You might have noticed by now that I opt for outfits likely to provoke particular presumptions along the lines of, “She looks super confident/high-maintenance/bougie,” “she’s doing the most,” and “Who does she think she is?”

The act of holding something for someone, particularly something large and not meant to be held, really underscores one of the ideas I’m trying to explore in the piece: having Black women and non-Black women alike help a Black woman by doing a share of her work or task.

I’m in the early stages of developing “Feeling Myself: an exercise in unapologetic vanity and conceit,” a public performance piece that centers on Black girls and women being unapologetically proud of their appearance and achievements and having people who aren’t Black women assist us in these moments.