black woman feels like. We make mistakes, we have weird inside jokes with our friends, we fail at our jobs sometimes, and we struggle with the highs and lows of dating in the age of social-media. We swipe through our timelines and feel that pull in our gut willing us to compare our realities with the posed and poised images of influencers and thought leaders. It's a lot to be a woman in 2018, and the pressure can feel like it's pushing us through the floor.
Thank goodness for creators in media who have used their time and talents to offer a different narrative.
For Jessica Washington and Chloe Longchamp, best friends and co-creators of the Instagram series SZNED (pronounced "seasoned"), turning the tables on the common Black narrative was on their mind since graduating from St. John's University together in 2013. "When we met, we bonded over our similar, random and sometimes crass sense of humor, " says Jessica.
They sat with the heaviness of post-college life and that ever-looming question, "What now?" As they settled into their mid-twenties, they found themselves feeling bored and unfulfilled creatively. They wanted to fill their time with something that would keep them busy and make them smile, or even better - laugh. So, they decided to put their college experience, in PR and production respectively, to good use and develop a comedy series.
Their objective was simple: look at daily life for 20-something Black women and find the humor. "We toyed with the idea of creating a full-blown web series," Jessica explains, "One weekend during the fall of 2016, we spent an entire evening brainstorming potential loglines, conceptualizing themes, and developing characters."
But, eventually the pair got so overwhelmed by the idea of how costly production would be that they actually scrapped the entire project. A year later, Chloe raised the idea of creating a smaller-scaled version of their series idea. Instead of full-blown traditional episodes, she suggested developing the series for Instagram and keeping each episode 1-minute each in length. "We revisited our character development notes and re-evaluated the direction of the show, and by the next week, we filmed our first three episodes."
The show's main characters are Jordyn (played by Jessica) and Tori (played by Chloe) and focuses on their daily life as roommates. The juxtaposition of a quirky 60-second comedy existing on a platform like Instagram led the start-up series to finding a faithful audience after just one season. Jessica and Chloe have created a safe and funny space to reflect on the wins and the losses that come with getting your life together, something that can be hard to embrace in a filter-focused society. "While I enjoy seeing all the snatched waists, engagement photos, vacations, babies, and inspirational quotes on my Instagram timeline," Jessica shares, "I have to make sure I know there will be a few good 'lmao' moments coming each time I scroll my feed."
She thanks IG comic queens like B. Simone, Jasmine Luv, and Jess Hilarious for paving the way in bringing situational comedy to social media. Jessica explains, "Its liberating to use Instagram to expose people to more of the identities available to black women than the media shows."
This is a point both women are perfectly aligned on. Co-creator Chloe chimes in with her thoughts on the Instagram effect. "Life isn't about striving to reach perfection. It's about making mistakes and learning lessons from them. Nobody said life would be easy, but it makes it a lot more entertaining when you find humour in your failures."
"Life isn't about striving to reach perfection."
Not only is the show's content fitting and much needed to change the image of the "unbreakable black woman," but the format is also conscious of the busy lives of its target audience. Jessica and Chloe's limited production budget was a blessing in disguise that led them to a genius 60-second format. We have plenty of bingeworthy long-format shows that suck us into consumption as soon as they are released. SZNED is a quick dose of exactly what we need - a good laugh and some much needed validation. It's stated plainly in the bio of their show page, "1-minute episodes because you ain't got time and neither do we."
Jessica and Chloe have unabashedly tackled topics around sex and dating, career, friendship, and even racism and colorism. One storyline found Tori out to lunch with a local rapper who dropped her mid-date for a woman he assumed was white, touching on the "white is right" mentality that we've all come across at least once while navigating the dating world.
There's the episode where Jordyn's white cousin (by marriage) is introduced and they have a candid conversation about how it feels when white people touch our hair. Tori also struggles with securing a job and being the "broke friend" - something we've all had to go through.
While they dabble with some pretty wild storylines, the entire series in many ways reflects the creators' real-life struggles and the process has led to new growth for them both. "My character Jordyn is struggling with weight loss," Jessia says. "This is something that, like my character, I've struggled with for much of my life. To be honest, creating SZNED is helping me with accountability in that area and working toward that goal!"
Chloe has also gone through a transformation behind the creative process. "The series has also given me an immense amount of personal growth. Being an introvert that suffered from social anxiety a few years ago, I could have never imagined posting videos of myself for the whole world to see that showcased my true goofy personality."
Now that Jessica and Chloe have wrapped their first season, gained over 11K followers on their show page, and proven to themselves that they are capable of anything, they set out to drop season two in November. This time taking on new challenges and striving for new heights, their focus remaining still on connecting with an audience that seeks a break from the grind to laugh and reflect for exactly one minute. "The outpour of support that SZNED has received lets us know that our viewers share the exact same sentiments," says Chloe. "I can't even begin to describe the joy that I feel when someone sends us a message saying our videos make their day or that we put a smile on their face."
The overarching takeaway when we see women in media striving to create content that sits just outside of what is "typical" is that they are making strides in how our community is presented and perceived by the world. Humanizing what daily life looks like for us is an absolutely necessary tool in our fight to preserve a seat at all the tables we dare to demand a place at.
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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Rihanna Talks Shedding Expectations And Finding Balance As A Mother
Since becoming a mother in 2022, Rihanna has defined parenthood by her terms and hopes to pass that sense of autonomy on to her children.
For Vogue China’s April cover story, Rihanna shared her perspective on raising her two sons with A$AP Rocky, and how she hopes to preserve her children’s uniqueness, devoid of societal expectations.
"The most beautiful thing...is that [children] come into the world with their own individuality and sincerity, without any logic or conformity,” she told the publication. “Which usually makes you feel that you must fit into a certain group."
The “Work” artist, known for her trendsetting style and captivating persona, expressed her desire to support children in fully embracing their individuality and encouraging them to be whoever they want to be. "It's really beautiful to see and I want to continue to help them navigate that and make sure that they know they can be whoever they want to be,” she says.
She continues, “They should embrace it completely, because it's beautiful, and it's unique. I love them just that way."
From shattering music charts to shaking up the beauty industry, Rihanna has forged a path that has since created the “dream” life we see today. One that she says has made her parents proud of.
“I’m living my dream,” she continued. “My parents were very proud of that because they just wanted me to be happy and successful. So, I think the key thing is to find some kind of balance. Yes, balance is important. Do this and you get the best of both worlds. You can write your own life the way you want, and it will be beautiful. Sometimes, you just need to let go of everyone’s expectations and start living your own story.”
Rihanna, who shares sons, RZA, 23 months, and Riot, 8 months, with rapper A$AP Rocky, recently shared her vision for expanding her family in the future in Interview Magazine.
When stylist Mel Ottenberg asked about the number of additional children she hoped to have, Rihanna replied, "As many as God wants me to have.”
"I don't know what God wants, but I would go for more than two. I would try for my girl,” she adds. “But of course, if it's another boy, it's another boy."
Featured image by Neil MockfordWireImage