Afrikan woman: the mother of creation; the author of beauty. Working alongside God, the publisher and illustrator, she defined beauty as something more than her physical attributes.
Her outer appearance only supplemented the true gifts she inherently was blessed with. Her intellect, strength and persona truly embodied the true meaning of beauty. Sadly, during history, there have been those who have come unannounced to write their own passages in this book to distort her definition of beauty, subsequently downgrading this novel once deemed a masterpiece.
Afrikan woman: the womb through which civilization was birthed. Never could she imagine a few of her offspring would label her inferior, divide her against her own sisters and stereotype her as a “bitch” or a “hoe.”
“Beautiful black woman, I bet that bitch look better red,” wrote rap ‘icon’ Lil’ Wayne. Flipping the pages to a new chapter in this book, one would come across another startling quote. “I’m kinda racist, I don’t like dark butts,” wrote rapper Yung Berg. “It’s rare that I do dark butts- that’s what I call dark skinned women. I don’t date women dark than me.”
To get a better sense as to how history has shunned the Afrikan woman, one would have to turn the pages back to earlier chapters in the book.
Afrikan woman: Ch. ### Sarah “Saartjie” Baartman, offensively known as “The Hottentot Venus” by European spectators, was a South Afrikan woman from the Khoi tribe. Baartman’s physical features, which included her large buttocks and elongated labia, were of high fascination to Europeans. She was persuaded to travel to Europe to become part of a “freak” show in 1810. She subsequently became an alcoholic and supported herself with prostitution. She died in 1815 of an undetermined inflammatory ailment. Her body parts were used for scientific research and were only just recently returned to her homeland.
Sara "Saartjie" Baartman, who was labelled the "Hotentot Venus," was exploited for her physical attributes
Afrikan woman: Ch. ### the so called “jezebel.” Early historical stereotypes have not been repressed, but rather continued. The “jezebel” refers to the Afrikan woman as being hypersexual and promiscuous with an unquenchable hunger for sex.
This belief rationalized the sexual advances on the Afrikan woman by white men. The “jezebel” title, in addition to other stereotypes, was a reoccurring theme during “Blaxploitation era” and continues today in the Hip Hop sector. Due to the media and its false representation of the Afrikan woman, much of these stereotypes have been internalized by the current generation and have been emulated to an extent, thus further promoting the downgrade of the Afrikan woman.
Afrikan woman: Ch. ### the tragic mulatto. The tragic mulatto shares much of the stereotypes associated with the jezebel. She’s hypersexual, self-hating and constantly searching for an identity. This color differentiation gave birth to a new ill that would plague the black community- colorism.
A secret that is not so much a secret in the black community is the self-hate complex. This divide was apparent in slavery, where slaves were divided into field slave and house slave category.
Now, media and society perpetuates the false notion that the Afrikan woman needs a particular shade to be considered beautiful. This complex extends skin color and has a deep psychological impact on the Afrikan woman. Assimilation, a disastrous effect of colorism, has caused the Afrikan Woman to go through lengths to “fit in,” all while disregarding her roots.
Beyonce's skin tone was lightened in L'Oreal Ad
Afrikan woman: the past few centuries have seen culprits distort her image. The stereotypes that were conceived roughly two centuries ago have continued in the present day.
Female hip hop artists now arguably assume the “role model title” that past heroines, such as Coretta Scott King, once held. In this new generation, one must question if this has further led to the degradation of the Afrikan woman.
Like Baartman, black women, better known as “video vixens,” parade around in scantily clad dresses exhibiting their physical assets in music videos. The jezebel stereotype continues to be internalized by black female artists for profitable gain.
To be successful, black women must rhyme about sexually provocative themes. Rappers, such as Trina , Lil Kim, Diamond and Khia have seen much success due to their dress and song content.
Nicki Minaj may very well be today’s representation of the Hottentot Venus and jezebel. Her name “Minaj” speaks promiscuity and her lyrics are profane and nothing short of degrading.
She is even better known for her physical assets, which many claim to have been surgically enhanced. She is lighter toned. She refer to herself as Barbie, which is an artificially produced toy made to be played with and then “thrown out.”
There are definite issues with Nicki Minaj and how she was packaged to be sold to her audience. There is even greater concern to how she is treated in the media.
Regis Philbin acted out of character and “tapped” buttocks on his show. It is a sad fate that the Afrikan woman has come to.
The obstacles she must face to get by in this world are disheartening. Luckily, this novel she began is far from finished.
The Kollege Kidd will help finish the great novel of the beautiful Afrikan woman, in addition to rewriting the passages that distorted her image. This novel will truly get back on course to taking back the name originally given to the Afrikan woman: Beauty, which is truly her name.
Kelly comments on Nicki Minaj’s waist and Regis taps Nicki Minaj’s butt.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqDt_QOvGvM
Saturday Night Live skit featuring Nicki Minaj
