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'Tis The Season: Is You Cuffin' Or Nah?
OK, girls, so daylight savings time has come, the clocks have rolled back, and we have officially entered *drum roll* cuffing seasonnnn! That's right, ladies, the infamously annual cuffing season. And while some of us are ecstatic, the rest of us are rolling our damn eyes dreading another year of more of the same. But whether we're interested or not, society has synonymously named the next few months as a time for prospective bae applications to officially become wide open—just in time for holidays.
On this week's xoNecole's Happy Hour episode, Amer and Sheriden decided to lay out the blueprint and explore exactly what this means:
What is cuffing season? How do we navigate? What will cuffing season look like in a world of COVID? Is this when you're going to find bae? Should we be out here dating multiple men?
Courtesy of Insecure/HBO
Grab a cocktail and press play as the ladies divulge in helping us all figure out the tough answers to what we all ultimately want to know...is you cuffin' or nah?
Amer and Sheriden are now accepting voice notes! Click here to send them a 1-2 minute question for your chance to receive on-air advice directly from them! Also, be sure to subscribe and listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
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"'Tis The Season: Is You Cuffin' Or Nah?" Show Notes
Intro:
We're in Mercury retrograde, yayyyy. #sarcasm
Understanding the importance of lessons that are masked by challenges. Knowing how to separate your emotions from work. Don't take on other people's feelings, sis!
#HoodieEnergy, get you some.
Tis the season to be boo'd up, yall! We break it all down as we discuss:
- Shooting our shots
- Having dating rosters
- New rules for cuffing amid COVID
Pre-Game:
Twitter's 'How It's Started vs. How It's Going'—we love this because this is a great time to reflect on how far we've come
Our fave YouTube relationships, who are yours?
Men actually categorize women into "Girls You Date" and "Fun Girls"
Happy Hour:
Courtesy of Insecure/HBO
Great news! You can now visit xohappyhour.com to leave us voice notes, which we will begin playing on-air (please limit to 1-2 minutes).
We played our first voice note on-air from this segment from xoHappy Hour listener, Taylor:
Dating and achieving your goals: how do we balance both?
Sheriden's advice: if you have the bandwidth and capacity, then see where it goes! But there's nothing wrong with just having the friendship in the meantime.
Amer's advice: When you ask the universe for something, they are going to send it to you, but before they give it to you, they're going to test you to see if that's what you really want.
As you go along with trying to reach your goals, you're going to attract the right person. If you're on the right path, they're going to find you. If this is your person, he'll still be there at the end of your journey.
We need to reintroduce and normalize men and women JUST being friends. Why has this gone out of style?
Men today believe they are in control in dating. Are they the prize now?
"I'm not the table, I'm the room." -- Amer-Marie Woods
Cuffing season, defined
- Defining what it means to date during cuffing season
- Does holiday season have an affect?
- What do people actually do during this time?
Roster dating, defined
- How it works, who's on the team
- Ground rules
- How it can get tricky
The rules of casual sex, knowing when to have sex, expectations, and more
How has COVID pivoted cuffing season?
- COVID vs. STDs
- End of the world syndrome, what is it?
- We're not sure how it's going to work, but if you're going to be out here, be responsible!
Hobosexuals are real.
Shooting your shot...are we doing this?
Sending nudes and the mixed messages that come along
If you're sliding in the DMs: have something to talk about!
People aren't good at conversations because they don't really know themselves *poetry snaps*
What has cuffing season or casual dating taught you about yourself?
Resources Mentioned In This Episode:
Why Men Love Bitches (book)
"Cuffing Season & COVID-19. Whew, Chile." by Shellie Warren
Missed our last episode? Catch up and listen to Episode 3 | Throw It Back Like A Zodiac: Mercury Retrograde, Horoscopes, & Tarot Reading Defined
Feature GIF courtesy of Insecure/HBO
Charmin Michelle is a southern native and creative spirit who works as a content marketer and events manager in Chicago. She enjoys traveling, #SummertimeChi, and the journey of mastering womanhood. Connect with her on Instagram @charminmichelle.
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This article is sponsored by Hulu.
UnPrisonedhas returned for its highly anticipated second season, delving deeper into the complex dynamics of the Alexander family.
The series premiere comes a year after its debut season garnered rave reviews from fans and critics and earned record-breaking ratings for Hulu's Onyx Collective brand. UnPrisoned's success can be attributed to its raw, relatable themes and comedic appeal.
Inspired by creator Tracy McMillan's life, the show follows Paige (Kerry Washington), a therapist and single mother whose life takes an unexpected turn when her father, Edwin (Delroy Lindo) --who was released from prison-- moves in with her and her teenage son, Finn (Faly Rakotohavana).
Throughout UnPrisoned's first season, viewers witnessed how Edwin's incarceration deeply affected Paige's life and relationships. In the series, Paige unpacks her trauma through interactions with her inner child and her online followers. Meanwhile, Edwin is overcoming specific struggles with his own past that led to his life of crime, including a dysfunctional upbringing and his mother's arrest. As the Alexanders attempt to reconcile, new challenges arise.
This new season promises to further explore their unconventional family dynamic. Here are several compelling reasons why season two of UnPrisoned should be on everyone's watchlist.
The Alexander Family Life Is Still In Shambles
UnPrisoned's second season resumes where the series left off, with Paige grappling with the fallout from her troubled therapy practice and Edwin navigating life independently after moving out. Meanwhile, Finn faces his own challenges. The teenager is battling anxiety and seeking information about his father—a topic Paige avoids discussing.
The Alexander Family Are Attending Therapy To Resolve Their Underlying Issues
Amid the chaos in their lives, the Alexander family decides to mend their bond by confronting their past traumas. They seek professional help and attend therapy sessions with a “family radical healing coach,” played by John Stamos, a new cast member. This collective effort aims to unravel the complexities of their shared history and strengthen their relationships.
The process of unraveling each character's internal conflicts and their potential impact on future relationships may clash with Paige's textbook therapy approach. While Paige is used to being in the therapist's seat in both career and family, this forces her into the unfamiliar role of a patient during therapy sessions. This shift would compel her to look in the mirror and try a radically different approach.
The Alexander Family Learned A Big Lesson During A Therapy Session
In therapy, the Alexanders are tasked with addressing their individual traumas to salvage their remaining relationships. One of the family therapist’s eccentric suggestions was an exercise involving a family wrestling match. During this session, Paige faces tough questions about her refusal to share information about Finn's father.
While it's unclear whether this scene is reality or fantasy, the image of the family duking it out in the ring certainly makes for hilarious yet compelling television.
Paige Tries Dating Again Following Failed Relationships
Amid her life's chaos, Paige decides to step back into the dating field. However, her many attempts have left her with mixed results. The dating apps have turned out to be a fail, and an outing with her ex Mal (Marque Richardson), who is also her father's parole officer, doesn’t go quite as expected after he brings an unexpected guest – his new girlfriend.
The situation takes an awkward turn when Mal's new partner learns why the former couple split, partly due to Paige's self-sabotage.
UnPrisoned Is A Perfect Balance Of Comedy And Drama
As a dramedy, UnPrisoned takes a comedic approach to its heavy subjects. The show takes us on a ride with Paige's dating misadventures and navigating a friendship with her ex.
Other lighthearted moments include Edwin's attempts at CPR based on online videos and, of course, the antics of the Alexander family's unconventional new healing coach.
The second season of UnPrisoned is now available on Hulu.
UnPrisoned | Season 2 Trailer | Hulu
Feature image courtesy
Blair Underwood Initially Turned Down 'Sex And The City' Because 'It Was About How Samantha Was Fascinated By Dating A Black Man’
Actor and heartthrob Blair Underwood is opening up about why he turned down Sex and the City the first time he was offered a role. Many fans of the HBO series may recall Blair's time on the show in which his character was dating Miranda (Cynthia Nixon). However, he was previously offered another role where his character would date Samantha (Kim Cattrall).
During his interview with AV Club, the Set It Off star revealed that he was uncomfortable with the initial offer due to the character's fascination with him being a Black man.
“I actually did say ‘no’ the first time,” he said. “The first time they had offered the role, to be honest with you, it was about how Samantha was fascinated by dating a Black man and wanted to know if, uh, all of the rumors were true about our anatomy! And I said, ‘Listen, I’m honored, thank you, but I just don’t want to play a character based on race, on curiosity about a Black man.'”
But that didn't stop them from reaching out again. This time he was offered to play Dr. Robert Leeds, the love interest to Miranda and he decided to go for it. "So they were nice enough to call about a year later, and I said, 'Well, is it gonna be about race?' And they said, 'No, no, no, we’re not even gonna mention race!' And I think it really did only come up maybe once," he recalled.
"It did five episodes, and I think Samantha mentioned it once, saying something about 'a Black doctor' that Miranda was dating. And that’s really been a consistent thing in my career: not wanting to be boxed as 'the Black guy.'
"I’ve had that conversation with many producers along the way, and they were so great. They said, 'No, he’s just a doctor who Miranda meets in the elevator, and they have a nice little fling.' And it was amazing."
Blair has had a wide-ranging career playing everything from a lawyer on L.A. Law to playing Madame CJ Walker's husband on Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madame CJ Walker. And during his interview, he revealed another role that he initially turned down, Set It Off. The movie, which is considered a classic in Black culture, stars Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett Smith, Vivica A. Fox, and Kimberly Elise. Blair's character, Keith, played a banker and love interest to Jada's character, Stony.
He explained why he said no at first and eventually accepted the offer. "I had initially said “no” to that. Because I was playing this historic, iconic African-American historical figure in Jackie Robinson, and the time, y’know, there was Boyz N The Hood, and Menace II Society was out there, and I’d finished playing this noble Negro… [Laughs]," he said.
"And I’m reading the script, and there’s a scene where Jada Pinkett’s character—Jada Pinkett-Smith now—was going to sell her body so she could make some money to send her brother to college. And I remember, honestly, I threw the script across the room. I was, like, “I don’t want to do this. I want to do something uplifting for the Black culture and Black characters, and I don’t know if I want to see this.”
After a conversation with the movie's director F. Gary Gray and the actor's manager encouraging him to finish reading the script, Blair had a change of heart. What he first thought about the movie turned out to be totally different.
"So I finished the script, and I saw that the character they were asking me to play was really the love story in the midst of all of this turmoil of all of these characters, the four ladies: Queen Latifah, Vivica Fox, Kimberly Elise, and Jada," he explained.
"It was so well-written, it was such a great platform for them. And to be able to play the love story and the storyline that gave Jada’s character a leg up and a way out of this world, something to hope for, to wish for, someone to love her… I said, 'You know what? I’d like to be a part of that.'
"And I’m so glad I did, because that film resonates to this day. People all the time come up to me and say that they love that movie. So I’m glad that I did it."