Good afternoon, friends! Twas a sad, sad weekend in Negronia, was it not? We lost two legends, two men who who made profound contributions to the canon of Black art. I will give them each a proper tribute this week, but I didn't have time to do so yet and I don't think it would be fair to rush it. I planned to salute Bernie Mac today, but Sir Fabulous and I spent the wee hours of the morning joy riding through Brooklyn after I gave him a jump start, after I picked him up from Newark airport. I am still sleep on the inside. I had fun though.
So, people are up in arms because Beyonce looks White in a recent L'Oreal ad.
*Crickets*
I don't know about the rest of you all, but I can't remember a time in which Beyonce wasn't gussied up to look like a White woman. Long blond weave every time you see her, occasional colored contacts. And while there are Black women with all sorts of complexions and hair textures, I feel that the look that Beyonce most heavily relies upon is that of a big-haired Southern White beauty queen. 
Left: Beyonce looking about 5% Whiter than usual.
Right: The picture most media outlets chose to put side by side with the Feria ad, in which she is wearing her "hair" darker than usual and seems to be more tanned than usual. Basically, another picture of her not looking quite like herself.
Most of us have seen Beyonce without makeup or weave. She's a naturally beautiful girl. But while she doesn't have the strongest classically African features, it's obvious that her make-up and hair squad emphasize her more European physical traits.
But, here's the real problem: for all the shock over this L'Oreal ad, do you honestly think we would even know who Beyonce was if great pains had not been made to make her look like a White or "racially ambiguous" woman? While I am not dismissing her singing and dancing abilities (she can't act at ALL) or her beauty, much of the reason that Beyonce is the global phenomenon that she is can be credited to the fact that's Black....but not really Black. White women can look at her and appreciate her beauty as it is in close enough proximity to their own personal standard. White men can lust for her, and not in the hushed tones they need when looking at full-lipped chocolate sisters. Black girls love a fellow beautiful Black girl who can sing and dance, and they've been conditioned to especially love a high yaller gal (or especially hate one). Black men have been similarly conditioned. Put Bey in a video with Shakira (who must get the same reaction from our more conscious Latino bredren) and now the the Latino market can dig it too. Everyone loves Beyonce, an all-American racially ambiguous beauty! The first mixed girl born to two Black parents!
Don't believe me? What was the industry's reaction to Beyonce fatigue? Rihanna.
Subtract 5 pounds of "Indian hair" weave, add green eyes, subtract curves, add "exotic Island sensuality", subtract any and all discernible talent, add psuedo "bad girl swagger"= mega star!
Come on, people! This isn't news. America loves a yaller gal, and Negronia loves one even more! I totally heart Alicia Keys, but remember the the 2001 Grammys when she swept damn near every award and India.Arie went home empty handed? Both of their debut albums were slightly yawntastic with the exception of a few standout cuts. Both girls have beautiful voices and the ability to play an instrument. But only one of those women allows the status quo to remain as is: White beauty as standard.
Would people like Beyonce if she shed the Yaki and donned a short natural? Or even a short straight style? If she didn't have three feet of blonde-God-knows-what glued to her forehead and cascading down her back? Now, with her being 10 years deep in the game, she could probably still hang in there (though most of the blogs would dog her out), but she wouldn't have had a shot in HELL to get where she is now had she came out the gate with an afro-puff or a doobie.
And while we are so horrified at a Whiter-than-usual Beyonce, lest we not forget that it was primarily Black women who acted the complete fool when Usher married a Black woman who dared to be 1) not mixed 2) not high yellow 3) not a size 4 and 5)slightly older. Women who look way more like Mrs. Raymond than Mrs. Carter criticized Tameka's looks and held Beyonce up as the patron saint of beauty are now upset that she looks White.....but she's BEEN looking White! You can't make this stuff up. Tragic-comedy of epic proportions. 
God forbid we say something nice about her.
And don't think for a MINUTE that I am defending Beyonce or L'Oreal, I'm just reminding you that this ain't nothing new for America's favorite Creole and if it weren't, you wouldn't even know who she was. Meanwhile, what I REALLY want to know is what place a woman in a wig has in a HAIRCOLOR ad! You ain't use no Feria on that thing! And Photoshop went to town on her cheeks, did they not?
Save Negronia! Please! We need help!
Sister Toldja
Custom Search
Monday, August 11, 2008
Isn't She Creole Anyway?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
19 props:
this is funny because I ran across a YouTube video that visually chronicled Bey’s changes and states in an inflammatory white supremacist girl kind of way that Bey has gotten whiter and whiter and how she has had some nipping and tucking (which I think she has had) and how she no loner rocks the braids she did of younger years. If I wasn't at work I'd go find it. It was very interesting. However it is the Hollywood game, look at J-Lo they took all the Latina out of her and while her booty is still bigger than the rest of her it isn't the J-Lo booty of Fly girl past.
As far as wigs and hair I think if they can use fake lashes to hawk mascara .... you feel me. Nothing in beauty ad game or spokesperson realm is real.
Yes the Tomeka thing makes me mad because how you gonna be mad at Usher for marrying a average black woman. Talk about damned if you do damned if you don't.
Man, I was really hoping that you were gonna write about what you and Sir Fab saw on the joy ride.
-OG
Hair, makeup and lighting can do damn near anything. Way before Bey had this light hair, my stylist had the brilliant idea to set me up with that SAME color. I kept it a month. I saw myself in a picture and was like, "Who's that beige b*tch?" I didn't look like myself. It was a picture taken with my light hair with a bright light in my face. I was off-white. I have also been in weddings where I saw myself in pictures and still wondered, "Who is that high cheek bone having heffa?"
I just think people want to make something out of nothing. Could it be that the people who get up in arms about how light she is, how fake her hair is, etc. know deep down no matter what they do, they could never be labeled pretty by most of the people they walk past every single day? Who calls lighter Blacks ugly?? Darker Blacks. Who pish-poshes 'pretty' and labels it as an unhealthy Euro standard?? People who know no amount of yaki and skin bleaching will get them 'there'. I tend to think people are attractive if we set aside skin tone. Bey would still be a pretty girl is she was darker with clear skin. She's got some good bone structure. Her face is symmetrical too.
Preach!, You broke it down, way better than I could have even though I did want to say something about it just didnt know how to put it in words....but I dont think people were hating on Usher's Wife because she was dark skinned..but that she was older and had all this baggage (with having 3 kids) plus people were saying he fired his mother over her....the girl's face is extra regular though...like hostess was saying skin color aside is someone is beautiful they are just beautiful and if you flipped colors between Beyonce and Usher's wife, Beyonce would still be beautiful and Miss Tameka would still look extra regular....might I even say homely?
lmao @ went to town...you a chicagoian til chicago end and you gon blow like chicago wind.
Hmmm...you know when she signed the contract with these folks she had to agree to keep her hair and makeup the way THEY wanted her too? When I heard it I knew exactly wht it was all about. White ppl rule the world under our noses, and they use us as the tools to promote their ideals of 'western' beauty by dangling a price tag in our faces. Don't even let me get on music (but you can if you'd like!) lol. We all know that the epitome of a beautiful black woman would be that of fair skin and long luxurious hair if left up to BET and the Media in general. Oh wait, let's not forget about the 'exotic' brazillian babes that are obviously the cold hard fabric of every single one of PUFFY's ad campaigns for any of his businesses. That infuriates me, especially when the mother of his children is a beautiful brown brown that he can't even commit to. Ugh. Don't get me started! -black girl.
To be fair sister T, I think people don't like Tameka not for her Chocolatey goodness but cause besides her Manly qualities in her face, old dude dogged his mama cause of her and there is also the business of still being married and leaving your kids to be gallivanting all over with a peanut-headed conceited negro and , well... she Does have more than a tinge of Cuntiness in a way that the Holy Blood of the Creole Lamb can't manage... cause she is not so bright so as to be conniving in any way
Beyonce looks good if she's high yellow, dark brown, or low black. But she has been guilty of trying to be a quasi-mulatto to gain white acceptance. And then by marrying a camel, I don't know HOW her kids are gonna look when they are born. Her side of the family has the Casper The Ghost gene (look at Solange's son- no offense to him though) and Jay-Z has the big lips gene. Maybe they'll produce the first white kid with big lips. I dunno.
Good post!
I ever wanted to say without knowing how to say it.
You are awesome.
Management
P.S. MY dislike of Tameka is LASTLY b/c of her skin. In fact, thats the ONE plus I saw in her. She is a fellow Dark & Lovely. However, she does seem to have punked out Usher.
Plus she looks like Sheryl Underwood's big sister (just in case you ian't know, this is NOT a positive)
dang - never noticed lol
why we hating cuz beyonce has evolved into the next phase of human being...she can change her complexion at the pop of a flash. we ALL wish we had it that good. i could be black when i want protection from the sun and white when i want protection from the police. shit, that's win win as far as i'm concerned.
"And then by marrying a camel.."
"Plus she looks like Sheryl Underwood's big sister (just in case you ian't know, this is NOT a positive)"
*d-e-a-d*
Ok..At the end of the day Beyonce is still black, creole, or whatever dark end of the spectrum she wants to classify herself as. Nobody is hating or "knocking her hustle"(jay-z cheapshot haha) but as a black woman and role model (i use role model loosely) she should feel a twinge of guilt at that ad. L'Oreal is dead wrong and she is 100X more dead wrong if she approved that mess..
Ight, I totally see what folks are talking about. But I'm not sure if the skin got lightened on purpose or if it came across that way.The photo looks bad period wehter she's black or white, it just looks bad. That is a horrible hair color onher and with that bland makeup it just made it worse. I come form a family of pretty light skinned afro americans. And the ladies all either get tanned or dye their hair lighter because it makes their skin look darker...or just much richer and not so pale. Never seen any of them go the route or that red crap though. I like B and I think she gets a bit of a bad rep at times. I do think it's time for her to step form under the perfectly planned publicist and start making statements of her own. But she pays a publicist very good money to handle these types of things so i doubt she will say much of anything
she will collect her check and go live happi;y ever after with her hubby and count the days till she retieres like she said and laugh all the way to the bank.
Dont hate the chick for knowing how to get what she want and how to play the game. Aint mad at all.
"Meanwhile, what I REALLY want to know is what place a woman in a wig has in a HAIRCOLOR ad! You ain't use no Feria on that thing!"
I've literally been saying that since I was 14!!!! NOONE else from marketing thought of that?! I know L'Oreal has cosmetic lines but NOBODY else in the whole gotdamn advertising dept realized that!?
I appreciate who you keep it all the way funky and real all the time with no chaser. Princess Creole is as ambiguous as the come she can fit into any role, she's silly putty. They nipped and tucked at her ass until she can just slide in any spot, like with water just pick the flavor and change it for your needs. It's always been a European standard of beauty that's the measuring stick that the world is balanced against as far as beauty goes. Light is still right, black better fall back, and brown can stay around and better not get any darker!
I'm a little slow to your blog but so far I am liking what I see. This post , in particular, caught my attention.
I didn't realize sistas were hating on Mrs. Raymond cause she was dark. All the comments I've heard centered on her age and her litter of kids. And, really, she isn't cute. And being yellow wouldn't change that.
As far as B goes, we all accept that ad campaigns are fake. They are selling a fantasy. And she is not the only participant/victim to the 'airbrush game'.
That said, I don't think Beyonce usually looks white on a regular basis. Hell, I don't think she looked white in the ad. I am a Creole girl, 7th ward New Orleans, with green eyes, light skin and reddish-brown curly natural (that some people will argue is not a natural cuz they are just stupid.) and I will fight someone who suggests I look white. Took me a while to stop fighting people who thought I looked half white (that is my issue, I know).
B is a pretty sista. She's had a nose job, yeah (check the old pics and you will see). But, she looks like a sista to me. One who just happens to lack pigment.
thanks for saying it... cuz i know i and most people i know were thinking it:
1.) beyonce wears blonde weaves ALWAYS
2.) they used the most dark picture I have EVER seen of beyonce to contrast the "white" picture, lol
3.) who cares
4.)stop trippin people
and i co-sign on the tomeka haters, cuz i promise you if she was extra light with a blond weave they would been like "damn usher wife fine and she thick", lol... cuz there are SOO man extra regular looking women that are aiight and cute at best, but they are seen as dimes cuz they lightskin or "red"- in southern terms... i could name a few, but i know people would get on me and call me hater even though I would just be telling the truth:-)
eff it- mariah, mya, and yes even rih-rih are actually barely cute- if you JUST look at they face, promise you if they were dark skin they would be in songs "face like mya" lol... (w/ the exception of rih-rih cuz she from the islands)
then dont get me started on chicks like gisele, who are proclaimed as the sexiest women in the world??? wtf.. umm are yall seeing what im seeing, adriana lima-yes, bu gisele??? that chick is unattractive... but thats the world we live in.
Post a Comment