Renee of Womanist Musings has a wonderful post on Roger Ebert’s review of “Good Hair”. I was going to comment on it at Stuff White People Do where it was guest posted, but I feel a post of my own coming on:
Roger Ebert wrote a review of Chris Rock’s film “Good Hair” (2009). Nothing surprising there: he makes his living as a reviewer. But what makes this one priceless is it shows up his whiteness in two ways:
- He assumes he knows more than black people – even about black women’s hair!
- He downplays what black people go through by comparing it to something white that is not at all the same thing.
Roger Ebert ends the review this way:
The movie has a good feeling, but why do I know more about this subject than Chris Rock does? Smile.
The smile presumably refers to the fact that he is married to a black woman, Chaz Hammel-Smith. Earlier in the review Ebert takes issue with the film based on the Wikipedia, of all things. So Ebert feels he knows more about black women’s hair based on what? This:
- I am married to a black woman.
- I look up stuff in the Wikipedia.
Compare that to Chris Rock:
- Also married to a black woman.
- Has a black mother and two black daughters.
- Spent two years making a film about black women’s hair.
Where in the world does Ebert get off thinking he knows more about black women’s hair? Since Ebert does not strike me as a know-it-all blowhard – I used to watch his reviews on television – it is hard for me not to think this is racist: “White people know what they talking about, black people do not.” Help me out here.
He even assumes he knows more than his own wife, who has had such hair all her life! You know this because it is clear he printed the review without her looking it over – either that or he did not take her comments seriously. It would have kept him from making a fool of himself. But, again, he thinks he knows better.
I find it hard to imagine his wife agreeing with this:
The use of the word “natural hair” is, in any event, misleading. Take a stroll down the hair products aisle of a drugstore or look at the stock price of Supercuts. Few people of any race wear completely natural hair. If they did, we would be a nation of Unibombers.
See that: what black women go through with their hair is no big deal at all! This is stock racist deflection: what black people go through is no different than what white people go through.
White people talk that way because they have a hard time accepting difference in people – what leads to the whole “good hair” thing to begin with. They also do it because, like Ebert, they do not want to take black people seriously.
See also:
- Roger Ebert: Good Hair – the review itself
- Womanist Musings: Roger Ebert Proves Good Hair Was Made For White People – guess posted at Stuff White People Do where it gets more comments
- Stuff White People Do: question non-white knowledge and authority – examples of how white people always think they know more than people of colour
- good hair
- Wikipedia
- How to argue like a white racist
- “But that happened to me too!” argument – in Ebert’s review this shows up as: white women have natural hair too!
- “Some of my best friends are black”– or wife, so I know black people
- The Barbara Bush Award for Deluded Whiteness
Interesting perspective. Never looked at it like that.
Honestly, I’d take Ebert’s comment about him knowing more about black hair politics than the black Chris Rock as light-hearted in nature.
Yet, on a less aware level, he may feel that he inately knows more about ANY subject than a black person would. Even if that subject is black people themselves!
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See that: what black women go through with their hair is no big deal at all! This is stock racist deflection: what black people go through is no different than what white people go through.
He’s right on one point: what they go through is not necessarily unique to black women. It’s the social stigma of the subject that is unique. I’ve pointed this out myself numerous times and I hardly think I’m racist against black people.
Even though I’ve got “white girl hair” it’s rather wild, curly, and prone to frizz so I’ve fought against the urge to change, torture, poison, color, style, etc. my hair into submission. I’ve now given up and wear it short and “natural”. I feel the same sort of liberation but perhaps if I had “black women’s hair” the feeling would be more intense as it would be social and not just physical.
Get what I mean?
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The film has gotten mixed reviews; and from what I gather, many felt CR was going out of his way to (lack of better words) humiliate black women into liking what God blessed them with. “Those silly things black women do.” On the other hand, I saw this video as a chance for black women to confront European standards head on, and move past the pretension.
RE took a chance and tried to lay it out as no big deal. Nothing different from collagen, implants, fake eye lashes, etc. He wanted to say, “what’s the big deal? Why is this necessary?” But I don’t think he’s talking to black culture, he’s talking to men who may show up at work one day and start asking a co-worker questions that may embarrass her or make her feel uncomfortable. Better yet, he’s telling CR to lay off black women’s hair because it’s not polite. You don’t ask a woman how old she is, and you don’t ask her whether or not her hair is store bought, or natural. “Even I know that!”
A friend of mine (white guy) was curious about seeing this film, and saw it from a completely different angle. He saw as a film out to expose “black women’s” secret love of white culture, fear of losing black men. “It’s very rare that a film/television show black women some love, so why should this be any different?”
I just don’t think my friend, or RE understands that it’s okay for CR, and it isn’t okay for them. While CR’s video may not be considered the most flattering, it’s done out of love- black love; and the black community appreciates him for trying.
And IA, it is different. Black women take some heavy hits throughout the day about their looks. It’s enough we can’t even represent ourselves in the magazines these days, but on top of that when you have to go look for a job or work, it’s not about what you can tame or how liberated you want to be. When people say “professional” they usually mean “white”. Maybe not so for all black people, but unfortunately dreadlocks are tough to pull off in some professional settings. Hell, if I’m going to get to work on time, I need to have it tamed prior so I can actually get to bed! Relaxers are usually not the child’s choice; and my parents had to get us off to school and off to work looking clean so the classroom wasn’t distracted and teachers felt comfortable interacting with us.
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not to be mean or anything but why did a black woman, in the picture, get with roger out of all people? sorry but it looks odd.
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so i saw a picture of ebert in his younger days and–poor guy, he’s never been even a little attractive. he’s so funny looking…like a chicken in the face (small & saggy) and this rotund body…
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NO ONE but BW know FIRST HAND what it’s like to be a BW in America and have your hair DEGRADED, DEMEANED, and DISRESPECTED from childhood to adulthood.
For ANY NON-BW to claim that they know BETTER than BW what this feels like is DISHONEST and PRESUMPTUOS.
As for Chris Rock, I find his “mockumentary” an OFFENSIVE, DISRESPECTFUL excuse to make a fast buck and get an quick laugh at the expense of BW/BW’s hair issues.
The fact that CR doesn’t address the role of HISTORICAL ANTI-BW RACISM/HATE in American culture and in the attitudes/actions of MANY BM as the REAL SOURCE for the “good hair/bad hair” mindset, reveals his lack of REAL concern/desire to change the NEGATIVE way BW/BW’s hair is viewed.
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Weird how white men ALLWAYS go for the dark sistas..I noticed that.
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Of course we come in a variety. I have cousins with long, straight hair (due to a NA ancestor way back) and others with kinky hair. Most have hair something like me, like this (texture-wise) but jet-black:
What I meant by “black women’s hair” was “kinky” hair, because that’s what most people mean when they say that. The film is about kinky hair, isn’t it?
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Black women’s natural hair runs from straight to kinky, but “natural hair” is mostly understood to cover the kinky end since the term “good hair” covers the other end.
I think Ebert was way off base in comparing black women’s natural hair to white women’s as if there is not much of a difference.
First, white women’s natural hair is completely acceptable to society at large while kinky hair is not. They never get fired for wearing natural hair, political messages are not read into it, no one asks them rude questions.
Second, he just sat through a film about what most black women go through to achieve what white women are born with. If it is not such a big deal, then why spend two years making a film about it?
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Nubian Queen said:
“Weird how white men ALLWAYS go for the dark sistas..I noticed that.”
I noticed that too – Ebert’s wife is considerably darker than Chris Rock’s.
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Yolanda said:
“so i saw a picture of ebert in his younger days and–poor guy, he’s never been even a little attractive. he’s so funny looking…like a chicken in the face (small & saggy) and this rotund body…”
Well, there is a reason Brad Pitt does not write movie reviews and it is not just his possibly bad spelling.
Here is Ebert in younger days – in 1970 when he was 28:
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abagond Says:
First, white women’s natural hair is completely acceptable to society at large while kinky hair is not. They never get fired for wearing natural hair, political messages are not read into it, no one asks them rude questions.
Hi abagond. Just visiting your blog from SWPD. Black women can get fired for wearing natural hair? Really? That’s terrible! I had no idea.
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Elsariel Says
Hi abagond. Just visiting your blog from SWPD. Black women can get fired for wearing natural hair? Really? That’s terrible! I had no idea.
laromana says,
There are MANY ways BW are singled out for RACIST, ANTI-BW treatment in American culture that NON-BW aren’t aware of. That’s why it’s so difficult for NON-BW to UNDERSTAND/EMPATHIZE with BW/BW’s issues.
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Chris rock has no room to talk about black women and their hair either, he is NOT a black woman. He should not get a pass just becuase he is black, onlt BLACK WOMEN know exactly what their hair regimine is. I hear all these critism from black men, white men and white women, but I want hear what black women have to say because at the end of the day it is our image being portrayed here.
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Dark Sistas need love too and if white men give it to them then good for them.
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Chloe,
I agree with you completely. The most IMPORTANT/NECESSARY input that COUNTS when it comes to “good hair vs bad hair” is what BW have to say about our FIRST HAND experiences with how OTHERS in American society treat BW/BW’s hair issues.
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laromana says,
There are MANY ways BW are singled out for RACIST, ANTI-BW treatment in American culture that NON-BW aren’t aware of. That’s why it’s so difficult for NON-BW to UNDERSTAND/EMPATHIZE with BW/BW’s issues.
I have sympathy for anyone who experiences discrimination as a human being, but yes, I have no idea what it’s like being a black woman in America (actually, a black woman, period) so I can in no way understand or empathize with issues like this.
I live in the northern midwest and, though we do have a decent sized black population in my town, white is dominant. There are a few black girls at work and some rock the natural look, some wear braids, and some have straight relaxed hair. I think they all look great but I can’t possibly understand what kind of social pressures they might feel to “conform”.
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Why does anybody listen to what abagond says? BW can’t get fired for wearing natural hair. Also, what’s wrong with whiteness? Movie revies are ment to be subjective. You have a right to disagree with him but he’s entitled to his opinion.
Whites should have a superiority complex because whites accomplishments literally shames any other races accomplishment. However, I don’t think Roger feels that way. He is more of a self-loathing white male if anything.
Roger’s observations were valid. Chris Rock, merely sees it as an opportunity to crack wise. It doesn’t matter if Rock is in a Harlem barbershop or an Indian hair-weave factory—there’s always a punch line or a snooty eye-roll to be had. The comedian’s shtick has rarely felt so stale and desperate, so disconnected from the very real cultural quandaries he uncovers.
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Why is everybody calling Roger fat and ugly? As if his black wife is a beauty queen. Ugly people date ugly people. His wife is uglier that him.
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White Man Says:
Why is everybody calling Roger fat and ugly? As if his black wife is a beauty queen. Ugly people date ugly people. His wife is uglier that him.
laromana says,
Why are you asking why Roger Ebert is being called ugly and then you using this as an excuse to INSULT his wife? What you’re doing to Roger’s wife is NO DIFFERENT than what other posters are doing to Roger.
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“Whites should have a superiority complex because whites accomplishments literally shames any other races accomplishment”
hmmm. Oh really?
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“Whites should have a superiority complex because whites accomplishments literally shames any other races accomplishment”
Lolwut? Methinks someone needs a history lesson….
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I haven’t been able to see the movie yet black movies don’t really gt shown. Or supported. Unless a person in the charts has a leading role.I would love to see it though. Its true its OUR image we should do more to change how its portrayed.I dnt feel that black women generally get portrayed in an accurate way.
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Please note: this post is not about the history of invention. I deleted several comments about it as way off-topic.
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Right: I think De Niro’s love of black women is genuine.
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I agree with Aba about Ebert’s love of black women being without ulterior motive. He genuinely loves his wife.
Aba, out of curiousity, do you think the fact that Ebert’s wife is considerably darker skinned than Chris Rock’s has any significance?
Does it have any significance that the shade of his wife’s skin was commented on? What does they say about people?
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It was noticed due to colourism. I do not think it is an accident that Chris Rock’s wife is lighter. As noted elsewhere on this blog, black men apply colourism to black women, not white men – but black women seem to apply it to themselves most of all.
Also: I think both Chris Rock and Roger Ebert are accomplished enough in their fields and rich enough that neither one would have to settle for an ugly wife despite their looks.
As to Ebert and black women, I think he fits more Black&German’s model – the Peter Norton or George Lucas sort – as laid out here:
Meaning he goes for black women because he does not care what other people think – he just wants a woman with a mind. That he dated Oprah is a sign of that.
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Abagond asked ‘Could a black reviewer have written what Ebert did? How would it be taken?’
First of all, it takes a strong minded man to want to pursue a relationship with a black woman. Black women take alot of shit, and you have to know when it’s time to get her back, hold her, walk away, laugh, or all three at once. Unfortunately, the BM that have chosen to pursue relationships outside of their race have gotten more attention than the ones that have found love with black women. So for BW, any man that chooses to stand in defense of BW will always get props; and in this case a BM would most likely see CR as an ally and would have a very different critique on the film.
A black reviewer would have never made it a pissing contest about who knows BW best. He would have ended his piece as a shout out to women of different hair types and focused the piece on uplifting BW while throwing in a few “black queen” comments here or there.
On the other hand, RE adores his wife, but that doesn’t mean he appreciates BM and their contributions to the black race as a whole- prison, drugs, rap, exploitation, etc… and could very well harbor some deep criticism on BM and not necessary “blackness”. I’ve noticed his reviews on “urban films” tends to run pretty ho hum and he seems rather unimpressed with the extent some actors and filmmakers go to create “black entertainment” and might very well have weeded black women out of the equation.
The problem with his critique is that he fails to recognize CR as an ally in uplifting and supporting BW on the forefront. But that’s because he doesn’t want anybody talking about “his woman’s hair”, joke or no joke.
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Abagond Says:
“It was noticed due to colourism. I do not think it is an accident that Chris Rock’s wife is lighter. As noted elsewhere on this blog, black men apply colourism to black women, not white men – but black women seem to apply it to themselves most of all.”
So do you feel like most dark men get with lighter women because of insecurities?
If so, do lighter african-american men get with darker AA women? Cause I don’t really see it that way either…I still see the lighter AA men with lighter women as well…
What do you think?
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Ebert’s comments were presumptuous and stupid, but I’m not convinced they were motivated by racism. My sense of the guy is that he’s a know-it-all. He probably thinks he knows more about ANY subject than the people who have real experience with it. He knows more about cancer than a doctor, knows more about music than a musician …
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Aba,
I agree that the likes of Ebert and DeNiro are geniune with their love for black women. It may go beyond that. They truly loved the black women they were with.
I also think that Ebert and DeNiro are the types of white men who are independent-minded and more progressive, if you will. That may account for how they see the world.
And yes, Chris Rock’s wife wouldn’t be with him if he didn’t have money and fame. To bring it back to the colorism aspect, I don’t know if the woman he would be with, if he weren’t famous, would be as “light” as his current wife is. (He’s cheated on her with several white women…so perhaps like many decidely unattractive black men, he has a complex about his race that gets reflected with the women he gravitates to.)
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Leslie,
As noted on this blog before, light skinned black couples are hardly the norm. Both females and males who could be labeled “light skinned” by black standards (very, very subjective) usually wind up with a darker mate. Like I’ve noted before, that may be of no fault of their own. Light skinned blacks are a minority in the black American “community” so they may have no real choice.
I’m not sure where you draw the line at “dark skinned” but I think Aba is noting how the famous black men who get the most publicity tend to be photographed with women who are considerably lighter than they are. He and I both agree that this is intentional. It speaks to a certain mentality.
My question to Aba and others is this: If someone dates or marries someone partly because of the shade of their skin (or other racial attributes), is that true love? I thought love was based on a true connection. A romantic connection with someone is natural and is independent from physical appearance. So, if someone decides to marry/date someone because, on some level, they are physically lighter or darker them, is that even a healthy, functioning relationship based on love?
What do you guys think?
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ERE,
Nicole Lynn is heavily mixed. I believe her father is Chinese-Jamaican. It’s funny, her career never really took off. I can bet you a million dollars that her racial ambiguity worked to her detriment in the cut-and-dry world of Hollywood.
For what it’s worth,
I wanted to note that I find it extremely ironic that this conversation veered from a legendary film critic’s comments on a documentary about black hair issues into one of colorism. Goes to show what the bigger issue is with black American women.
Anyway, what’s the most ironic about this turn of conversation is that Chris Rock’s wife spoke on televised panel at Howard University a couple years back about the topic of colorism. She spoke with great vigor about teaching her daughters to love their brown skin in a society that condemns blackness. She also spoke of her negative experiences with light skinned blacks. Appearantly, she doesn’t consider herself light skinned even if others (and her husband) do. Interesting.
I’m anxious to see what others think about the question I posed in the re-typed comment above.
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mynameismyname, I would say that it is a matter of preference, just like anything else. Everyone has something that attracts them to someone. Some men like blonde women, or thick, or thin, ect. But,there is a deeper social stigma to color preference that makes your question more complex.
Hmm, it’s interesting because the first step to love IS the attraction. And complexion is just a part of preference, just like hair/eye color. If a man is TRULY attracted to a certain color (like he prefers light skinned women but is not limited to them),I don’t see anything wrong with that.
However, if a man only dates lighter women for “status” or the woman becomes more of a cookie cutter mold (if we break up, I’ll find another light skinned woman), that is not true love. I do see a lot of black actors with that cookie cutter mentality. They break up with one lighter skinned woman and the next woman on his arm looks exactly the same.
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Islandgirl,
Hmm…interesting angle. But see, if it’s merely preference then why do soooo many people appear to have this preference for attributes that the vast majority of black women don’t possess?
What about the many couples who fell in love with each other yet didn’t neccessarily have an instant physical attraction? There’s many women who were far from my physical ideal but who I grew to be very attracted to based on their personalities.
I agree, the fact that so many famous black men who get the most publicity are with women who look so similar to each shows love is secondary in many of these “relationships”.
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Mynameismyname said:
“If someone dates or marries someone partly because of the shade of their skin (or other racial attributes), is that true love? I thought love was based on a true connection. A romantic connection with someone is natural and is independent from physical appearance.”
If it is just for her shade of skin, then it is not true love. But you can date or marry someone for the wrong reasons at first and still wind up truly loving them.
Preference for light skin among blacks in American can be a “natural preference”, but I think in most cases it is not so innocent – because colourism is still an issue and because America spends huge sums of money to push white beauty.
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I’ve never cared for Ebert’s reviews of Black Films.
The Black Film and filmmaker, are USUALLY panned – especially if Whites are showned in a way, (and we’re talking about relevant and legitimate content) that they are defamed, degraded, ridiculed, etc. But, ANYTIME a White filmmaker displays the very same vulgarities toward Blacks, their Films are ususally “CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED”, “A MUST SEE FILM”, “ACADEMY AWARD CANDIDATE”, and it goes on…..
Chris Rock’s film, I guess Roger Ebert feels that since he’s married to a Black woman, that WEARS plenty of weave, he CAN legitimatly critique the film (s). But, like so MANY White folks, the TRUE significance of it is AMISS and they will never GRASP!
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Dark Sistas need love too and if white men give it to them then good for them.
I feel the same way. It’s been proven that black men on average marry women who are lighter than themselves. I think the reason white men do choose to dark darker hued women is because, I don’t think most white people differentiate, if you are too light skinned to them you aren’t completely black anyway, and the rest are all just black. I’ve met many white women and men who think that most the bi-racial folks portraying blacks on TV are “regular black” and any one darker skinned is “really black” or “dark skinned”. They don’t deal with colorism, just race.
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BW can’t get fired for wearing natural hair.
Not technically, but there have been rules put in place at various places of employment that keep people from wearing their hair natural or in locs. It is also seen as a way to limit your career, because kinky hair is not considered “professional” hair. I struggled with this when I went natural in a professional work environment. It worked ok for me, but there is a stigma to natural hair in the work environment.
Whites should have a superiority complex because whites accomplishments literally shames any other races accomplishment.
I beg to differ, you don’t seem well versed in world history. You have a very European perspective and influence that causes you not to acknowledge the accomplishments of other races.
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The problem with his critique is that he fails to recognize CR as an ally in uplifting and supporting BW on the forefront. But that’s because he doesn’t want anybody talking about “his woman’s hair”, joke or no joke.
I thought this was a good point.
I’m not sure where you draw the line at “dark skinned” but I think Aba is noting how the famous black men who get the most publicity tend to be photographed with women who are considerably lighter than they are. He and I both agree that this is intentional. It speaks to a certain mentality.
But the question is, is it the mentality of the married men or the photographer? My impression is that certain couples are favored for attention over others. And even when dark-skinned women are shown with light-skinned men (of any race) they are often listed in the caption as a “friend” or “date” even when they’re wearing identical wedding rings.
A romantic connection with someone is natural and is independent from physical appearance.
Is it? True love is something that comes after years of experience together: going through hardship, raising babies, etc. Infatuation and lust (that romantic connection you mentioned) is largely based on physical appearance, status, and other superficial aspects like “game”.
However, if a man only dates lighter women for “status” or the woman becomes more of a cookie cutter mold (if we break up, I’ll find another light skinned woman), that is not true love. I do see a lot of black actors with that cookie cutter mentality. They break up with one lighter skinned woman and the next woman on his arm looks exactly the same.
Exactly. And I’ve seen white men who’s girlfriends all look alike but aren’t black. Men who only date short redheads, or tall blonds, or only Asians. Some guys just seem to get stuck on a certain appearance.
Some women are like that, too. An acquaintance of mine just got married and I swear her husband looks just like her ex-boyfriend. Separated at birth. It’s sort of creepy.
But you can date or marry someone for the wrong reasons at first and still wind up truly loving them.
Many people in arranged marriages experience true love. I’ve met couples who are completely smitten with each other after 30 years of marriage and they hadn’t even met before the wedding date.
Sometimes I think the Western obsession with romantic love and finding “the one” is what is killing our marriages. But I digress…
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B&G,
“But the question is, is it the mentality of the married men or the photographer? My impression is that certain couples are favored for attention over others.”
-Exactly! That’s what I was hinting at. Notice how Denzel, Sam Jackson, Danny Glover, Usher, Sam Jackson and many others aren’t photographed and publicized as much as all of the black male counterparts who have light skinned black or non-black wives. That’s not a concidence, in my opinion. What do you think?
“Is it? True love is something that comes after years of experience together: going through hardship, raising babies, etc. Infatuation and lust (that romantic connection you mentioned) is largely based on physical appearance, status, and other superficial aspects like “game”.
-I disagree. Looks and “game” can open doors into getting know someone, no doubt. But it doesn’t always (or usually) lead to a geniune love connection. If that was the case most couples who have been happily married or together for years would both look model-perfect. The husbands would be naturally suave and cool. You and I know that this is not the case.
“Exactly. And I’ve seen white men who’s girlfriends all look alike but aren’t black. Men who only date short redheads, or tall blonds, or only Asians. Some guys just seem to get stuck on a certain appearance.”
-Yes. Now we won’t be naive to believe that there is a geniune love connection and bond between these men and these similar looking mates?
The sometimes unrealistic desire to find “the one” is not the only thing that is killing relationships nationwide. Lack of geniune love and compatability, lust and lack of self knowledge are the main killers IMO.
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That’s not a concidence, in my opinion. What do you think?
Definitely not.
You and I know that this is not the case.
*Looking down on post-pregnancy body.* Yes, I know. 🙂
Lack of geniune love and compatability, lust and lack of self knowledge are the main killers IMO.
This is true. My point is that a lot of people nowadays confuse lust/infatuation with love.
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Perhaps Ebert misspoke, but he is not racist. Why would a racist White man marry a Black woman?
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abagond do you ever get jealous if you see a beautiful bw with w/ wm?
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I do not care for Christ Rock bad hair movie and I am a black woman. Why don’t Christ find some other subject to make his movie about. Like what its like to be a black man. You may have a black mother and a black sister but you are not a black woman. I think it was a rude thing you did. Let your girls grow up to be great christian women and leave their hair to the good master who gave it to them. Teach them to love others and themselves and to thank God for their great hair no matter how they choose to wear it.
Sharon Brown, age 58
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He downplays what black people go through by comparing it to something white that is not at all the same thing
Y’know, the point of comparisons aren’t to say that two things are the same, but to explore similarities and differences. I’m only saying this because every time someone brings up something they think is in someway to something in the “black experience”, the reaction is “But that’s not the same!”
Of course not.
But that’s rather the point, isn’t it?
Now, as for the “only an X person can understand X people’s experience”, once again: horses$%t.
There is no pure understanding in this world, only more-or-less approximate understanding and no, being an “x” person does not automatically give you an “in” as to what “x” people are thinking, nor does not being an “x” person prevent you from having some sort of understanding of a particular topic that’s dear to certain “x” people.
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Are all blacks so damned racist? Stuck in the 1950’s with their attitudes? A black guy in my college comp class said that the most racist people he knows — are black! I’m starting to see that.
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Gerard
Are all blacks so damned racist? Stuck in the 1950’s with their attitudes? A black guy in my college comp class said that the most racist people he knows — are black! I’m starting to see that.
Gerard why dont you pay a visit to stormfront and see who the real racist are. Oh and that black guy from your college class is probally just a self hating uncle tom who probaly wish he was white anyway.
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To “Leaveumthinking” comment about racism the “uncle tom” thin is racist and yea blacks are racists but so is evry other ethnic group, if its not color or race its something else if we all we’re the same color there’d be groups who hate long hair’d an short hair’d people or people with big ears, there’s something wrong with our race “Human”(4 ne dumba$$ person who thinks I mean color) With our need to hate something, be it race, religion, phyical apperance, social status. We feel a need to hate why is that?
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When I read this headline I knew the comments that were going to left and I’m sorry to say I was right. Too bad.
All this discussion about, black, white, lighter, darker, kinky hair straight hair, natural, unnatural.
What about world peace, ending poverty, curing disease, ending human & animal suffering?
That’s why this world is in the state is in. We can’t see that none of this stuff matters. It just doesn’t matter.
God bless and good luck to all, no matter what color you are.
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World peace, ending poverty, curing disease, ending human & animal suffering are off topic for this thread.
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@Karen
Those things are off topic, if there is a post here on this blog that focuses on that you can comment on there to discuss thost subjects. Just like how I won’t discuss saving a boy that almost got hit buy a car. 🙂
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It seems Roger has landed himself in a bit of trouble over his use of the n-word on Twitter.
http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/302255
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I’ll give Ebert one thing: he’s married to a dark and curvy black woman. Rock on the the hand is married to a very light and obviously mixed woman. Boy do i get sick of seeing that. I understand people can and do fall in love with what they like, but come on now. Way too many dark black men with light bright women.
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There are many types of hair in the so called Black race and all Black Women don’t have the same type. The black race here in the United States is too multiracial to make such a statement. As far as hair is concerned White Women as Well as Black Women -as long as they are not bald-have trouble with their hair.
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Well, all black women do not have the same hair type, even in a family unit and extended family people will have different genetic traits and hair types, for example.
I can only speak for my hair, and how I manage mine as the texture can also change depending on diet, hair products and care techniques used on the hair.
We all have good hair, I guess it all depends on how we manage it.
I guess Bucky said what I wanted to say, in a slightly different way.
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Hmm..another white man, has a negro bed wench, die by his side.
He married a black woman, because no white woman wanted him, being he had terminal cancer, looking like a side show at a carnival.
You see this all the time with black men, dating fat,over weight and unattractive white women.
White women and men, date black people, when they can’t get someone of their own race.
The majority of white men and women, that look to date black people are usually, very old, over weight, unattractive, sick with a terminal disease, white trash and poor.
I rarely see a rich, young, attractive, physically fit, white man or woman, that would date a black man or woman. ( not counting celebrities, just an average black man or woman )
This clip of the movie, Mandingo 1975, where in the movie, the plantation owners son, loved to have sex with the black slave women. He even had a favorite female slave that he supposedly loved.
They were all called, “bed wenches”. Their only purpose with to lay down and spread their legs for the white man.
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I didn’t know about the review Roger Ebert did on “Good Hair”. But I have always liked him as a movie critic. I was saddened to hear of his passing on yesterday.
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Actually Sondis, I think they’ve been married since 1992 which was before he got cancer.
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http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2012/07/roger_loves_chaz.html
After reading the above piece. I have no doubt that Roger Ebert, R.I.P. loved his wife, who happened to be Black.
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I’m gonna have to respectfully disagree with you on this post here, Abagond.
Chris Rock’s “Good hair” did not touch on the factor of White supremacist beauty standards that Black women have long had to try and conform to, outside and within the confines of their own communities.
He didn’t touch on things like a recent controversial article in a high profile mainstream women’s magazine where an article was written that stated it’s completely unprofessional for a Black woman to wear her hair in its natural state for job interviews or in the workplace, that it’s “an affront to decency,” and that it should be punished with rejections or firing, and, whether or not this is a secretly pervasive attitude that permeates Western culture, the idea that a Black woman’s hair in its natural state, is an affront to a White establishment.
He didn’t touch on the significance of the controversy over Black women wearing afros during their heyday and how it was seen as an outwardly aggressive political stance against the White establishment. In fact, Chris Rock didn’t touch on any of the hardships that have created a culture where it’s unusual to see Black women with their natural hair, and the ridicule that has long followed Black women regarding the Blackness of their Black features.
Chris Rock basically used his entire documentary to paint Black women as mindless, vain, selfish women who neglect their children and their children’s education in the name of wearing fake hair. He might as well have edited all the scenes of the mean mammy in “Tom & Jerry” together, and made a full length feature out of it, as she ignorantly screams at and physically abuses “Tom” the cat. Most Black women I have known are busy working every hour under the sun, and running households and both parents taking care of the bills and their children.
Instead, he only touched on the exploitation of South Asian women at the hands of the hair industry (which was an overdue issue to explore, don’t get me wrong), but he basically spent the entire time making fun of and publicly humiliating Black women in front of a worldwide audience. He basically worked to cement the idea of good hair vs. bad hair.
I also noticed that he didn’t touch on the fact that there was never any real research into proper Black hair care until Cathy Howse in the 80’s, to now, with “Ultra Black hair care,” which is still the only proven Black hair care system that preserves Black hair and therefore enables Black women to achieve growth. Nor did he touch on the fact that Cathy’s products have long been banned from beauty supply stores that are owned by Koreans because it’s Black owned, despite there being a readily available documentary on it already, nor did he touch on the fact that Cathy has never been given any space to promote her products, and that even Oprah declined to have her on her show because (as she was told by Oprah’s staff) a show dedicated to the concerns of Black women is irrelevant because Oprah’s demographic is White women, and therefore, she only caters to White women. But I noticed Oprah didn’t find “Good hair” to be irrelevant.
If the late Roger Ebert cared about his wife at all, I’m sure he, like many other non Black members of the public who left reviews on “Good hair” and went out of their way to defend Black women out of seemingly being embarrassed for Black women; it seemed to me upon ready his review shortly after the movie came out, that Roger was simply trying to pacify the derision which is basically what the vast majority of “Good hair” was.
I dislike false hair and am against perming, especially since there is now a successful alternative to it, but I wholly disagree with the “Black woman public laughing stock” that “Good hair was.”
Quite frankly, I appreciated the public reviewers and a professional critic, like Ebert, for their sense of humanity.
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This addresses the subject of natural hair which fits under multiple other posts on the blog subject wise, but to add to my previous post, there still seems to be an undercurrent of the afro or afro textured hair worn in its natural state, being seen as an affront and militant.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmxttovYsbQ)
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