A guest post by commenter phoebeprunelle:
Because Africa always gets a bad rap in the Western media, not many of its positive aspects are in the forefront of the minds of most Americans. What they see is black women who do not wear tops and speak an odd language. Here are some of the most popular stereotypes about continental African women (note I am not speaking of African American women):
- Bush Girl/Woman – These are the women who live in isolated, often very hot, dry regions in Africa. They wear no tops, but bottoms, they are sharing a husband with other women of their clan/village. They have weird body mods i.e. neck rings, large disk implanted in their bottom lips, etc. They generally do not speak English.
- The City Girl – The city girl is a spoiled, well- to-do, whiny young African woman. She ranges in age from 17 to 24. Her parents are usually university educated people with the father being a university professor. Her parents dote on her every want and need, including hiring someone to kill her rival (usually another city girl who is in love with the same guy she is). This results in her being able to court/marry her true love without competition. She is herself university educated, but unlike her parents, completed her education abroad, i.e. Europe or the States. She is attractive like the Princess/Mermaid (see below), but unlike that stereotype, City Girl is not equipped to run a household because she has had maids around her since she was a toddler.
- The First Wife – The first wife is just that. The one married to her husband first and having to live with a subsequent wife that her husband chose. She is usually older, overweight, and bitter about her husband having chosen a younger woman to come into their home. To turn her husband against the new wife, she usually goes to a traditional woman in the bush who can offer her a spell to make this happen, thus ending the stay of the new wife.
- Princess/Mermaid – This is the woman most men in Africa drool over. She is slender, submissive, feminine, and looks great, cooks and cleans and has strong traditional family values so much so that she has no qualms about being the third addition to a man who already has two wives. Because she is pretty, she more than likely skipped education to become the mistress of a “big man” to provide for her and her relatives. She usually comes from a poor family and will resort to this lifestyle to gain money to pay for her younger siblings school fees. She may even work sometimes as a secretary or a waitress, but Mermaids know that this doesn’t pay all the bills, only a “big man’s” wealth does. When it is time to marry, she usually has to take the position of an additional wife because single African men want virgins.
See also:
Coming from an African background I can comfirm that these stereotypes are actually based on realities. And so what? *shrug* Stereotypes are stereotypes. Take them as that and bear in mind that they are just exagerrated generalisations based on truths
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I haven’t heard of any other these except number one. I know more African men than women and they don’t seem any different than any other man or woman I know except some cultural differences. Just seems that black women, no matter where they are located, cannot catch a break. So sad. I don’t know if many Americans bring up the first and second wife stereotypes because polygamy is not very widespread in America and many of us are not deeply familiar with its practices. Also, I don’t know many American men who are very dedicated to marrying a virgin either. Most men here like women who are sexually experienced and very good at it.
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You do realise that every type of people in every part of the world have their own stereotypes right?! In Nigeria, for example, the different ethnic groups stereotype eachother. It’s human nature. If anything the above stereotypes could only come from an African because they’re actually reflective of the real Africa today which is why I’m not offended. A white or african-american probably have shallow and out-dated stereotypes of Africans. Not going to bother giving examples because we all know what they are..
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Some of these points are new to me, but thanks for pointing them out.
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Reading this makes me realize how little I know of the African experience as opposed to the African American experience.
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I come from an African family and I’ve only heard of the first stereotype. Most Americans are too in the dark about Africa to be even able to conjure the last 3 “stereotypes”, since all they pretty much know about Africa is corruption, poverty, sickness, safaris, and “bush people”.
Polygamy isn’t even that common anymore. It’s more a thing of the past, the aging population, and people who live in more rural parts of countries. One of my grandmothers was married to a polygamist. It was just the culture, and when she grew up, education wasn’t invested in women, so she would have to depend on a husband. That grandfather of mine had about 6 wives, and his job was making and developing palm wine. I don’t even get how he was able to finance for 6 different families, since my dad says his family was pretty poor. I need to ask my dad more about that, actually. I find it interesting. My other grandmother grew up in a similar fashion, but she ended up in a monogamous relationship. She’s now taught herself to read and write, though, which is cool.
On a more seperate note, I find it funny that often when older Africans, like my grandparents, visit America, they don’t really enjoy themselves here, because they prefer being close to their friends at home; just being able to walk to their house whenever they please. But here they have to wait til someone can drive them to someone else’s house, so they have less freedom. They often get bored here, except when there’s family or friend gatherings. It’s just funny because a lot of Americans tend to look down on life in Africa, when a lot of people there really enjoy themselves a lot more than I see Americans here enjoying themselves, too. In America, rich people supposedly have the “happiest, most meaningful lives”. The American dream?
Sorry for getting into personal matters, I understand if you stopped reading, haha
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Same here…..I wasn’t aware of those stereotypes. Interesting indeed.
And according to the first comment, they are based on reality.
@ cleonette
“Just seems that black women, no matter where they are located, cannot catch a break”
True that. That is very sad…
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But seriously, I’ve never even heard of the last 3 stereotypes, and I can’t even think of anyone who remotely resembles them… where did you get them from?
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I enjoyed reading this compilation of stereotypes.
However, mostly because someone above is saying that they are “reflective of the real Africa today”, I have to say that some of these stereotypes are not indeed reflective of the “real Africa”. Then again stereotypes never present the whole picture.
My slight issue is with the First Wife, I’m sure Western media portrays First Wives differently but in Nigerian media, the First Wife is usually the understanding one. She’s the one who knows her polygamous husband best and while she may be bitter at him due to his decisions, the First Wife assumes control of the household so she can’t show this bitterness. The Wife who usually goes to “a traditional woman in the bush who can offer her a spell” against the new wife is usually the Second or Third Wife. Though the First Wife apparently knows everything that happens in the house so she does play a role in that. I’m thinking in particular of Lola Shoneyin’s book and the TV show, Fuji House of Commotion.
Speaking of real life as opposed to media, the most dangerous wives are usually the incoming brides, not the First Wife. They are the ones known to resort to harming the “senior wives” and their children.
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I love this blog! The stereotypes of African women are accurately mentioned. When will the world realize that black women are not epitomes of negative stereotypes? From my perspective, black women are the most hardworking, loving and resilient set of people.
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I always learn something new on this blog. I am not familiar with these stereotypes with the exception of the first one.
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I know of the Bush Girl/Woman from the Maasai tribe… City girl from those who have wealthy parents living in major metropolitan areas throughout Africa…. The First Wife in some tribes that used to allow polygamy, I think this is dying now, never actually met an african man with more than 1 wife but rumour has it they exist somewhere on the vast continent… The only princess/maiden I know off is a maid we used to have when I was really young. She fits the stereotype perfectly except she didn’t marry a “big man” instead she became a “maid”.
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Thanks Abagond!
These stereotypes DO exist. I have lived in two African countries to date, have numerous friends from different countries in the continent, so if you are from Africa and have not heard of them you are either living under a rock , or are just in denial,lol.
Btw. . . number 2-4 always, ALWAYS shows up in African films and novels.
It is not about giving black women a “break”; you would have to give everybody else a break because there are stereotypes about EVERY group. Just deal with them in an intellectual way.
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“It’s just funny because a lot of Americans tend to look down on life in Africa, when a lot of people there really enjoy themselves a lot more than I see Americans here enjoying themselves, too. In America, rich people supposedly have the “happiest, most meaningful lives”. The American dream?”
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Dee
I’ve wondered what it would be like for the average African American to reside and work in an African city where a matriarchal culture is the rule. Or is that just another stereotype?
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“My slight issue is with the First Wife, I’m sure Western media portrays First Wives differently but in Nigerian media, the First Wife is usually the understanding one. She’s the one who knows her polygamous husband best and while she may be bitter at him due to his decisions, the First Wife assumes control of the household so she can’t show this bitterness. The Wife who usually goes to “a traditional woman in the bush who can offer her a spell” against the new wife is usually the Second or Third Wife. Though the First Wife apparently knows everything that happens in the house so she does play a role in that.”
No. Nigerian film makers, novelist (Achebe & Ngozi Adichie), various outlets of Nigerian media, ALWAYS show the first wife as being unadjusted to the new wife. How are you missing this?!!
OK forget about media; let’s look at real life. Polygyny is still VERY much practiced and the households that I have known with this structure, the first wife is usually complaining, competing and at odds with the second wife. She does not control the household anymore that is why she is bitter because she now has to share it. The ones that I have known have tried everything to get rid of the second wife.
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@ Matari,
Not to answer on DEE’s behalf but I’d hazard a guess that the reason his grandparents don’t like america is most probably because it is alien to them. New culture, environment that they aren’t really used to. I think it’s about adaptation.
As for african cities being matriarchal I don’t know about that. The city where I grew up for most of my teens, Nairobi, was definitely not matriarchal. Let us just say the christian missionaries did a very good job. In the countryside you get more traditional views but I was a city boy so I didn’t really understand those, hopefully someone else can answer as to whether they are matriarchal in nature or not.
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“African city where a matriarchal culture is the rule”
No dear, Africa is very patriarchal. There are sometimes when I would not want to go out shopping,driving, etc. without my husband or a male relative because people could take that as being “loose”.
I was once in a grocery store buying a few things and I went to the checkout girl to pay. A man came behind me and she pointed for me to slide over so she could ring him up first. In the States, I would have had something to say, but being a young black woman in Africa–there was nothing I could do but move over and let him go first.
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@ phoebeprunelle
Agreed. They are omnipresent in African movies and TV series.
I believe there is a misunderstanding in that most of Abagond’s readers expected you to address western (American) stereotypes about African women.
Another ubiquitous meme is the materialistic, scheming seductress bent on stealing the next woman’s husband/fiancé.
There is also the stepmother making her daughter-in-law’s life a misery for whatever reason (usually to replace her by a spouse of her choice).
Re. the First Wife:
I’ll have to agree with cosmicyoruba on this one.
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@Dahoman X
Exactly.
Those mother-in-laws are worse than the Jewish mother stereotype.
The first wife- I don’t know. What I have experienced is quite different.
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No. Nigerian film makers, novelist (Achebe & Ngozi Adichie), various outlets of Nigerian media, ALWAYS show the first wife as being unadjusted to the new wife. How are you missing this?!!
OK forget about media; let’s look at real life. Polygyny is still VERY much practiced and the households that I have known with this structure, the first wife is usually complaining, competing and at odds with the second wife. She does not control the household anymore that is why she is bitter because she now has to share it. The ones that I have known have tried everything to get rid of the second wife.
Excuse you, I did mention Lola Shoneyin’s book (that would be “The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives”) and Fuji House of Commotion. I read Adichie but can’t recall any of her works with a female character that falls into the bitter First Wife stereotype.
And if we are to forget about media, I mentioned that as well. The friend who go poisoned as a child and had to be rushed to the hospital was poisoned by the Second Wife, her mother was the First. The woman whose child went missing and all fingers pointed to a junior wife was also the First Wife. I don’t need you to tell me how polygyny is VERY much practised when I’ve been surrounded by polygamous families for most of my life. I come from a monogamous home but my father’s father had many wives and a lot of my immediate family and friends come from polygamous homes so I’ve been privy to their stories.
As I mentioned above, stereotypes will never present the full picture and as usual most of them are inaccurate. So if your experience validates the First Wife stereotype, mine doesn’t!
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I like that African culture is patriarchal. My father and both of my grandfathers were head of their household. I think it is the natural order of things. I can’t see anything bad with that.
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I have never witnessed such an occurrence in my whole life (30+ years, African born & raised, with experience of 7 different West African countries). I do not deny your experience, but I believe you’re generalizing a very rare incident. If it is not indiscreet, in which country did this happen?
This sounds like something which could happen in a very conservative Muslim country such as Sudan or some parts of Shebab-led Somalia, but which is not true for most African countries, not even most Muslim African countries.
In my country, for instance, women driving are very common and shopping is actually seen as women’s preserve.
This said, I agree that current day Africa is very patriarchal.
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“Africa” is not patriarchal because Africa is not a country. There are many matriarchal, or now matrilineal societies that exist across Africa.
I can’t say that there are no societies where a woman shopping or driving alone will be frowned upon today, but I can definitely say that I am glad I do come from those places. If I was at a grocery store in Nigeria and was put on hold so the man behind me could go first, all hell would break loose as I shall fulfil all the “loud and feisty Yoruba woman” stereotypes.
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Phoebe, really fascinating. Im wondering if Im missing something about your background ? Are you from another continent before you lived in Africa ( Im curious which country) ?
Its my life fantacy to visit a country in Africa one day, especialy a country with a very powerful drum dance ethic since Im a drummer
Africa has fascinated me since I was 7 years old
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@ phoebe
Thank you for the insight. I was aware of the “Bush girl” stereotype but not the others…Funny how black women everywhere have the same variation of the “gold-digger”, mammy and the loose-woman.
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@DahomanX
I have lived in Ethiopia; where it is basically a 50/50 split between Muslim and Christians.
That incident in the store happened in Tanzania, where it is overwhelmingly Christian–although the store was run by a Muslim family, the male customer was perhaps not Muslim.
Women do drive in Africa–but there are still plenty of people–at least where I have lived–who behind closed doors have a problem with women going out in public to do things by themselves. I have heard elders talk. As a matter of fact, non Africans i.e Indians living in the compound community where we lived in Tanzania often questioned me when I would walk to the store alone.
This has been my expereince.
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“I read Adichie but can’t recall any of her works with a female character that falls into the bitter First Wife stereotype. ”
Arrow of God by Achebe
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“I don’t need you to tell me how polygyny is VERY much practised when I’ve been surrounded by polygamous families for most of my life.”
Whoa, you are getting offended about nothing.
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@ cosmicyoruba
True. That’s why I precised current day Africa (regardless of countries) as opposed to traditional Africa. I’m under the impression that the influence of Christianism and Islam has radically modified the place of women in African societies.
In the West, people are well aware of the issues women face in conservative muslim societies, but they don’t always realize the negative consequences of the imposition, during the colonial era, of the XIXth century european conceptions regarding women (enforced through Christian religion and the colonial education).
I guess it is a discussion for another thread, though.
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Interesting article, Phoebe. It is always refreshing to hear from people who are neither in North America nor Europe about places rarely depicted outside of the White gaze.
I’m a big fan of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and she is the only reason I have read of the stereotypes below the first point (apart from the First Wife one, which I don’t recall in her books).
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Reblogged this on urban horror and commented:
Great insights
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@dahoman x:
I think you have a point there. Islam and christianity are very patriarcal religions to the core. Their influence into arfican societies can not be downplayed.
Sometimes I get the feeling that the whole idea of Africa in the west is just one huge clishé, one gigatic stereotype. It shows in everyday speech.
If and when some one says Asia, it seems that every one gets the idea of multicultural area with several nations and cultures and languages from the Hindukush mountains to the mangrove forests of Borneo. It is given that one understands that Korea and Pakistan are both part of Asia.
But for some reason when one says Africa, one stereotype starts to play in everyones mind. How easily it is forgotten that it is really a vast, vasta continent with litterally hundreds of cultures and languages.
I guess the same goes with african women.
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I am from west Africa and while i do understand that there are some element of truths in some of these stereotypes, thats what they will always be. Stereotypes . Not a true representation of the whole truth. Just like how colored people are stereotyped in America,NO matter what you are perceived as,in the end only we are who we truly are.
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What an insightful and interesting post.
I was aware of the “Bush Girl/Woman and The First Wife” stereotypes.
Stereotypes have, and always will be there but you have to know that there is not an ABSOLUTE TRUTH in each stereotype.
@ Cleonette
“Just seems that black women, no matter where they are located, cannot catch a break. So sad!”
Black people (in general) catching a break, would be like taking a delicious and yummy ice-cream away from a little child!
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Most white Americans know so little about Africa that they would not even come close to grasping even this degree of stereotyping. Having dated a number of women from various African countries (always within the US), I have seen this kind of stereotyping mainly from other continental Africans or Americans/Europeans who have lived in Africa.
The other thing I saw a lot of was pretty viscious racism directed toward continental Africans by African-Americans, way worse than anything from whites. Literally stuff like “African booty-scratcher” or “Go back to the jungle”, stuff like that, spit out at these women by strangers in public places like grocery stores, etc.
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“African booty-scratcher”
Does the picture of the African woman above look like an African booty scratcher? She is one of the top grossing actresses in Nollywood (the Nigerian powerhouse of film making). This has been my beef with other AA’s–the feeling of superiority to continental Africans. @Blanc2, I think you are correct in your observations.
Then again, continental Africans can have their own biases against AA’s.
Black people: Geography does not change fundamental Africaness, it is only a diversifier.
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@ Blanc2
I have heard as well as seen this .. shame shame
The Africans I have met have been friendly & humble INDIVIDUALS ..
Warm smiles & bright auras .. so F* off African Americans ..
Moreover .. from an AA woman .. We need to get our stuff together when it comes to our interactions with blacks from other lands ..
Agree ? yes ?
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I disagree. If it was just a matter of geography then I can support your statement. However, when Africans were taken from the continent, almost all of their tribal customs, languages, history and so forth was erased. Our people’s original culture was replaced by a European sub-culture that nearly every African American is a part of today. Even the appearance of some African Americans lacks a “fundamental Africaness” and even having such physical similarities really isn’t enough to bind two distinctly different groups together.
We really have to come to terms with the fact that we’ve become completely separate ethnicities/cultures altogether with one of the few binding ties being our skin color. There is nothing wrong with acknowledging that Africans and African Americans are two very different groups of people. White Americans and Continental Europeans are very different from each other as well. Each group of Blacks can be perfectly content with knowing they have ancestral ties, while celebrating their unique diverse and separate cultures.
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^ The above is exactly why there have been mass genocides in the past 2,000 years of history.
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“Even the appearance of some African Americans lacks a “fundamental Africaness”
How so?
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@ phoebeprunelle
Take former congressman Harold Ford (an African American), put him in a country that actually exported slaves like Cameroon or Angola and he will stick out like a sore thumb. Furthermore, few Cameroon or Angola citizens will even consider him African or even Black. He doesn’t resemble his African ancestors. That’s how.
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How so?
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Hey phoebe! Great post.
Uhm, i am aware of these stereotypes but i think the first one is the one most people outside Africa apply to us no thanks to National Geographic. People (read white men) seem to have an absurd obsession with our bare breasts…oh the stories i can tell from some white guys i saw last month seeing bare breasted women in some remote village in our coastal province…LOL.
As for the other ones, well i think those we apply among ourselves TBH. But, one thing i have read in dating sites esp from AA men and European men is the stereotype that African women are super super submissive. There is a lot of truth to this to some extent. We still live in societies largely driven and controlled my men so there is that element. But i think African women can be just as tough with the best of them.
But, one thing for sure we are NEVER associated with is beauty. Even among men of the diaspora. If we talk about beautiful black women, they are always AA women and Brazilian women. They seem to be the most popular. Us? Well we too busy dying of AIDS, being mutilated, sold by our crazy fathers and so and so forth. I am not being petulant LOL just observing.
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BTW, changed my user name from Malkia.
@someguy…i agree with you. I think there are many cultural differences between AAs and Africans. Certainly i have seen some black people who we wouldn’t consider black here. Just mixed folk. But that’s the beauty of the African diaspora. Weird enough i find most Africans at least here in Kenya feel a shared experience with Jamaicans. Dunno why tho.
Dont want to go off topic.
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@ judyneno
Thanks. I just wanted to say that I love all my African people, but we have to understand that we’re going to need more than just “looking similar” to come together as a whole.
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@judyneno:
“But, one thing for sure we are NEVER associated with is beauty. Even among men of the diaspora. If we talk about beautiful black women, they are always AA women and Brazilian women. They seem to be the most popular. Us? Well we too busy dying of AIDS, being mutilated, sold by our crazy fathers and so and so forth. I am not being petulant LOL just observing.”
And that is damn shame. When I was in Kenia all those years ago I saw plenty of beautiful women. Same thing other countries I visited. This is also something what I have wondered for a long time. I guess this is part of the african stereotype too, the very idea that there are only very few beautiful women in Africa and even they become beautiful only after they move to the USA or Paris or something like that. Really weird indeed.
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Abagond:
The stereotypes that we often associate with our african sistas are shaped by those not of our race. How many of us remember seeing images of half-naked sistas on various nature programs on National Geographic, Discovery Channel, Travel Channel, etc? Whitemen projecting their lust onto blackwomen, What’s New? Seeing all of this, we as african-americans and whites as well developed all kinds of biases that have no relation to blackwomen in africa and the diaspora as a whole. Projection, is the term that aptly describes the issue. Blackwomen are hypersexual…Wrong! Whitewomen are much more loose with their sexuality, but, the scarlet letter is pushed on blackwomen. Sistas are more conservative sexually than whitewomen. Whitewomen are portrayed as pristine and angelic when it’s the other way around…Ditto!
Tyrone
Don Aquarius
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While certainly these stereotypes suck, Nollywood seems to profit off them. Don’t want to step on toes, but if these stereotypes are offensive, then that puts a large chunk of Nollywood movie production in that BET category
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Thank Basil Davidson for #1, Thank Nollywood for the rest
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“I guess this is part of the african stereotype too, the very idea that there are only very few beautiful women in Africa and even they become beautiful only after they move to the USA or Paris or something like that. Really weird indeed. ”
**********
It’s no more weird than black women’s beautiful physical attributes and features – ie skin tone, full lips, curvy/shapely bodies – becoming “beautiful” (or MORE beautiful) when they are applied to non-black women.
To me it seems more *racist* than weird.
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Judyneno…Ok, guilty as charged…guilty at 11 and 12 , back in 61 or 62, of adoring some pictures of young bare breasted African girls , exactly from National Geographic…you got me!!..of course, I was very much into African culture also, back then.
But, at least I thought African women were extraordinarily beautiful. At the same time, I was digging on the black American girls I was going to school with…and you have to realise, there was no outlit back then if you admired black beauty. It was all big breasted white women from Playboy.
I have to clarify , the breasts are not exactly my prefered anatomy on a woman…
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By the way, Judy, at 11 and 12, I was really into Kenya, and self studied about the Masai and Kikuyu tribes…my brother actualy traveled to Kenya and the Masai Moura ( sp?), and it blew his mind!!
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@ Someguy
“Take former congressman Harold Ford (an African American), put him in a country that actually exported slaves like Cameroon or Angola and he will stick out like a sore thumb. Furthermore, few Cameroon or Angola citizens will even consider him African or even Black. He doesn’t resemble his African ancestors. That’s how.”
Faulty analysis. I just googled Harold Ford and looking at his pictures, he could well be Oromo or Beber who by the way are indigenous Africans. I wont even get into the export story.
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@judyneno: i’ve actually heard quite the opposite. it’s funny you say that, actually. i guess for a stereotype I’ve heard people wanting an “African princess”, w/e that means
@Blanc2: it’s not just white africans who are ignorant about africa. it’s pretty much americans in general, who have had no exposure to africa beyond what the media constantly tells them
@cleonette: I think it depends on the individual. Personally, I’d want to be in equal-footing with my future husband. But I think the fact that I’m also planning on working as an adult plays into that. If I just wanted to be a stay at home mom I’d probably have to be submissive, because I’d be totally dependent on my husband.
@Matari: like others have said, Africa is very patriarchal, cause generally men are more likely to work (and thus have power), than women. i don’t think it would be very hard to be an immigrant moving to an African city, compared to moving to the country side (that goes for any country, though). of course it would depend which specific city, though. i mean obviously it would be a culture shock, but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing
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“Take former congressman Harold Ford (an African American), put him in a country that actually exported slaves like Cameroon or Angola and he will stick out like a sore thumb. Furthermore, few Cameroon or Angola citizens will even consider him African or even Black. He doesn’t resemble his African ancestors. That’s how.”
I have to take it that you have never been to Africa?
Harold Ford Jr. could fit in a number of African countries and be seen as nothing but black African; including parts of West Africa, Although i’m not blaming you, this is exactly why I wanted to do this post. Because blacks in America think that light eyes, straight hair is only something common among whites in the world or if Africans have these straights–they must be “mixed”. Wrong!
You can go to places like Ethiopia, Eritrea, Dijbouti, Zanzibar and see men and women who have the same phentotypes as Ford all day long and are nothing but black. If it’s one thing i have learned, AA’s feel superior to the way other blacks around the world look, behave and think.
btw lighter hued black Africans can be found in the places you named.
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The real Africa
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@kittyem,
Exactly! The Oromos or Tigrinia in Ethiopia are very light, with straightish hair.
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Abagond, thanks for allowing this post!
It’s dispelling a lot of myths; or so I hope, lol.
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“But, one thing for sure we are NEVER associated with is beauty. Even among men of the diaspora. If we talk about beautiful black women, they are always AA women and Brazilian women.”
Which is very odd to me, because some of the most beautiful black ladies I have seen are in Tanzania, Kenya, and Senegal. I’m talking out of this world pretty.
Guys; google black ladies by uwe ommer.
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@ kittyem and phoebeprunelle
Which is specifically why I put this in my statement: country that actually exported slaves like Cameroon or Angola
The original slaves didn’t look like Mr. Ford. They didn’t. I know there is great diversity in Africa, but I’m not referring to all of Africa. I’m specifically talking about the countries of the African American ancestors. Ethiopia, Eritrea, Dijbouti, Zanzibar – none of those countries exported slaves to the Americas. They are not the ancestors of African Americans.
And if there happen to be a scant few that resemble Mr. Ford in some Western African countries, they are not similar for the same reasons. Correlation does not imply causation.
But this isn’t really about skin color, facial features or even biological ancestry. It’s about the difference in culture between Africans and African Americans. There is a great divided between the two groups which keeps the two from properly uniting.
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African Men. Hollywood Stereotypes
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@phoebeprunelle
Whoa, you are getting offended about nothing.
…but I wasn’t offended though :/.
It usually takes a lot more than that to offend me tbh. Either way I know that polygyny is VERY much a thing in “Africa”.
@Dahoman X
That’s why I precised current day Africa (regardless of countries) as opposed to traditional Africa. I’m under the impression that the influence of Christianism and Islam has radically modified the place of women in African societies. In the West, people are well aware of the issues women face in conservative muslim societies, but they don’t always realize the negative consequences of the imposition, during the colonial era, of the XIXth century european conceptions regarding women (enforced through Christian religion and the colonial education). I guess it is a discussion for another thread, though.
This is true. I believe that there were patriarchal societies on the African continent before the coming of Christianity and Islam seeing as Africa has so many cultures and is not monolithic. Colonialism did bring about a reduction of women’s rights and independence in some societies, for example with Igbo women, but colonialism did not affect all societies equally.
Even in current day Africa, there are societies that are not patriarchal. Just this past weekend, I had the fortune of listening to a Ugandan woman speak on the difficulties of coming from a matriarchal ethnic group and living in/reconciling this with the wider Ugandan society which is patriarchal. By saying “Africa is very patriarchal”, it seems to me like you all are ignoring the existence of experiences like hers.
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@Someguy
If you say so.
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One thing, Cheikh Anta Diop (a Sengealese born African scholar) said that most Africans originated in East Africa. Ever heard of the Sahel? Lots of Africans along those lines from Far West to Far East have a LOT in common; factor in internal migrations in Africa happening for thousands of years. There is no one African “look” and if African Americans are decendants of Africans, then there must not be one look that qualifies you as African American.
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@Phoebeprunelle: yes, the woman in the picture is beautiful.
J. Monique: The continental Africans I have been fortunate to count among my friends are amazing people. There are so many civilizing lessons the rest of the world could and should learn from them. One of many examples. I was at an outdooring ceremony with a bunch of Ivorians. It was a long day of celebration, including drumming, dancing, etc. In the heat of the afternoon the young men decided to play an impromptu soccer match. But after some searching, they discovered the soccer ball was in the possession of a little toddler, who refused to give it up. If those young men had been Americans (white or black) they would not have hesitated to take that ball and play their game, but these Ivorian young men had such respect even for this toddler that to them the only legitimate way to get the ball was to persuade the tot to give it voluntarily. They succeeded in persuading him (with candy and toys), and the game went on.
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@phoebeprunelle:
Most of humanbeings originated from East Africa. Scientific fact. Racists just do not want anyone to know that.
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@Sam
Couldn’t agree more.
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@ cosmicyoruba
You’re right, my initial statement was generalizing. Still, it’s more a poor phrasing on my side than a disagreement with you, as your Ugandan example illustrate exactly what I meant when I latter precised “current day Africa regardless of countries”. The experience of this woman is occurring (or has occurred) in most if not all African countries.
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Bought that a few years ago, still mint condition. The women in there are very pretty for black women.
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phoebeprunelle said to Someguy
“I have to take it that you have never been to Africa?
Harold Ford Jr. could fit in a number of African countries and be seen as nothing but black African; including parts of West Africa, Although i’m not blaming you, this is exactly why I wanted to do this post. Because blacks in America think that light eyes, straight hair is only something common among whites in the world or if Africans have these straights–they must be “mixed”. Wrong!
You can go to places like Ethiopia, Eritrea, Dijbouti, Zanzibar and see men and women who have the same phentotypes as Ford all day long and are nothing but black. If it’s one thing i have learned, AA’s feel superior to the way other blacks around the world look, behave and think.
btw lighter hued black Africans can be found in the places you named.”
Vin says:
That’s very true. A lot of black americans look like Igbo people. The Igbo people ( a clearly visible minority ) are known to have light skin and “mixed” facial features yet genetics tests have shown that they are 100% subsaharan african. ( well close to it. Not even geneticists like to talk in absolutes. )
A lot of Black americans believe because they have around 20% western eurasian (it varies according to region) that they have fundamentally different looks compared to west africans. That’s partially true…………….. However alot of black americans are a mix of west and central african ethnic groups. That mix of dna can and will cause them to look quite different compared to the other west and central african ethnic groups they descend from.
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@ Satanforce
That is only because the black women in Uwe Ommer’s book are bare-breasted. Cover them from the neck down and you will see what I mean 😉
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While the book is in mint condition, the pages are, for some odd reason, stuck together. I think it has to do with the cheap African material.
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Vade retro, satanforce!!
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@ SomeGuy
Even though I’m more in agreement with Phoebeprunelle, (as well as Kittyem and vindicator), I commend you for bringing up the question of the “africaness” (or lack thereof) of Black American culture(s?). Among Blacks from the continent and the Diaspora, there seems to be a tendency to avoid this topic as if it is some sort of taboo.
(btw, in this post I will refer to Black American culture in the singular as you do, though I’m not sure it is as monolithic as this usage implies)
You wrote:
I actually believe that, unlike African cultures, Black American culture is a western culture, but IMO it is (at least) as much African as it is European.
There are some obvious African influences in Black American food, folklore, haircare, (cultural importance of) music, etc… Even the use of “brother/sister” to address each other comes straight from African languages. But what Phoebeprunelle called “fundamental africaness” is best assessed in the intimate sphere: body language, friendship codes, humor, man/woman relationship, mother/son relationship, importance of religion and such.
This may sound self-serving coming from an African, but I believe that the defining traits of the character of Blacks from the Diaspora (North, Central, South America and West Indies) are fundamentally African: spirituality, strength, resilience & creativity.
Stating this is not contradictory to aknowledging the diversity and respective uniqueness of each culture.
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@Abagond and Satanforce
Arrrrrrg! Fine just fine! Go buy Asian Ladies by Uwe Ommer if you are so unsatisfied with Black Ladies, LOL
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judyneno
But that’s the beauty of the African diaspora. Weird enough i find most Africans at least here in Kenya feel a shared experience with Jamaicans. Dunno why tho.”
Linda says,
I think Haile Selassie was Oromo and the Rastafari in Jamaica think of him as their ‘prince’. Even though, he’s from Ethiopia, I believe there are Oromo in Kenya also….so, this could be where the affinity comes from.
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Phoebe, I am so sorry it took me this long to google up that photo book you mentioned, by gosh, the 4 pictures or so on the amazon site just blew my mind….
Id be happy to pay a used price for anyone who isnt happy with their copy
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@B.R.
Oh no need to apologize. I first seen it a few years ago at the house of one my friends. Her husband had bought it for her.
P.S. I think those guys are happy with their copies and wouldn’t part with them for nothing!
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It’s the vibe I get too.
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@ Judyneno & Linda
I.M.O., it could be due to the reggae (super popular on the continent) and the Rastafarian culture, which has an image of unapologetic blackness.
Another West Indian island which has a very positive image in Africa is Haiti. After the 2010 earthquake, people in my country were so shattered one would have believed it happened here.
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@phoebeprunelle
“What Makes A Human Being Black?” Is it birth, skin color, or phenotype? The politics of blackness will be forever debated on this planet. As i’ve said before, the concept of race is about blackness and un-blackness, Why? Folk make a big deal about blackness because it’s about access and membership. Black people are firstborns, thus, we got all the goodies…natural tan…curly hair…wide nose…full lips…ageless beauty…intellect…spirituality, and so forth. Being born a black woman or man gives us access to all that is “African.” This is why light-skinned and so-called mixed blacks fight so hard to not get kicked out of the “Fam” so to speak. Deep down, they know they’re not “black” in the classical sense. In their minds, they’re black enuf. “Black Enuf” becomes the frame of reference. Is it fair for black and brown africans to beat them up about their lack of authenticity, Can’t Say? I give biracials a hard time because of their hypocrisy. I don’t view them as real black people, therefore, i have no reason to cut them slack. A lot of african-american blacks think the reverse of me on this issue, and that’s okay. Loyalty is the crux of the issue more so than skin tone. Having black skin doesn’t make someone black, having undying love and respect for “Mama Africa” is what we’re striving for when it’s all said and done…Ditto!
Tyrone
Black Eros…Black Brown & Gold 24/7/365
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I dunno, most African women I ever ran into were nurses, and the discrimination they faced was from American Blacks. I’d meet them when some inmate was getting hauled over to the E/R for top treatment at the taxpayer’s expense. What I learned from them was–1) They are thrilled to talk to an American who has a general idea of where their country of origin is 2) tribal loyalty is more important than whatever oil-cartel tinpot dictator running their country of orgin is 3) most of these dashiki-over-a-black-turtleneck-clenched-fist-bean-pie-eating-Fruit-of-Islam types Stateside don’t have a clue as to what Africa is really like. Ask them to name one African city and they’ll say “Uh, Jamaica.”. You hear about a nurse getting assaulted coming home from the late shift or a cab driver getting shot, it ain’t a white guy doing it.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Speck
what has your last statement have to do with stereotypes of African woman, Jay ?
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@B.R.
Sorry Brah, but you would have take my copy from cold, dead, hairy. lotion-covered hands. You have any idea how hard it is to find black women that look like those in the book out here? Single women with flat stomachs and natural hair are about as common as pygmy basketball centers in the NBA.
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Ha ha ha, I hear you Satanforce….
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@Jay from Philly
We as african-americans have a bad track record when it comes to our interaction with other blacks not from this country. I can remember haitian blacks being treated like crap by american blacks here in Miami for years and years. As AA, we complain about spanish and west-indian blacks thinking this or that way, knowing damn’ well that we contributed to the problem just as much.
Tyrone
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Good tread. I agree with that the first stereotype is a “National Geographic” stereotype, the rest I more know from Nollywood and Tanzanian movies, not from western media. A woman who are a witch, or a jealous girlfriend can also often be present, but these role can often relate to the second wife or the city girl. I more think that the modern western media stereotype on a African woman is a poor rape victim with a sick child who lives a hopeless life, or a “fat police woman from Liberia” who fights to make things right again.
I’m not African but European, but my wife is African and we got married in Tanzania last year, at the district commissioner office. When you get married in Tanzania you can choose if you want a monogamous marriage or a potentially polygamous marriage where you can add more wifes to your marriage. If you as a man agree to a monogamous marriage, you can never have more than one wife, even if you divorce your first wife and get in to a new marriage. I don’t know any Africans my age living in a polygamous marriage. My father-in-law had three wifes, and was an atheist by beliefs and officially a Muslim.
Its a lot of differences between Africa and Europe, but much are the same. A funny story in Norway is a funny story in Tanzania, and I think people are not that different. Even it some woman rights issues in Tanzania, as all other places, I don’t think its that bad to be woman in Tanzania, depending on your resources you have a fair chance to do career and gain positions.
When talking about movies, women and differences, the thing that surprises me most about Africans is that tall and fat women 100 kg + can be the star in a love movie and considered hot. And yes, it is extremely many extremely good looking women in Tanzania.
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@Matari
Blackwomen are beautiful women, even a blind man can see and feel that. Whites and others don’t acknowledge african beauty because women are catty…Real Talk! All non-black women will praise other non-sistas, but when it comes to sistas…Hate-R-Ade! Blackwomen have issues with their beauty because of blackmen. Any blackman that’s not sexually attracted to blackwomen is “Strange Fruit” to me in every aspect. As i’ve said before, blackwomen have already won the “Beauty War.” Acknowledgement is the issue today. Blackwomen know what’s going on, but, we as blackmen are not backing up our women on this issue. Kanye West playing himself for Kim K and her mom Kris Jenner is an example of what i’m talking about. Most educated folk know that Kim and other persian whitewomen have african blood in them, but Kim is not gonna readily admit to that, Why? Why would they give blackwomen the credit when they’re chasing after blackmen as well? Again, a lot of this crap revolves around blackmen. Spanish whitewomen do the same ish, calling themselves “latinas” to avoid giving our spanish sistas credit for their exotic looks. Peep game sistas…latina is code for african-descended women who happen to speak spanish…Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto-Rico, Brazil, Colombia, Panama, Nicaragua, etc. Sofia Vergara is loved by white americans all of a sudden, she’s a hybrid white female…her complexion is white, hair is long and thick, everything else is african. Whitemen love blancas like her, she gives them what plain-jane whitewomen can’t…Hotness! If i’m lying, i’m dying. Would Ms. Vergara be as relevant if not for her blackness? More than likely, her hotness number would not be as high, just saying. Matari, blackwomen need not waste time beating a dead horse. Understand how the game is played sistas. Another thing Matari, blackwomen should stop the enabling crap, it’s not attractive. Trying to turn other women into honorary blackwomen is self-defeating. Aiding the competition doesn’t make any sense sistas…Yes?
Tyrone
Black Eros…Proper Understanding Of Black Female Sexuality On A Global Scale.
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^ Don’t know about the Kim K part. Although not a huge fan of the Kardashians or Kanye, i think that the Kardashian girls were perhaps socialized to have a preference for black men. I have not heard Kim or Khloe say anything negative about black women–and that ALONE says volumes about how they feel about black people in general. Which in this case would be they feel pretty comfortable around blacks as a whole.
Sofia Veregera–although i’m a woman and this may not be as credible coming from me–but i don’t find anything particularly special about her. She just has a slender body and large breasts with a thick accent–men say that about me–and there is nothing special about me.
Beauty can be found across color lines. I see on a daily basis beautiful black, white, Asian and Indian girls. The problem is taking one of those examples and believing it is the ONLY kind of beauty and everything else is below it.
And you are right, women do compete. But, IME–women are more likely to compete and become catty with fellow women of their said group. I have rarely been in situations where white women compete with black women or vice versa. The dynamic is usually black woman agaisnt black woman or white woman agaisnt white woman. Not saying the other way round doesn’t exist.
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“Trying to turn other women into honorary blackwomen is self-defeating. Aiding the competition doesn’t make any sense sistas…Yes?”
Like i said,i don’t know of many black women doing this. Black women are not telling other women to do the things they do. If these other women are doing something to become honorary black women, it is by there own admission.
Most black women are too darn caught up in their own lives, be it going to school, helping their mates raise a family, working, etc. to really give a damn about what other women are doing.
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Bravo Phoebeprunelle Fri 18 May 2012 !Tyrone, what black woman want Kanye West?
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^There are plenty of black men out there that black women love and can’t get enough of, but to make it seem as though every one of us desires a black man who has celebrity is…well, it’s quite arrogant.
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Phoebeprunelle Thu 24 May 2012 Who are you directing your comment to?
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I was conversing with you Sheila in my last comment. :- ).
Well actually just adding on to your last comment.
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@ phoebeprunelle
“Don’t know about the Kim K part. Although not a huge fan of the Kardashians or Kanye, i think that the Kardashian girls were perhaps socialized to have a preference……………………………………………………..
And you are right, women do compete. But, IME–women are more likely to compete and become catty with fellow women of their said group. I have rarely been in situations where white women compete with black women or vice versa. The dynamic is usually black woman agaisnt black woman or white woman agaisnt white woman. Not saying the other way round doesn’t exist”
Yes, it does exist phoebeprunelle!
Believe me it does! I have lots of beautiful black friends and acquaintances who have encountered it! And I have witnessed it on several ocassions when I’m with them.
I’m a young woman, and i must admit women do compete; for me it’s logical and sometimes it can be enjoyable, satisfactory and amusing, sometimes it can be vice versa (no one likes to lose)! Afterall that’s how the world is! We live in a world of competition and striving.
Anyone who thinks that competition doesn’t exist lives in a fantasy world.
Personally, i think alittle competition is a great thing (not excess; because it can lead to obsession, depression and so many other negative things )because sometimes it can foster development and it can train you as well.
I also like the stimulation that goes along with it sometimes.
Let me get back to the main issue.
“The dynamic is usually black woman agaisnt black woman or white woman agaisnt white woman. Not saying the other way round doesn’t exist.”
Most of my experiencies of competition among women have been ” white women against black women 92% and black woman against black women 8%; it might seem a little bit rhetoric ( but I’m talking of situations that i have witnessed personally).
Like i said earlier on, i have lots of beautiful black friends and acquaintances; and i like the emotional commotion, despair and discomfort that they usually arouse when we’re around white women; because they think that a black woman can or must not be beautiful inside and outside, queenly and possess other good and positive qualities.
Take Angel Coulby’s case (Gwen; the new Queen of Camelot in Merlin)
and Rue in The Hunger Games , misrepresentation of black people and so on and so forth.
Those racist outcries by whites who need disloyalty in life’s competition might seem insignificant and childish but no they aren’t because for them Media = Real life
For them it’s an established fact, so they tolerate it less from a black beautiful woman.
Maybe I’m a little bit sadistic because i must admit i derive pleasure in seeing that. I do because it’s all their fault. White people have embedded white beauty to be the only beauty that exist. As if beauty is no longer in the eye of the beholder, and forgetting that beauty is beautiful because it has no definition.
It is a known fact that other beauties are misrepresented by the media; and unfortunately the fact that the media is (is supposed to be) the mirrow of the mind of our society makes the whole thing worse because we all know who own and manage them.
A geniune and honest competition is not made up of deception, irreality, nonentity, counterfeit mental image, treachery and above all disloyalty.
And these are things that whites use to compete when it comes to beauty and every other things, and they’re good at it.
Because they’re afraid of real, genuine and elucidated competition!
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Geez that’s a lot. Well, let me put it this way–i have been in situations were white women seem to come across as cold and mean. I interpreted this as just having a bad day, or in extreme cases, racism.
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One stereotype, that I am ashamed to admit, is that only black people live in Africa. I know that it is not true and have known ever since I was in the 2nd grade. But my realization only came from when I was sitting in my 2nd grade class and my teacher walked in and introduced a new boy to our class she said “This is Clayton and he is joining us from Africa.” Confusion arose in my mind immediately as I thought back through all of the things that I had heard my grandparents and neighbors say “N_____RS need to go back to Africa where they came from”, “We need to put them all on a boat back to Africa”, “They don’t know how to be civilized because they are from Africa”. In all of the comments that I heard were all referring to black people and I, as a kid, assumed that there were no white people there. So as I sat staring at this pale, slightly tanned, light haired, green eyed kid…I was confused and mesmerized…I sat there envisioning him running through “bush” and wrestling with alligators and riding zebras, remember I was a child with a vivid imagination. I wondered if he wore “real” clothes or dressed like the tribes I had seen in the encyclopedia, I wondered if he was abandoned some how and an African tribe took him in and raised him. I was excited to find out that they put a desk behind me and he was assigned there. I couldn’t stop turning around and staring and asking questions. I have often thought back to that experience and wondered if I hurt his feelings in any way.
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@ phoebeprunelle.
Unfortunately, we’re in a visual world and other than things written, i can’t prove anything. A “proof” is always better than 1,000 words.
I wish we weren’t in a visual world and that you could stay in our no, in their company with white women for sometime, and like i stated earlier on i was talking of things I’ve witnessed and keep witnessing PERSONALLY.
I wasn’t speaking of everybody’s experiences because that’s impossible, everybody’s experience is not the same.
I’m not as beautiful as them (my friends and acquaintances) I’m talking of models here! Because that’s what most of them do for a living.
Personally i don’t get into competition with them because i know it’s useless.
I only enjoy their friendship, company and everything that goes along with it.
There’s always a reason for everything; our circle is made of Whites mostly, due to some certain factors.
Well, we’re not here to talk of our private lives.
The percentage i gave might seem a bit exaggerated, BUT I ******** I’M NOT LYING!
It’s competition and not Racism, or being cold or mean. I repeat once again competition!
Maybe it might also be the other way round if our circle was composed mostly of Black women, Asian women etc instead of white women.
And don’t get me wrong, for me competition is not a bad thing on the contrary it’s good, when it’s not an obsession, competing negatively by changing the laws to benefit oneself, and not having it in mind that one can not always win.
Anyway that brings me to what you wrote: ” Geez that’s a lot. Well, let me put it this way–i have been in situations were white women seem to come across as cold and mean. I interpreted this as just having a bad day, or in extreme cases, racism”.
If competition can fuel racism and other atrocious crimes e.g: Germany’s bid to dominate the world, it’s failure, blaming the Jews that they had deliberately made Germany lose World War 1, which lead to the Hollocaust.
And so many flagitious crimes.
Let’s not also forget that one of the greatest evil of our time, “market failures” are caused by imperfect market competition!
Then, why can’t competition make someone to be cold and mean to you?
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@Bell
“I’m not as beautiful as them (my friends and acquaintances) I’m talking of models here! Because that’s what most of them do for a living.”
Don’t sell yourself short. Beauty is in the eyes of the beholders and I am sure there are people that think you are just as beautiful if not more beautiful than your model friends. “Model” is a job category…not a definition of beauty.
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@ Michelle
Thanks, that was so kind of you but you see unfortunately we live in a world where we’ve been embedded with a certain kind of beauty.
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@Bell
Unfortunately I have to agree with you. I have suffered from that “certain kind of beauty” my whole life. I even had an eating disorder when I was in jr. high because those perceptions were embedded in me back then. At one point I even wanted to have my lips altered to look more “white” because according to my own race…my lips were not acceptable…until white women started getting lip injections…lol
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I don’t think you’re lying. I am mostly around black women–hence white women don’t even cross my mind as potential competitors, lol.
Just seems that when i am working around white women–they– to a large degree– are mean and standoffish. I thought in order to compete you had to some degree– be engaged with your opponent?
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Ok lemme post links of women who i couldn’t stand to be around because i am, well jealous.
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Depends on what you asked him. Most Americans are probably really unaware of anything about Africa, so i get the usual; Do you all live in houses over there?; Do you all have and use soaps?; Do you all eat the animals over there because i heard people are starving?; What about cars can people afford them or can they even drive?
Most of this stuff makes me lol. If they only knew. But seriously though, i went to a dinner and they did serve roasted gazelle meat along with the ham, duck, and turkey, lol. It wasn’t too bad, kinda tough. This was at Christmas back in 2011.
It’s very expensive and you have to get it at a speciality store–or so i heard.
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@Phoebeprunelle
I asked a lot of things that I mentioned that were going through my head…along with…”are there other white people there?” He didn’t know what I meant at first. Also I did ask about houses, clothes, at that age I didn’t know about anyone starving…mostly wrestling with alligators and riding zebras, what it looked like, do they have candy. Most of my questions were answered by him…but then I was too preoccupied with my questions to notice his reaction or if I hurt his feelings. My teacher actually spent a few days going over some history of Africa with us….I think she was just as surprised as I was. I don’t think I would have learned anything about Africa until I was older, had he not come to our school. And I don’t think any other teachers took the time to teach it in the 2nd grade. I was shocked to find out this year that my son’s kindergarten teacher taught them about Africa. My daughter was in the third grade and none of her teachers ever taught her.
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@ Michelle
When it comes to beauty issue, the whole thing sucks!
Why can’t the adjective “beautiful “be used for a beautiful black woman without being accompanied by other awkward and odd comments like: I never thought i could appreciate a beauty that’s not white, the “you are too beautiful for a black girl” bullshit, you are beautiful because you are like a white girl immersed in caramel, chocolate, coffee etc, etc,
As if a beautiful black woman is nothing but a copy that is represented as the original. Why can’t we just be called beautiful period!
It’s so absurd.
“I even had an eating disorder when I was in jr. high because those perceptions were embedded in me back then”
Oh my God, what a sad story!
I’m glad you overcame it! And that you embraced your God-given and natural beauty. That was a proof of your true beauty.
A beauty that not even money can help to attain, a beauty that surpasses all beauties, a true beauty that really counts; your internal beauty, that thrusted your good will, determination and helped you in subduing it.
“At one point I even wanted to have my lips altered to look more “white” because according to my own race…my lips were not acceptable…until white women started getting lip injections…lo”
Thank Heavens, you didn’t do it.
I beg to differ. Your lips didn’t look white, not according to your race but according to some numskull in your race.
“until white women started getting lip injections”
Unfortunately, if white people spat on the floor, used a mixture of urine and ketchup to colour their hair and body or go around naked and say; ” it’s good and trendy”, it would be accepted and considered cool and awesome, and done by others including some people of my own race!
They keep contradicting themselves.
They say we’re this and that, yet they never lose an opportunity in imitating us.
I know black and people of other races do likewise, but not as much as white people do.
If they were so sure of what they defined beautiful and imposed on everybody, then why do they imitate the people they consider less beautiful?
Anyway for me, those are shallow things. There’re other better things in life!
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@ phoebeprunelle
I saw the pictures you posted, they’re lovely!
I’ll get back to you later.
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@Bell
Just say beautiful, no one is forcing us to add blackwoman to it. If a sista is fine, she’s fine. The planet doesn’t revolve around whitewomen black people. Yes, all women are attractive to the men of their race, but, there is a racial pecking order with women as it is with men. Women don’t like to admit that it exist.
Tyrone
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@Bell
Thank you so much for your reply. I am ashamed to admit..I am guilty of saying things like..”She is a beautiful black woman” instead of just saying “She is beautiful”. I never realized until now…how insensitive that is. You are absolutely right! It should just be “beautiful” and not add race specifics to it. Once again I am learning something about myself. Thank you, again, for replying. 🙂
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@ Phoebeprunelle
” I thought in order to compete you had to some degree– be engaged with your opponent?”
I think i know who can give the answer to your question, whites!
Let’s take the Olympics or FIFA world Cup etc for instance; no country picks out the first athlete perchance to represent it in the competiition. Each country cautiously select the suitable athlete or athletes who can represent it very well because, who dosn’t like winning? I think no one.
So I think white people should know that before talking of winner and loser ( not referring to sports here but beauty and so many other things); first, there should be a fair game and an act of having a worthy opponent!
And not representing us in the way that vantages and pleases them especially in the mainstream media; because unfortunately it’s the so-called mirror of society, and lots of people believe whatever it says. Instead of living in the real life.
Even on this blog, I have heard people saying things like: ” There’re few beautiful black women.”
Anyway, that’s how it is because unfortunately they manage and control the whole system.
And it is also called mainstream because they are the majority!
And that’s why they dread INEVITABLE things like:
Minorities expected to be majority in 2050
WHITE PEOPLE FACE EXTINCTION etc, etc.
Concerning the pictures you posted.
I like everything about them; the ladies ( I’m into men and not women); each one of them possesses a peculiar and distinctive beauty, they’re not ringers!
I also like the perception in the portraits because the crucial thing in photography is not what you see outside, but what you see inside, because a photo expresses the feelings of people.
In the first picture: You can clearly see the way the lady expresses herself emotionally; how she bends her head to one side with gracility, with her eyes wildely closed and you can also see that she is having a daydream.
Her make-up perfectly matched her beautiful and glowing skin as well as her beautiful attire and pearls. i also like how the lipstick highlighted her voluptuous lips.
I repeat; “I’m not into women” but I like all these details (nothing against those who do).
While in the second picture: I like her sweet hinted smile, she has a nice face shape and she seems to have a versatile face for make-up as well.
I like the aura and the air of mystery that she expresses.
Contrary to the lady in the first picture, she has a light and at the same time bonnie make-up that only a black woman can put on and still look gracious!
The colour of her attire looks really good on her as well.
Please forgive me, maybe I’m amplifing this issue: well it’s just that I’m too sensitive when it comes to issues like this, i just can’t help it.
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Is it now perceived that when other women think other women are beautiful they must be lesbians? Just curious because you kept saying “I’m not into women”.
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@ Michelle
I regard your sensitivity and earnestness highly . Keep it up!
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@ phoebeprunelle
You’re right on that, I used the words: “I’m not into women” more than once, aahhhhhhhh,aahhhhh,aaaahhh,aah.
It’s because of an experience i had some days ago!
I had no malice in what i wrote!
Sorry, if that’s what you perceived from my comment.
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@ Tyrone
You know what Ty?
I wish i could differ with you but i can’t but agree wholly with you because you’re right!
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@phoebeprunelle
“Is it now perceived that when other women think other women are beautiful they must be lesbians? Just curious because you kept saying “I’m not into women”.”
Yes…it is. I have people look at me strange and think I am lesbian if I comment on how beautiful someone is. I have had rumors started about me because of it. I have always been the type of person that said what is on my mind and it is not always taken the way you intend it to be. I have always met women that are too self absorbed or jealous to acknowledge beauty in other women and they would always ask me if I was a lesbian when I would point out beauty in other women.
@Bell
“I regard your sensitivity and earnestness highly . Keep it up!”
Thank You. Always! 🙂
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@Bell,
Wow! I point out admiral qualities in other women because i want to be like these said women. Although i am happy with myself,i think it is healthy when women can compliment and embrace each other in a nonsexual way.
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@ I phoebeprunelle
I’m in accordance with you.
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I’ve never heard any but the first stereotype.
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(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_ngD8yxDSs)
As a big, beautiful black woman, I resent your comment that the overweight African woman is bitter. Here’s a counterpart to what you think.
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This photo shows me how much I’m in an American news bubble. I didn’t know Tanzania had a female head of state and high ranking female military officers.
How both are dressed says a lot about modern continental African women; poised between tradition and breaking tradition.
It’s good to learn something new. I will have to spend more time on African news sites learning about how the majority of the world’s people live in the Global South.
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A link to the article in News Ghana:
https://newsghana.com.gh/tanzanian-president-appoints-new-chief-of-defense-forces/
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“Aichatou Sar Evans (born 1969),[1] known professionally as Aicha Evans, is an American chief executive officer of Amazon’s self-driving car subsidiary Zoox. In June 2020, Evans led the acquisition of her company by Amazon for US$1.3 billion.”
“Tributes paid to world-renowned Manchester scientist and researcher who revolutionised sugar industry
Dr Layla Zakaria Abdel Rahman, who studied at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology, passed away at her home in Didsbury aged 59 last Saturday after a fight against cancer”
“Funke Opeke: The ‘crazy’ smart Nigerian woman just struck a huge N135bn deal
Dave Ibemere
4-5 minutes
Funke Opeke: The ‘Crazy’ Smart Nigerian Woman Who Just Sold Her Company for N134.70bn to a US Firm
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