My debut book is a collection of personal stories and advice about communication on the Internet. More specifically, the downfall of communication because of the Internet.Collection: Communication
Social media, unfortunately, just makes it a lot easier to be jealous. It sets up false expectations of reality, so it's really easy to look at someone else's life online and assume that they have everything going great for them and that their life is perfect.Collection: Great
The Internet is part of my job, so I have to approach it with a level of professionalism. I don't necessarily think it's changed who I am, but if anything, it's impacted the opportunities that have come into my life and the people that I've been able to develop relationships with - which I'm very fortunate and thankful for.Collection: Thankful
It took me years to realize that 'normal' is actually super boring and that being myself was harder but infinitely more rewarding.
I love Uniqlo for all the staples, but what I really love are the palazzo pants. They are just so flattering.
I'm somewhat wary of being called 'woke' because it feels absolute in a way that I don't think is realistic.
In many ways, being yourself is dispelling stereotypes.
I'm embarrassed to admit that I thought the world was ending my junior year of high school after a dye job reacted badly with my perm and left me with a sparse and burnt up hairline. Even though I went natural a few years later, my edges never seemed to recover.
The main problem with cultural appropriation comes from dominant groups 'borrowing' from marginalized groups who face oppression or have been stigmatized for their cultural practices throughout history.
'Lemonade' resonated with me, and I love the direction Beyonce is going with her music and her career.
I believe there's a huge conflict of interest when local prosecutors investigate cases of police violence within their own communities.
The Internet is an actual dumpster fire.
I've had lots of people say, 'Oh, Franchesca's content is just for white people.' But I try to talk about identity in a way that's accessible to lots of people and is not a pointed finger.
We can't all wake up and know everything.
The Internet has been so good to me; I see its potential to help other people.
Growing up, I was constantly labeled an 'oreo' by my black peers because of my proper speech and 'valley girl accent.'
Over the years, I've found that dealing with white people faux pas can be tricky. If I get upset, I could quickly be labeled the 'angry black girl.' But if I don't say anything or react too passively, I risk giving friends and acquaintances permission to continue crossing the line.
I'm obsessed with cute gym clothes in bright bold prints, so as soon as Mara Hoffman expanded into activewear, I knew my wallet was in danger.
Sounds cliched, but I can't survive without my calendar.
What I love most about SZA's music is her unflinching vulnerability.
If you're brave enough to search 'Franchesca Ramsey' on YouTube, you'll find a sea of ranting white dudes pinning the 'angry black woman' stereotype onto my smiling face.
Social media isn't as quaint as it was when I started my Livejournal back in high school.
For me, social media isn't just about connecting with friends and sharing photos; it's a bigger, more tangled web that's led me to jobs working in television, speaking gigs around the country, and it's even helped me land my first book deal!
The truth is that the performative nature of social media can turn even the simplest conversations into a WWE style cage match with emojis and Internet slang taking the place of pratfalls and over the top costumes.
I have really long legs, so I like cropped pants that make it look like I intentionally wanted my pants short instead of pants that happen to be too short for me.
I love my journal as much as I love my phone. I find it to be a big part of my self-care to reflect on my day and write words that inspire me or paste business cards and pictures.
My undergrad degree was in graphic design, and I don't work in that anymore, but I obviously do a lot of design and editing and Photoshopping, and the Adobe Creative Cloud is essential!
'Stop playing the victim.' - unless you've been cast in a community theater production of 'Law & Order: SVU,' I'm not sure why anyone would choose to play victim.
Just as you're allowed to be angry about injustice, it's natural to express feelings of sadness or fear, especially if you're exhausted by the prospect of trying to keep a brave face.
People feel like using the word 'joke' removes responsibility for the hurt their words may cause. It doesn't; in fact, it may make things worse.
It's just not funny to disrespect other people's beliefs, backgrounds, cultures, or identities when those are deeply rooted in longstanding oppression. Jokes that punch down on marginalized people require no creativity because they've existed since the beginning of time. It's like telling a knock-knock joke and believing you're Richard Pryor.
When I get to meet my audience when I go speak at colleges or when I'm walking down the street, it's been really eye-opening how many people have been touched to see someone that looks like them on television.
I think what's been really awesome about the Internet is the ability to reach people from so many different walks of life and stages in their life.
For a black activist, for an activist of all walks of life, the Internet has become this kind of meeting place where we can exchange ideas, where we can learn from each other, where we can get inspired about new ways that we can make changes within our own communities and own homes.
I'm so inspired by people like Issa Rae who started on YouTube or Abbi and Ilana from 'Broad City' who also started on YouTube.
Whether you have locs, natural hair, wear a relaxer, or rock wigs and weaves, thinning edges can be a frustrating issue.
Castor oil has long been a used as a remedy for a whole host of ailments including arthritis, digestion, insomnia and even period cramps. But it also stimulates hair growth.
It's important to understand you can't remove the historical context of racially charged stereotypes or slurs as much as we like to pretend that we can.
Becoming a police officer is a choice. It's not something you're born into.
For content creators, it's really important to be honest. Your audience will appreciate if you're stingy with the brands you work with.
My hair videos are usually styling videos answering people's questions about natural hair.
My channel is an opportunity to give people a new perspective on natural hair. Love what you have and work with what you've got. I think that's really important.
I'm very self-deprecating, so I'm not afraid to make jokes at my own expense, and I've just found that makes people a little more comfortable and can open the door for people to feel a little bit more understanding and accepting of where you're coming from.
For me, YouTube was about creating content because I had an interest in beauty and comedy and wanted to find a way to mix those two things, and I could do it from my home, own my own time.
Beauty is really cool because it's something that can make you feel good about yourself.
I always make sure to moisturize my hair. I love natural oils, coconut oil. Moisture is one thing you can never go wrong with.
The biggest thing I try to do is to unplug and give myself time away from social media and the Internet.
I was looking for help with styling my hair and was really struggling to find it, and I have very much been of the mind that if you see a need for something, and you can create it yourself, then go for it, so I started creating content around beauty.
You create content because you love it, not necessarily because you're looking for fame or know what it will potentially lead to.
I'm just really excited to expose people to different identities, different conversations but also to kind of reframe how they think about black women just by being myself.