About
Tasneem Nathari (she/her), also known as Hoodrat Feminist, is a Hip-Hop head, R&B diva enthusiast, and multimedia artist from East Orange, New Jersey. Tasneem got the idea for Hoodrat Feminist while taking a Womanist/Black Feminist Theatre course at her university taught by Ebony Noelle Golden. She had taken feminist courses before, but those courses focused mainly on the experiences of cis-gender, heterosexual white women; not taking the experiences of women, femmes, and non-binary folks who exist on the margins into account. In an attempt to make feminism more accessible, Tasneem took to the internet. In addition to growing an internet following, Tasneem create’s music, she directed a film titled, Mommy Never Told Me which discusses how Black women are introduced to love and sex/ how that introduction sets the framework for their experiences thereafter, she hosts a podcast, The Pleasure Pusher with Mahogany Brown, all while continuing to be a student of Black Feminist Thought.
"Black women aren't given enough space to talk about our pain. We aren't given enough space to talk about our joy so we have to be that for each other."
- Hoodrat Feminist (Durag Diaries)
Attendees of the 1st "Lady Linkup", a
bi-weekly all woman kickback hosted by Tasneem from her school bus turned clubhouse.
For the Culture
Hoodrat Feminist is the voice I needed to hear when I was younger. I grew up in East Orange, NJ, it’s a pretty low income predominantly Black neighborhood. Growing up in East Orange, I was exposed to a lot of traumatic/violent/problematic situations like sexual abuse, emotionally damaging relationships, issues related to having an absent father, and other things that were normalized. I started studying feminism in college, and 18 years old was the first time I opened up about some of those things and I was able to address them and the effect they’ve had on my life. I am working to heal, and I’m choosing to share this healing journey because I know I am not the only one and I’d like to offer my experiences as cautionary tales for young women who may face similar situations.
