So true. People will sleep on these artist talents sometime because they don't have a wonderful weave, small body or expose themselves to some degree with their wadrobe. The women she listed are all beautiful, but they are the description of "unconventional" beauty in America.
They won't be on the cover of major magazines cause society ain't ready for that. The only way I see that happening is if u own ur own damn magazine like Oprah (one of the smartest and richest females in this country). Or when u get enough minorities in televison/film industry who actually control their own broadcasts (look at BET, controlled by the same people who run MTV).
And with this whole "dime craze", I'on even know the deal with that. I know I'm pretty, I'm from the south so of course I'm gone be thick, so I'm not threatend at all by someone who looks like the image of what society "wants" to see. I don't feel the need to change anything about myself to fit a mold that somebody else wants.
Its startin to seem like the Neosoul thing was a phase. Because look most the big Neosoul artists came out around the same time and everybody was feelin it. Then none of em dropped anything for a minute so people like forgot about it or somethin
There is a big difference between what you see, and what is.
What you see is the product of businesses that are trying to sell you something. Everything you see on TV, in magazines, and in advertisements is placed there to convince you that you need something else (specifically their product) to be satisfied, confident, attractive, and healthy.
These messages get the visibility, because they pay for the privilege. The guy next door doesn't have millions of dollars to advertise what he's looking for. The diet companies, makeup studios, TV networks, and clothing designers do.
This is why what you see can be deceptive. The females I see in magazine advertisements (especially the White magazines) are simply not attractive to me. Most of the guys I know agree with me. Look at Cosmo or one of those kinds of magazines - the women in there are always wearing too much makeup and have absolutely no body but supposedly this is what everyone is looking for. I don't want a woman who is more of a man than I am. 8) Holla!
These messages get the visibility, because they pay for the privilege. The guy next door doesn't have millions of dollars to advertise what he's looking for. The diet companies, makeup studios, TV networks, and clothing designers do.
8)
i feel what everybody's saying but even for those of us who are supposedly what the media wants to see it's still not enough. NONE of the average sisters are getting love, size 5 or size 10, light or dark, straight hair or not. this is why we're "average". it then becomes up to us to say f*uck what the media says, i'm beautiful, just like so many of you already have. so sisters are getting love, if we are loving ourselves.
What we see in the media is simply a relection of what is given to be shown. Not many of us beautiful black women are not even putting ourselves in the spotlight and glare of the media. Many of us say that we know that we are beautiful despite the media, but we will not show up for casting calls, and things of that nature for a simple fear of rejection. Advertisers simply select the models that best fit their needs. We can sit up here and talk about this all we want, but lets face it, would u really want to open up a magazine and see a size 18 in a bikini? Queen Latifah is one of the most beautiful women in all of the media, and people recognize that. She has been on the cover of almost every magazine in circulation, and she is not a size 6, or even a 10. We can't blame everything on the media, we need to look at oursleves. If we are happy with, and accepting of ourselves, how can we expect anyone else to be? I am a very proud size 14, and although I would like to be smaller, I am content with who and what I am, and I wear it well. The problem arises in larger women when we don't care to keep ourselves up, and we feel that we can't look good because of our size. I have never had a problem getting a man, and believe it or not, I pull more than my smaller friends. I have found that dudes like a lil extra sumthin, so the media can keep on doing what they're doing, it just makes less competition for me!!
at NIA LONG
