The anti-abortion movement tries many tactics — guilt, misinformation, assuring women they’re smart and capable enough, more guilt — but one of the latest permutations has been framing abortion as a racial issue. Some anti-abortion activists are framing legal abortion as a way to deter black women‘s reproduction. The latest example is this billboard hanging in New York City’s highly trafficked SoHo neighborhood which reads, “The most dangerous place for an African-American is in the womb.” The billboard was posted by the Texas-based anti-abortion group, Life Always, The New York Times reports, conveniently timed for Black History Month. Keep reading »
Tag Archives: race
Beyoncé In Blackface: What Do We Think?
Beyoncé in blackface? I never thought those three words would be in the same sentence. But yes, Ms. Bootylicious has darkened her light skin and thrown a scarf over her head for a L’Officiel Paris campaign. Is Beyoncé trying to make a statement that dark black skin is beautiful? Is Beyoncé trying to make a statement that wearing a headscarf is beautiful? Is Beyoncé simply trying to be “provocative,” whatever that means? Who knows. Personally, I always wonder why ad campaigns or photo shoots that go the blackface route don’t just hire darker-skinned black models (instead of, say, Caucasian model Lara Stone). It’s all well and good to say “black is beautiful,” but if you’re not actually putting money in dark-skinned black models’ pockets, what’s the point? I am, however, just a white girl from Connecticut, so I’d be curious what Frisky readers think of Beyoncé in blackface. [BuzzFeed] Keep reading »
Halle Berry Says Daughter Nahla Is Black
“I feel like she’s black. I’m black and I’m her mother and I believe in the one-drop theory. I’m not going to put a label on it. I had to decide for myself and that’s what she’s going to have to decide – how she identifies herself in the world. And I think, largely, that will be based on how the world identifies her. That’s how I identified myself. But I feel like she’s black.”
– Halle Berry on daughter Nahla’s race in Ebony magazine. For those of you who are not familiar, the one-drop theory is that people with partial amounts of African ancestry are considered black. The origins of the term are interesting. The one-drop rule was passed in many states in the 1920s, saying that people with one-eighth to one-quarter of African ancestry (depending on state law) could be considered legally white. This quote from Halle is particularly timely, as sources told TMZ that her ex and baby daddy, Gabriel Aubry — with whom she’s engaged in a bitter custody fight — “would go nuts” when she referred to Nahla as black. [Celebitchy] Keep reading »
“The Dirty Girls Social Club” Author Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez Alleges Racist TV Adaptation Of Her Book
Most authors would die to see their book made into a movie or TV show. But not Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez — not anymore. The author of The Dirty Girls Social Club got ahold of a script based on her book and was shocked to see that: 1) all the black characters were removed and changed to be of other races, and 2) all the Latina characters are sexually promiscuous, even described as “sizzling.” Seeing The Dirty Girls Social Club adapted on TV, she said, now “holds zero appeal for me.”
“The Dirty Girls Social Club,” in development with NBC, will be written by Luisa Leschin for Ann Lopez’s Encanto Productions (also known as Ann Serrano, as she is splitting from comedian George Lopez). Over a year ago, Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez optioned the rights for her book to Lopez, who, with Alisa’s help, got a development deal with NBC. But the script adaptation she covertly saw when a “no one” within the company leaked it to her was so racist, sexist and overall offensive that Alisa wrote on her blog today, “I’d rather no show get made than to have my name attached to Luisa’s bastardizations.” Keep reading »
The Black Baby Doll Project Puts Dollies In Hands Of Little Girls
One of the privileges I had as a little white girl was always having had toys that look like me. In fact, American Girl‘s brown-haired, brown-eyed Samantha Parkington doll looked almost exactly like me. Like little girls all around the world, I used to hold her, brush her hair, pretend she was my daughter and enjoy how beautiful she looked. That’s why I think The Black Baby Doll Project, which is in its 13th year, is so important. Sponsored by the Ida B. Wells Living Learning Community, a gateway program for first-year African-American students at Mary Baldwin College in Virginia, BBDP collects black baby dolls each year to gift to little girls so they have a toy who looks like them … Keep reading »
Do You Know A D-Lister Who Needs Reality TV Rehab?
Do you know some reality stars from TV who look like they could use a real-life kick in the pants? A “desperate bachelorette” maybe? A “d-bag”? An “angry black bitch”? These are just a few of the stock characters you see over and over again on reality TV — excuse me, “reality TV.” Media critic Jennifer L. Pozner — who just happens to be my mentor and friend — has just published Reality Bites Back: The Troubling Truth About Guilty Pleasure TV, which examines the past decade of “reality TV” and how its statements on race, gender and class just happen to echo cultural stereotypes. (For example, men and women of color were pretty much absent from “reality TV” until Flavor of Love — a “dating” show where women clean up after and perform sexual favors for the rapper Flavor Flav.) Keep reading »
“Black Marriage Negotiations” Video Perpetuates Stereotypes About Black Women
Want a low-budget way to draw attention to your website with minimal effort on your part? It’s easy — be wildly offensive. A website called PhilosoG’s is behind this “Black Marriage Negotiations” video that slaps down black women and tells ‘em they wouldn’t be single if they weren’t so damn difficult. Keep reading »
Condoleezza Rice Shares Stories Of Her Childhood In The Segregated South In New Memoir
As a little girl, Condoleezza Rice posed in a sundress in front of the White House. Decades later, Rice worked in the White House as the second woman, and the first African-American woman, in history to be Secretary of State and the first woman to serve as national security advisor. In her new memoir, Extraordinary, Ordinary People: A Memoir of Family, Condoleezza shares stories of her childhood growing up in the racially segregated South as a little girl who was not even sure she’d be allowed to sit on a white Santa Claus’ lap. Keep reading »
Frisky Exclusive Q&A: Levi’s Responds To Controversy Over Their Curve ID Jeans
If you have opened a magazine or looked at a billboard anytime in the past few months, you have heard of Levi’s new Curve ID jeans. Last summer, Levi’s launched a new fit system for their denim based on a woman’s body shape, instead of her size. The company performed body scans of 60,000 women around the world and identified three main body types — “slight curve,” “demi curve,” and “bold curve” — which fit 80 percent of women. Exciting news, right? Keep reading »
Teresa Lewis To Be The First Woman Executed In 5 Years
Tomorrow the United States will execute Teresa Lewis, 41, the first woman to be put to death in the last five years, by lethal injection. In 2002, Lewis left the door of her Danville, Virginia, home unlocked so her lover, Matthew Shallenberger, and his companion, Rodney Fuller, could murder her husband and 25-year-old stepson with shotguns she had purchased. Her husband didn’t die immediately after being shot, but Lewis waited 45 minutes before she called the police. Lewis allegedly wanted to kill her family so she could collect life insurance and inheritance; she allegedly offered sex with her 16-year-old daughter if the murderers went through with the killings.
Lewis’ lawyers have claimed that she is borderline mentally retarded, was allegedly addicted to painkillers, and therefore was not an appropriate candidate for the death penalty. Keep reading »
