Tag: Asma Elgamal

Categories
Gender Love Inequality

We won’t stand for #AllMalePanels anymore

A 50/50 with the male and female symbols written on a chalkboard Pinterest
A 50/50 with the male and female symbols written on a chalkboard Pinterest

Let’s be real, though – it’s not just a problem that singularly plagues the Muslim community. In most public spheres, minority women and women of color are always considered afterthoughts. They’re either considered inferior speakers or too provocative for the stage.

The grassroots initiative started originally as an event on Facebook, calling upon the community at large to participate in calling leaders to accountability. They utilized the hashtag #NoAllMalePanels on Twitter.

Here are a few of the best.

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https://twitter.com/samarkaukab/status/659526476459548672

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https://twitter.com/Ayesha_Mattu/status/659523690644832256

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https://twitter.com/ImTheQ/status/659525348799942657

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https://twitter.com/faryalmkhatri/status/659525087737962496

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https://twitter.com/haraammermaids/status/659524574199988224

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https://twitter.com/sheikhspearee/status/659498280565522432

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https://twitter.com/SourdoughOh/status/659535431772540928

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https://twitter.com/aminawadud/status/659535216566861824

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https://twitter.com/lunarnomad/status/659534408123359232

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https://twitter.com/AnonyMousey/status/659424452497686528

Male allies are encouraged to sign a pledge to “eliminate all-male panels and anthologies.”

Those in support also jumped to the defense of marginalized females, utilizing the hashtag #MuslimMaleAllies:

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https://twitter.com/Adverse101/status/659535859339935745

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The practice of hosting an all-male panel even has its own name: Manels. And they’re just as ridiculous as they sound.

Lend your voice to the movement, and hopefully, one day, we won’t ever have to deal with Manels ever again. 

Categories
World News Politics The World Policy

Hey Prime Minister Harper, the answer is clear: #DoIMatterNow?

Indigenous Canadian woman in niqab.
vice.com

Indigenous women are standing in solidarity with Muslim women in order to get Prime Minister Harper to focus on what really matters.

The #DoIMatterNow movement was launched to bring attention to the plight of Murdered & Missing Indigenous Women (MMIW) while simultaneously slamming Harper for his disrespect for women’s freedom of dress.

Alethea Arnaquq-Baril posted the following statement about the movement to her Facebook page:

“Indigenous women are fighting for the right to be safe and in control of our own bodies, and instead of launching an inquiry to uncover the systemic racism that caused an epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women, Harper attacks our Muslim sisters for what they choose to wear.  

PM Harper, it’s my body, my clothing, and MY decision. You will not distract me from issues that actually matter to me as a Canadian. In solidarity with our Muslim sisters.” 

In the past, Stephen Harper has pushed for a ban on the niqab during citizenship ceremonies and for public servants. His attempts to ban it in 2011 were overturned by the Canada’s Federal Court of Appeal. Yet he has remained steadfast in his efforts and promises that, if re-elected, he will indeed ban the niqab.

Lena Amaruq Aittauq sparked the movement when she posted a photo of her face covered by a plaid wool scarf on Facebook. Karen Kabloona, another powerhouse behind the movement, took to Twitter and created the hashtag #DoIMatterNow.

Here are some of the best tweets:

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https://twitter.com/vansopinion8ted/status/656208649577082880

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https://twitter.com/MuskokaMoneybag/status/653341884832591872

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https://twitter.com/KatieOmsteadCKL/status/653200951881412608

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https://twitter.com/swell_rachelle/status/652528455838470144

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https://twitter.com/SobiaF/status/652484867863670784

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https://twitter.com/georgiacreates/status/652284808760918016

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https://twitter.com/ptitroch/status/653032890591133696

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https://twitter.com/ErinElizabeth_J/status/656211016410361857

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https://twitter.com/rimabernsm/status/655161099344596992

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https://twitter.com/shahrozekk/status/656262575651352576

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https://twitter.com/Katie_Bickell/status/653047041027911682

 

Canada’s people are so fed up with the issue, they’re currently turning up to vote wearing all kinds of face coverings – one guy even wore a pumpkin.

Categories
Love Life Stories

Learning to love my name took me years

pinterest.com

The confusion was almost formulaic.  First, the brow would furrow. Then the lips would purse. An eyebrow would raise, their head would dip slightly, and then:

“Let’s see here… asth…ma? Asthma?”

My face burned. “It’s…Asma” I replied. 

“Oh okay. Auz-ma.” Check. 

A male classmate came up to me afterwards. “Ha-ha, Auzma! That’s sounds like ‘osmosis’!” I laughed embarrassedly, and walked away with my face burning. 

[bctt tweet=”And I would just think to myself, what are you doing? That’s not your name, dude.” username=”wearethetempest”]

I once told my parents that I wished they had named me something else. If only they called me something that could be easily “Americanized.” Why didn’t they think to spare me the pain?

I spent my 5th and 6th grade years responding to the name “ossma” (pronounced aw-sma) because I was too ashamed and embarrassed to correct everyone around me. I was at a public school and I was the only person who spoke Arabic.

My name sounded so ugly in their mouths.

[bctt tweet=”My name sounded so ugly in their mouths.”]

I’ve been called Assma, Asthma, Eyzma, Ozma, Asmama, Osama, Uzma, and Esme. Seriously. I have a running list of all the variations people have come up with over the years. I find it hilarious now and I take it with a grain of salt. But there was a point in time when I was ashamed.

I’ve come to realize that I wasn’t the only one who’s felt this way. I began to notice that other Arabs went by shortened, “American” names. Mohammed became Moe. Samiah became Sam. Abdullah became Abe.

And I would just think to myself, what are you doing? That’s not your name, dude.

It wasn’t just the Arabs, though. My Asian and Indian peers did it too. They picked names that had nothing to do with who they were, in a language that wasn’t theirs.

[bctt tweet=”I understand the temptation to give the barista a different name. ” username=”wearethetempest”]

At first, I wished I could do the same. But my name couldn’t be shortened, and I couldn’t come up with a suitable, American nickname. I couldn’t go by ‘As.’ That would be stupid and counterintuitive to my plight. “Sam” was a real stretch. Perhaps I could have gone by something completely random, like “sunny.” Honestly though, the thought made me grimace. That wasn’t who I was, that wasn’t who I was named. No matter how badly I wanted to change my name, I simply couldn’t.

Now though, I see just how wrong it is to alter your name.

Your name is who you are. It is the primary, most basic part of your identity. By changing your name, you are presenting the world with a different “you.” You make the statement to the world that you’re rejecting who you are. And when you give in to societal pressures, and change your name for the sake of making others’ lives easier, you voluntarily become a victim of whitewashing.

Sometimes, I tell the barista to write a name like “Sarah” on my cup. But it feels like treason.

I understand the temptation to give the barista a different name. Believe me, I do. I know that it could save you the extra, awkward minute in line. But you know what, if not you, then who? Who else will stand up for your name?

Stand up for your name.

Categories
Gender & Identity BRB Gone Viral Life

Here’s what Grace Lee taught us all

Inquisitr

After giving the world 100 years of wisdom and power, the incredible human rights activist Grace Lee Boggs passed away today in Detroit.

Known for her strength and charisma, Boggs spent her life standing up for what is right. An avid supporter of the feminist, Black Power, labor, and environmental movements, Boggs was challenging the status quo for the last seven decades.

President Barack Obama released a statement earlier expressing his sadness at her passing. “Her ideas challenged us all to lead meaningful lives,” he said.

Boggs was born to Chinese immigrants in Rhode Island. After graduate school, she struggled as both a woman and minority to find employment. This struggle was the impetus for her activism.

On top of being an inspiration, Boggs was an author and community organization founder. She, alongside her husband, founded several Detroit-based organizations aiming to strengthen the community. Among these include the Gardening Angels and Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice.

Grace Lee Boggs was – and always will be – an inspiration and a teacher to us all.

Here’s what Grace Lee taught the world.

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Alice Jennings and Shay Howell said in a statement released Monday, October 5th: “She left this life as she lived it: surrounded by books, politics, people, and ideas.”

Rest in power, Grace Lee Boggs.

Categories
Books Pop Culture

Make a point to read these 5 banned books

Banned Books Week is a movement  aimed to celebrate the freedom to read books that have been banned or challenged in academia. You may or may not be surprised that the list includes classics that many hold near and dear.

Interestingly enough, quite a few of these frequently challenged books are written by minorities. Here are 5 incredibly famous books by minority women that have made the list.

1. Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi

persepolis  temp_file20141028-16184-16inif6

Marjane Satrapi is an Iranian-born French graphic novelist. She was born and raised in Iran and experienced many of the socialist and communist movements prior and following the Iranian Revolution. Her graphic novel, Perspolis, is banned for having a “political viewpoint.”

It’s also cited for being “politically, racially, and socially offensive.” Psh.

2. The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison

61YTvNFx4ML._SL1181_  

African-American novelist, Nobel-Prize winner, and Pulitzer-prize winner. Toni Morrison is definitely a triple-threat. So is, apparently, her novel. The Bluest Eye delves into racism in America during the Great Depression. It’s frequently challenged for containing “containing controversial issues.”

3. The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros

51KEr5saI2L Sandra-Cisneros_high-res

Sandra Cisneros is an American author of Mexican descent. Her book, The House on Mango Street, is widely read in literature classes (I read it myself as a sophomore in high school). It was banned in Arizona for allegedly promoting an overthrow of the government.

Um, no. The major themes in the book include struggling with identity, friendship, and loneliness. So…normal stuff that everyone deals with.

4. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, Mildred D. Taylor

Rothmc_cover  temp_file20141028-16184-qwd8gp

Mildred D. Taylor is an African-American woman with a Newbury Medal under her belt. Her novel, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry tells a raw tale of racial segregation in the Deep South. It’s one of the most frequently challenged novels of the 21st century, with the primary reason being offensive language.

The main character, a punchy nine-year-old girl, doesn’t hold back her tongue. Honestly, though, the language is simply a part of American history.

5. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou

Arkansas-I-Know-Why-Caged-Bird-Sings-Maya-Angelou  Angelou

The late but dearly beloved Maya Angelou’s autobiography has been named by TIME Magazine as one of the best and most influential books of all time. Angelou has won countless awards, one of them being the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

How did such a popular book land on the banned list?

It seems that exploring identity, racism, and literacy is simply too much for the public to handle.

Categories
Books Pop Culture

15 incredible moments the incredible author Tahereh Mafi oozed uber-cool

Tahereh Mafi has already taken the literary world by storm with her New York Times-bestselling “Shatter Me” series. Now, she’s wowing us with her creativity and spunk as she expresses herself through her social media accounts and lifestyle blog.

On top of being the spunky, creative individual she is, Tahereh just announced that her newest novel, Furthermore, will be available next summer. Oh, and ABC Signature Studios has optioned “Shatter Me” for a TV series.

Here are 15 times Tahereh oozed more uber-cool than the Internet knows what to do with.

1. When she flawlessly rocked print-on-print, with the perfect liner to boot.

https://instagram.com/p/6yK61Sv9z_/

2. When she gave us serious shoe-envy.

https://instagram.com/p/68hctdP92A/

3. When her nails were way more on-point than ours will ever be.

https://instagram.com/p/vwl8xFv913/

4. When she looked like living art

https://www.instagram.com/p/5illvxv95F/

https://instagram.com/p/5sO_T_v965/

5. When she had the wedding bibliophiles will forever envy.

https://instagram.com/p/m6GcfXv90t/

6. And had her bouquet made from pages of her husband’s NYT-bestselling book.

https://instagram.com/p/sQ3vT2v99V/

7. When she demonstrated her beautiful calligraphy skills.

https://www.instagram.com/p/XTbcH9v95X/

8. When she looked amazing in black and blue.

https://www.instagram.com/p/y_SmUav9xy/

https://instagram.com/p/w6a85QnYEk/

9. When she made a dress. Out of paper.

https://instagram.com/p/yDpZgLP93S/

10. When she smashed several mirrors and made her own “Shatter Me” shoes.

https://instagram.com/p/UkUxOsP95E/

11. When she took “jump shots” to a whole new level.

https://instagram.com/p/wFmlAUP96D/

12. When she rocked this photoshoot like nobody’s business.

https://instagram.com/p/xxHwlgP98e/

  13. When she had #bestfriendgoals

https://www.instagram.com/p/wNVnGSv915/

14. When she took plaid, stripes, and lace to the streets. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/BEHKMIPP95u/

15. When she made us want to have an #armparty of our own.

https://www.instagram.com/p/xnFLiwv91k/

 

Categories
Gender & Identity Life

Add this breathtaking Moroccan city to your bucket list ASAP

morocco
Pinterest

Chefchaouen, Morocco, is a gem.

A city located in northwest Morocco, Chefchaouen is easily identifiable by its stunning shades of blue. Snuggled within the the Rif Mountains, it’s only a few hours inland from the coast of the Mediterranean.  Cities like Casablanca, Tangiers, and Rabat are only a day-trip’s worth of travel away.

Yesterday, the gorgeous city made its first debut on the Morocco Snapchat Live story. The country took the chance to show pride in their flag, souks (markets), and ethnic wear.

Take a look at this beautiful city for yourself.

1. Take a few minutes to gawk at this helicopter-view.

http://sambalcombe.tumblr.com/post/90359769570/morocco-chefchaouen

https://instagram.com/p/7-KvT_uedJ

2. I mean. What?

https://www.tumblr.com/moroccomaroc/121767495425/chefchaouenmorocco

Is this place even real?

3. What I would give to have a patio that looked like this.

https://www.tumblr.com/wanderologie-/115896094779/chefchaouen-morocco

https://instagram.com/p/7-rJjQlqxT/

4. Even their souks are dazzling.

https://instagram.com/p/7826oYJFsL/

5. And there are cats all over the place!

https://instagram.com/p/7-kbM9jSer/

http://restersimple.tumblr.com/post/128844564260/postcardsfromsarah-chefchaouen-morocco-i-love

6. And not to mention the people!

https://instagram.com/p/78z4kQnIrP

https://www.tumblr.com/thewesternkingdom/100945822377/chefchaouen-morocco

The population of Morocco is said to have some of the gentlest, most heart-warming people, speaking a mix of Arabic, Berber and French.

7. Imagine all the Instagrammable photo-ops these doors present.

https://www.tumblr.com/necudatikazemcelavi/114401324336/this-photo-is-taken-in-chefchaouen-marocco

I have serious travel-envy now. Anyone want to book a one-way ticket to Morocco with me?

Categories
Food & Drinks Life

Niche eaters of the world, rejoice

marshmallows

If you’re like me, you got really, really excited when you first saw marshmallow treats in the kosher section of the grocery store.

It was too good to be true. The infamous Kellogg’s Rice Krispies Treats, in all their blue-packaged glory, had always been off limits for me as a child. How many times throughout elementary school did I have to pass one of those up?

The original Krispie Treats are made with gelatin, which is made by boiling the skin, bones and tendons from a pig or cow. Icky, I know, but that’s exactly what gives marshmallows their signature bounce.

I couldn’t eat the Krispies because they were made with pork gelatin, but I wasn’t the only one who felt this pain. Members of the Jewish faith can’t eat pork gelatin, either. So as I scanned the aisles at the grocery store, I was forever on the lookout for items with the small-but-mighty kosher label. If a food was labeled kosher, we were safe. Better yet if it was labeled halal, meaning it adheres to Islamic dietary laws.

It wasn’t just the marshmallows I was missing out on. Dozens of candies, Jell-O mixes, and Pop-Tart flavors were off-limits. I’m a niche-eater, and my dietary limits mean I can’t shove just anything in my mouth.

In a nation where the combined Jewish and Muslim population adds up to roughly 12 million, there’s always been a demand for foods to suit our needs. But it took an agonizingly long time for the food industry to tap into this hidden market.

Buying foods that are kosher or halal doesn’t just have religious appeal now. The kosher-certification industry itself is estimated to make about $200 million annually, and the halal market sits at about $20 million.

Shoppers are beginning to see an influx of kosher products on shelves. Sue Fishkoff, author of “Kosher Nation,” has estimated that anywhere between one-third to one-half of the food in a typical American supermarket is kosher. So whether they know it or not, American consumers are rapidly buying into the business.

Saffron Road, a U.S. frozen-food company offering halal meals has made its way into over 250 grocery stores. The Albertsons, Meijer, and Kroger have aisles dedicated to kosher products (usually found amidst the “international” foods). Over the month of Ramadan, my local Muslim community was abuzz with excitement when we saw our neighborhood Costco advertising halal meat.

At the core, these certifications promote ethical food-industry practices that open up products to a much wider market. Customers of this generation are more invested in the kinds of foods they put in their bodies and where they came from. Kosher and halal foods are ensured to adhere to certain ethical practices that may put troubled shoppers at ease.

Whether your diet is gluten-free, vegetarian or halal, niche-eating has gained popularity over the years. Halal Rice Krispies Treats, gummy bears, Starbursts – they’re all readily available now. I’m convinced all I need for my life to be complete is to get the all-clear to eat a bowl of Lucky Charms.

Make it happen, Whole Foods! Or Kroger. Anyone, really. I promise to clean out your stock.

Categories
Tech Now + Beyond

I’m exhausted by everything on my phone – but I can’t look away

A woman holds her phone in her hands while she is texting. Her nails are manicured and she wears a watch on her left hand.
[Image description: A woman holds her phone in her hands while she is texting. Her nails are manicured and she wears a watch on her left hand.] Via Unsplash.

We are consumers, selfie-takers, and social media enthusiasts. Tech-savvy, politically-inclined, and independent, millennials are the most information-hungry generation to date. We are constantly bombarded by torrents of information, be it from our peers or an electronic screen.

A few weeks ago, my communications professor asked us to raise our hands if we owned a cell phone. All 82 students’ hands went up. 77 of those hands, it turned out, swiped right on iPhones. In a different class, my professor shared that students, on average, check their emails/texts/social media once every 5 to 10 minutes. Yeah. That’s an average of 12,400 times that you check for new content, per semester. An article I found earlier details a study done at Baylor University, in which college students were found to spend between 8-10 hours on their phones, with women spending more time than their male peers.

While these figures differ from person to person, the consensus is clear: we spend a lot of time on our phones, and we’re incredibly media-savvy. We’re skimming breaking news on our Twitter feeds, while plugged into the latest episode of our favorite podcast.

And yet a problem plagues almost every individual – a feeling of blasé.

Here’s what the dictionary says: Blasé is indifference or boredom with life as a result of “excess worldly pleasures.” Blasé conveys a feeling of “world-weariness.” Blasé is being unmoved because you’ve seen it all before.

It almost seems contradictory for a millennial – a seemingly bright, active, vivacious, forward-thinking, literate individual – to experience this feeling. And yet somehow, you and I both know it so well.

In a way, it makes perfect sense. Millennials are “over-fed” information, causing us to gorge, gorge, gorge until it becomes too much. No matter what it is – the latest atrocity in the Middle East, another case of racial profiling, or your friend’s latest puppy purchase – it simply becomes too much.

Considering the number of times I check my phone during the day, I can only imagine the amount of sheer stuff that goes into my brain on a daily basis. This excess of information prohibits our ability to fully grasp what’s going on. All the inflammatory language used to pique our attention gives the impression that everything is loud! and scary! and terrible!

As such, we lose interest in world affairs and become increasingly weary of it.

It seems that the only way to alleviate this feeling is to make sure that one isn’t in a constant state of being “plugged in.” After every article you read, take a minute to really think about it.

Let yourself feel something. Get inspired. Get angry!

Formulate your opinion and spread the world. If you don’t make the effort to engage with the information you’re fed, you run the risk of experiencing blasé.

Now it’s my turn to sign back into Facebook and scroll through the latest headlines. But not, of course, before taking a minute to digest them.

Categories
TV Shows Pop Culture

Seven fall TV shows more diverse than a sixth grade math problem

Actress Priyanka Chopra in Quantico.

Carlos, Hakim, and Cho go to the grocery store to buy soda. If one bottle of soda costs twenty-five cents and each person has five dollars, how many bottles of soda can they buy?

[bctt tweet=”Carlos, Hakim and Cho need soda!” username=”wearethetempest”]

The answer is: I don’t care. What I do care about is how Carlos, Hakim, and Cho met and why they’re buying so much soda. I care about their story. Just like how I care about how primetime TV is going to tell the stories of other groups of diverse characters this fall.

[bctt tweet=”I don’t care about their soda, I care about their story.” username=”wearethetempest”]

THE NEW

Minority Report: Mondays 9PM EST on FOX

Minority Report is a continuation of the 2002 film of the same name, taking place ten years after the events of the film. Dash, a precog who is able to see murders before they happen, teams up with Detective Lara Vega to make a difference with his gift.

Meagan Good plays Detective Lara Vega, a cop “haunted by her past” who misses the days of Precrime.  Appearing in a myriad of films and TV shows, including Think Like A Man, Good has the goods to make Detective Vega come alive.*

Wilmer Valderrama (best known as Fez from That 70s Show) and Li Jun Li are also cast. No stranger to FOX , Li Jun Li appeared on The Following and has taken up the role of CSI tech, Akeela.  Valderrama plays Will Blake, a fellow detective in Vega’s precinct. According to Deadline, they don’t hit it off from the start, but we all know where those kinds of TV relationships go. Can you say “slow burn!?”

*Yes I did just high-five myself for that pun.

Quantico: Tuesdays at 10PM EST on ABC

When I first saw this trailer, I made a weird exclamation of joy and woke up my cat. The show revolves around a group of FBI recruits who fight their way through training at Quantico base in Virginia. But from the looks of the trailer, it’s a lot more than that— it’s a cornucopia of ass-kicking heroines.

Our leading lady, Alex Parrish, is played by Bollywood star Priyanka Chopra. Before you point out that Bollywood isn’t really the most credible pool to fish great actors from (hello, wooden Katrina Kaif!), remember that Chopra can absolutely own a role when she has to. Don’t take my word for it — Netflix currently hosts both Barfi! and Fashion, two Bollywood films with strong performances by Chopra. Check them out and you’ll be DVRing Quantico in no time.

Additionally, we have Yasmine Al Masri as Hijabi recruit Nimah Anwar, and Aunjanue Ellis as Director of Quantico, Miranda Shaw. Minority women leading a television program that’s not explicitly about their ethnic or racial background? You done good, ABC. You done good.

Code Black: Wednesdays at 10PM EST on CBS

I don’t know about you all, but I’m ready for a high stakes ER drama that focuses more on the heart of the matter rather than who’s sleeping with whom.

Yeah, this list is about diversity, but let’s take a moment to appreciate Marcia Gay Harden’s older tough love straight-no-chaser character, Leanne Rorish. Harden is an Oscar winning actress who played Annalise Keating’s meddlesome sister-in-law, Hannah, in the hit show How to Get Away With Murder (also coming back this fall Thursdays at 10pm EST on ABC).

As an added bonus, Raza Jaffrey is our heartthrob doctor with a big heart — we have a new McDreamy, and he’s Indian! Jaffrey has definitely proved his acting chops through gigs on Homeland and Spooks. We’ve also got small screen veteran, Luis Guzmán as Jesse Sallander. Guzmán’s character is the warm safe haven in the high stakes world of the ER.

And finally, bow down to Miss India America 2007 and star of Love, Lies, and Seeta, Melanie Kannokada. She plays ER Resident Malaya Pineda, who I now love after only watching a minute of Kannokada’s performance. She’s definitely the kind of friend you want around when you have to bring someone back from the brink of death.

THE RENEWED

Sleepy Hollow: Thursdays at 9PM EST on FOX

As a self-proclaimed SleepyHead (yes, that’s what we’re called), I have to rep for the amazing Nicole Beharie and Lyndie Greenwood. Sleepy Hollow follows Abigail Mills (Beharie) and Ichabod Crane (Tom Mison) as they navigate their roles as witnesses and fight to keep the world from plunging into darkness.

This supernatural thriller’s incredible first season was followed by a not-so-well-received second. If it weren’t for campaigning by fans of the program, it would have been taken off the air. I personally watch the show for the sister bond between Abbie and Jennifer Mills (Greenwood). The sisters fight the forces of darkness together, which is badass in itself.

Jane the Virgin: Mondays at 9PM EST on The CW

Jane Villanueva (Gina Rodriguez) is a good Christian Latina woman … who was accidentally artificially inseminated during a check-up. I know it sounds crazy, but Gina Rodriguez (the human embodiment of sunshine) and the whole JTV crew know what they are doing. For a show based on a Venezuelan telenovela, the secondhand embarrassment potential is strong in this one — but they manage to bring comedy and family to the forefront and produce a show worth watching.

Rodriguez describes her character as “patient, loving, and honest” to the point where the character grounds Rodriguez herself. At the CW Upfronts she says she is “feeling the love” for Jane the Virgin, and you bet I am too.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Sundays at 8:30PM EST on FOX

Show of hands: how many of you cried when Parks and Rec went off the air? I’m gonna guess and say there’s a lot of hands. Cry no more. Time to get obsessed with the hilarious badasses at Brooklyn Nine-Nine. More specifically, Rosa Diaz (Stephanie Beatriz) and Amy Santiago (Melissa Fumero). Both women bring hilarity and depth to their characters that make them impossible to forget.

Rosa is the withholding big sister I never knew I wanted and Amy is an overachieving, worrying, binder-making, sycophant who would make Leslie Knope proud. Both characters deal with job issues and relationships the best way they know how: ignoring them until things get worse and fixing them until they’re broken. But what I love most about them is that, although exaggerated, their actions aren’t far from what any modern woman would do. It’s nice to sit back before a hectic week, watch Rosa and Amy make the same mistakes you will probably make the next day, and know that everything will be fine, because if they can make it, so can you.

BONUS POINTS

The Mindy Project: Is moving to Hulu!

In the infamous words of Ms. Kaling herself: “I’m a fucking Indian woman who has her own fucking network television show, OK?” Not anymore, Mindy. Not the network part, at least, which was a crushing blow to fans everywhere. But never fear: due to the newfound power of the fans, Hulu has picked up a fourth season to stream on Hulu!

The Mindy Project is about OB/GYN Mindy Lahiri, a hopeless romantic who’s chasing after her Nora Ephron love story ending. She’s a little (okay, a lot) messy, but she’s trying her best just like the rest of us. We’ve all landed drunk in a pool after delivering an embarrassing speech at our ex-boyfriend’s wedding, right?

… Right?

As someone who has to share a TV, I recommend you call dibs early. Make a list. Set the DVR. Have a family meeting. Finally get that Hulu account. Whatever you have to do to keep up with these awesome shows. Here’s to hoping that the new shows are worth our while, the ones we love return next year, and Raza Jaffrey tweets me back.

[bctt tweet=”Call dibs early!” username=”wearethetempest”]