Morgan Jerkins

1 week ago | theguardian.com | Morgan Jerkins

In early 2020, I made up my mind that I wanted to write a love story. Separated from my family and friends during the height of the pandemic and emotionally raw from living alone, I wanted to write something where I already knew the ending from the beginning: the characters would win. How they got there would be the most difficult part.

3 weeks ago | elle.com | Morgan Jerkins

I have this memory from when I was a child. I was in my mother’s bedroom and we were either talking about Roots or the legacy of slavery. She made a mention of how enslaved Black women were taken advantage of by their masters which led to me looking the way that I do. My snap reaction was to look down at my relatively lighter skin and then back at hers in shock. I didn’t know how to hold this horror but I knew that this deep, corporeal memory stretched for generations.

Jan 9, 2025 | thecut.com | Morgan Jerkins

Photo: Grier “You come here and see this view and you think, Yeah, this is my life,” says Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor. “Then you have to say, No, it’s not really.” For the average anxious person, overhearing such a statement could send you down a spiral about life, career, belonging. But Ellis-Taylor’s honey-warm voice obliterates any trace of nervousness buzzing about her Central Park hotel suite.

Jun 30, 2024 | lgbtqnation.com | Morgan Jerkins

Last year, despite minding other people’s business online, I didn’t know what a “trad wife” was. Now it seems like every time I log in to Instagram or TikTok, there is another video of a beautiful woman cleaning her home or making an extraordinarily long and needlessly difficult meal. These trad wives, short for traditional wives, are women who post online content showing themselves adhering to patriarchal gender roles while keeping house and raising children—and making it look easy.

Jun 23, 2024 | motherjones.com | Morgan Jerkins

Last year, despite minding other people’s business online, I didn’t know what a “trad wife” was. Now it seems like every time I log in to Instagram or TikTok, there is another video of a beautiful woman cleaning her home or making an extraordinarily long and needlessly difficult meal. These trad wives, short for traditional wives, are women who post online content showing themselves adhering to patriarchal gender roles while keeping house and raising children—and making it look easy.