Tag Archives: race

The Soapbox: It’s Impossible To “Not See Color,” No Matter What Kim Kardashian Says

Christiana MbakweMarch 29, 2013 //
Kimye Procreates!
These two are having a baby. Not cool. Read More »
Schooled on Racism
How I learned to question my beliefs. Read More »
My Interracial Marriage
What it's like being in an interracial marriage. Read More »

As most people already know, the ubiquitous Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are expecting a baby. I’m happy for them. Unlike most people, I don’t mind Kim Kardashian. She makes an obscene amount of money for being herself (or the version of herself she wants us to see). I’m someone who’d be happy to make an obscene amount of money the same way.

Despite being here for the media blitz surrounding the Kimye bebe, a recent statement the mom-to-be made gave me to pause. And, no, I’m not talking about that weird fake tweet.

In an interview with BET, Kim Kardashian said, “I have a lot of friends that are all different nationalities, and their children are bi-racial. So they have kind of talked to me a little bit about it, what to expect and what not to expect. I think that the most important thing is how I would want to raise my children, is just to not see color. That’s important to me.” Keep reading »

The Soapbox: Should White Women Be On The Cover Of ‘Black Magazines’?

Shanelle MatthewsMarch 26, 2013 //
Racism In Modeling
Chanel Iman has been told "We already found one black girl." Read More »
Black "Bachelorette"
Misee Harris
Dr. Misee Harris wants to be the first-ever black "Bachelorette." Read More »
Know About Black Women
10 things every non-black person should know about black women. Read More »
essence

The always-inquisitive Jada Pinkett-Smith recently posed a question that has many people scratching their heads and some folks outright upset. In short, she’s wondering if black women ask to be represented in mainstream media, on the covers of magazines like Vanity Fair, shouldn’t white women be represented on the covers of traditionally black magazines like Essence, Ebony and JET?

The answer? Yes and no. Keep reading »

Chanel Iman Talks Racism In Modeling Industry: “We Already Found One Black Girl”

Jessica WakemanMarch 15, 2013 //
"Girl Model" Documentary
This movie pulls back the curtain on underage modeling. Read More »
Blackface Again?
african queen blackface
Nope, blackface is still a bad idea. Please just hire a black model. Read More »
I'm A Nude Model
nude modeling
Confessions of a nude model on Model Mayhem. Read More »
  • Just in case you thought racism was over and solved forever, here’s model Chanel Iman talking about how the fashion industry is not immune to the “one is enough” idea when it comes to diversity. “A few times I got excused by designers who told me ‘we already found one black girl. We don’t need you anymore.’ I felt very discouraged. When someone tells you, ‘we don’t want you because we already have one of your kind, it’s really sad,” Iman told the UK’s Sunday Times Magazine. This is especially troubling given how magazines will book light-skinned models and put them in blackface instead of just hiring black models! [Clutch Magazine]
  • North Dakota’s state Senate advanced a “fetal personhood” bill which would ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected, which can be as early as six weeks. [Washington Post] Keep reading »

The Soapbox: On Getting A Black “Bachelorette”

Shanelle MatthewsMarch 4, 2013 //
Race Discrimination
"The Bachelor" sued for racial discrimination. Read More »
Silly Diversity Ideas
What "The Bachelor" really needs is an A-cup or a freegan. Read More »
Guy Talk: Race
Why this guy dates outside his race. Read More »
Misee Harris

Pediatric dentist Dr. Misee Harris of Kentucky is petitioning to become the first ever Black “Bachelorette.” This prospect means a lot is surfacing for me regarding the harmful stereotypes reinforced by women of color on reality television. How would she be received? If she did get an opportunity to be on the show and chose a non-black man, what would the social implications of that be? But more than that, I feel disheartened because I know that this reality reflects how America feels about who deserves to be happy and who doesn’t. Keep reading »

10 Things Every Non-Black Person Should Know (By Now) About Black Women

Demetria L. LucasMarch 1, 2013 //
On Interracial Dating
Madame Noire and The Frisky discuss interracial dating. Read More »
Lisa's Racist Tweet
Her schtick abuses the art of comedy. Read More »
On The N-Word
Madame Noire asks why some white people want to say the n-word so bad. Read More »

We’re more than a decade into the 21st century. I’d hoped — in vain — that some basic understandings of how non-Black people should interact with Black people could be something I could take for granted. But no. Somehow there are “those people” who remain entirely clueless, so much so that they will call a 9-year old the c-word, or paint a white model bronze-Black, or not even, as so-called, journalists, bother to learn the pronunciation of an Oscar nominee’s name. This is unacceptable.

Recently, I read the comments section of a post on Clutch where a male reader was baffled as how to initiate a conversation with Black women and asked for some rules. Several helpful women obliged. In the same spirit of combating ignorance, I offer rules for non-Black people to engage Black women without causing offense. If you can manage NOT to do the following, you can probably come across as a decent human being.

Humbly, I submit a basic list, my rules of engagement, and ask you NOT to do the following (and encourage Black women to add to the list in the comments)… Keep reading »

Nope, Blackface Is Still A Terrible Idea, Fashion Industry

Jessica WakemanFebruary 26, 2013 //
quick pic
african queen blackface

This spread in Numero magazine is a headscratcher. Why did they hire a white model and cover her in brown makeup instead of just hiring a brown-skinned model? Or is she supposed to be a white woman in Africa who is, for some reason, Tanning Mom-level tan? Numero likely knew that photographing a 16-year-old white girl in heavy brown makeup, wearing colorfully printed clothing, next to the words “African Queen” would get people upset about blackface. And it worked. [Clutch Magazine]

Beyonce in Blackface
What do you think of this? Read More »
Tyra Does Blackface
Of course she does. Read More »
Blackface In French Vogue
Desperate much? Read More »

The Soapbox: Lisa Lampanelli’s Racist Schtick Abuses The Art Of Comedy

Shanelle MatthewsFebruary 25, 2013 //
Race In Hollywood
The search for an actress to play Nina Simone is skin deep. Read More »
Tokenism?
Erica says lay off "Girls" for being all-white and give black girls a show. Read More »
Lena's Ignorant Tweet
lena dunham veil photo
Lena Dunham tweeted a joke about looking "fundamentalist." Read More »
Is This Film Racist?
Only Decent People
This Dutch film about black women's asses looks pretty racist. Read More »

Insult comedian Lisa Lampanelli has made headlines again – for all the wrong reasons. Last week during the Writers Guild Awards, she shamelessly tweeted a picture of she and HBO “Girls” producer and star, Lena Dunham captioned “Me with my Ni**a @LenaDunham of @HBOGirls – I love this beyotch!!”

The interwebs erupted with rage as yet another privileged white comedian made a “joke” at the expense of the Black experience. The ubiquitous nature of racism means while we see and hear it everywhere, we’re rarely given the opportunity to understand the motivation behind it. Lampanelli’s entire shtick is to exploit the sensitive nature of race and homosexuality and to make money from abusing the art of comedy, not taking responsibility for the social implications of her “work.” Keep reading »

This Week In Style: Moncler Boss Accused Of Stealing Salvador Dali Painting

Rachel KrauseFebruary 23, 2013 //
Celebrity Model Children
celebrity model daughters
These 11 model children of celebrities are annoyingly beautiful to boot. 12 Photos »
Beth's MAC Collab
Beth Ditto for MAC photo
Kickass: Beth Ditto did a kooky collab for MAC makeup. Read More »
Galliano Caught On Tape
The Dior designer was caught on tape using anti-Semitic slurs. Read More »
This Week In Style
  • Well, that’s one way to get fired: Phivos Lampros Istavrioglou (what a name), the head of international relations at French fashion brand Moncler, has been accused of one major art heist. He was arrested at JFK airport for the theft of ‘Cartel Des Don Juan Tenorio 1949,’ a $150,000 Salvador Dali painting (shown), from an Upper East Side art gallery last year. [Business Insider]
  • Race relations are always a popular topic in fashion, thanks in part to the industry’s reputation for being maybe just the slightest bit obtuse. At New York Fashion Week this season, critics noticed that there was less racial diversity than ever. Jezebel crunched the numbers, and here’s what they found… [Jezebel]
  • Rihanna has another collaboration to add to her roster, and it isn’t musical this time. Just a few days after her design collab with British brand River Island went down the runway, the controversial singer has announced plans to partner with MAC Cosmetics. Like, really partner — RiRi has signed on to have a hand in four distinct color lines set to launch throughout this year. I guess that’s what you get for wearing Ruby Woo almost every time you’re photographed! [Refinery29]
  • You’ll recall that John Galliano made waves in his Hasidic get-up during New York Fashion Week. Writers at Conan got in touch with the disgraced designer’s brother Joe, who actually does wear Jewish hats. Like, real Jewish hats, trimmed with bagels, dreidels, aaaaaand a circumcised banana. Yeah. Watch it! [The Cut]

All of rihanna's 19 tattoos up close and personal
20 Photos »

Keep reading »

Lena Dunham Says Lisa Lampanelli Using The N-Word Made Her “Supremely Uncomfortable”

Jessica WakemanFebruary 22, 2013 //
Lena Talks OCD
Lena Dunhams opens up about her OCD. Read More »
Lena Dunham Is Sexy
...and that's all John DeVore has to say about that. Read More »
Lena's Ignorant Tweet
lena dunham veil photo
Lena Dunham tweeted a joke about looking "fundamentalist." Read More »
Dating Don'ts: "Girls"
You shouldn't do these things with your ex. Read More »
evening quickies
lisa lampanelli tweet
  • Lena Dunham has finally tweeted a response about comedian Lisa Lampanelli’s use of the N-word in a TwitPic caption of the two ladies this Thursday. I believe Lena when she says that she would never use the racial slur herself  – and I realize she didn’t use the word in this — but I think it’s lame she took so long to respond to it. [Gossip Cop]
  • Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z’s summer tour will officially be this summer’s most coveted tickets! [Tabloid Prodigy]
  • Six mindblowing Craigslist “Missed Connections” from the nation’s modern day tunnel of love, Walmart. [Racked]
  • Watch Chelsea Clinton’s pro-marriage equality PSA! [Queerty]
  • How in God’s name did Courtney Stodden weasel her way into an Oscars gifting suite? [PopDust] Keep reading »

“Seeking Asian Female” Documentary & A Visual History Of The Vibrator

Jessica WakemanFebruary 22, 2013 //
Asian Woman's Orgasm
asian woman orgasm
How one Asian-American woman defied tradition and pursued her orgasm. Read More »
"Asian Trophy Wives"
"Asian Trophy Wives" is a label we could do without. Read More »
Dating While Asian
I'm an Asian woman and I date ... screw it, it's complicated. Read More »
this week in sex
seeking asian female
  • I totally want to see the 2012 documentary film called “Seeking Asian Female” about so-called “yellow fever” explores what Asian women really think about Western men. [AskMen]
  • Why a wedding at home, while cheaper than renting a venue, could actually be a huge mistake. [Hello Beautiful]
  • How to ask your partner to experiment with kink! [Em & Lo]
  • 12 ways to have lazy sex (that are still really hot). [iVillage]
  • This chick was propositioned for sex at Disney World. [The Gloss] Keep reading »
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