Welcome to the world of Brown Girls: a diverse microcosm of queers, artists and women who are the most supportive group of friends instead of competitors. The latter is how women of color are often depicted on the screen, says Brown Girls’ writer, Fatimah Asghar.
“We just really weren’t about that,” Asghar tells The TRiiBE. So she wrote a new narrative.
The Pilsen-based web series mirrors Asghar’s 10-year friendship with Chicago poet and songbird, Jamila Woods, through its two lead characters – a queer South Asian writer named Leila and a sex-positive Black musician named Patricia.
Through seven episodes, Asghar works to debunk the idea that one woman’s success automatically results in the next woman’s demise. The characters are messy at times, according to Brown Girls director Sam Bailey, but that’s what makes their world so relatable.
“I grew up in a neighborhood where there was so much mixing of Brown people,” says Bailey. She grew up in Logan Square, a traditionally Black, Brown and immigrant neighborhood that recently has become a trendy area for artsy types. “So my crew was different Latina women but I so rarely see that represented in media. So, I was really interested and excited to show that in a really cool, positive light.”
Brown Girls premieres online Feb. 15 on browngirlswebseries.com or on Open TV’s Vimeo page.