About:

Talking Taboo

is a space I created to explore the parts of ourselves we’re often taught to suppress—grief, desire, shame, identity, pleasure, uncertainty. It’s rooted in honest conversation and community. I’m interested in what becomes possible when we stop performing and start telling the truth—especially as Black folks, where silence has often been a means of survival. The goal isn’t to shock; it’s to liberate. To make space for the full range of human experience without judgment.

Naked in Nature

is an extension of that. It’s a visual and embodied practice of reclamation—of my body, of my softness, of freedom. It’s not about nudity for the sake of exposure—it’s about being witnessed in a state that’s raw, unguarded, and unsexualized. Especially in nature, where I feel most myself. For me, this work pushes back on the over-sexualization and control of Black bodies and opens up a conversation about embodiment, vulnerability, and what it really means to be free.

I’m Courtney Lanctot

founder of The Unpopular Black and The Adventure Directory. My work lives at the intersection of storytelling, culture, and truth-telling. For the last few years, I’ve focused on reclaiming space for Black folks in the outdoors. But Talkin Taboo goes deeper. This platform is about the conversations that don’t always get air—because they’re uncomfortable, complicated, or just not considered “appropriate.”

I created Talkin Taboo because I was tired of editing myself. Tired of pretending like there’s a right way to be curious, angry, soft, or sensual. I wanted space to talk honestly about what it means to be fully human—without shame, without a filter, and without needing to explain myself.

This isn’t about shock value. It’s about truth. The kind we’ve been conditioned to tuck away. And I believe that naming those truths—whether they’re about grief, sex, body image, loneliness, or liberation—is a necessary part of our collective healing.

So no, this won’t be for everyone. But if you’ve ever craved real dialogue and space to just be—this might be for you.