Comments on: More Fetishization of Black Bodies as Fashion Props (Mildly NSFW)

By: Madonna, Uppity Negroes, & Racist Chairs | Madness & Reality | Politics, Race, & Culture

Wed, 22 Jan 2014 01:32:18 +0000

[…] of the white gaze, and as props to accentuate white womanhood — ahem, Miley, Lily, … and others— the image is unsettling and, as Fashion Bomb Daily’s Clair Sulmers suggested, conveys a white […]

By: socialtalker

socialtalker — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 18:12:00 +0000

its not black racism, silly. this is at the heart of white sexual stereotypes. its white or people who think like white western culture that set up these images, not black men. the mandigo rapist fantasy is a WHITE creation.

By: Rookie » Literally the Best Thing Ever: M.I.A.

Rookie » Literally the Best Thing Ever: M.I.A. — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 19:01:44 +0000

[…] Western gaze, who insisted on being her own subject, whose visibility signaled a refusal to be mere background scenery, who sang catchy, weird, danceable songs about bombs and tanks and guerilla warfare and poverty and […]

By: Some Chick

Some Chick — Fri, 06 May 2011 02:37:57 +0000

What’s wrong with interracial orgies?

By: lyssa

lyssa — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 11:51:27 +0000

So, you’re just a racist person trying to sound intelligent?

Got it :]

By: Jayna

Jayna — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 00:50:46 +0000

I . . . um . . . what?

That was possibly the least coherent argument I’ve ever experienced.

By: joseph

joseph — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 23:52:19 +0000

black racism…..this is black male exploitation of white women to show dominance. It was Snoop Dog who started the ‘girls gone wild’ videos of white girls showing off their breasts. Snoop Dog is a dog and it is only black guys who show that they are dominant by “owning” or “possessing” the white woman. It is disgusting behaviour. Snoop Dog degrades white women much the same as these photos degrade white women. In the photos the white female model is paid to present herself as unconscious like white women are supposed to be less aware of themselves in relation to their being just sex objects of the black males. Just look at Tiger Woods…..poster child of black male dominance in America and world success….he trivialized himself by “obtaining” white women as trophies….and he is a ‘buddhist’ also…..this shows that even the fallen black male is no better than any male no matter what he believes. With black males it is all about ‘machismo’ and dominance…..same as white pride, same as ‘La Raza’, the Race is to the Hispanic.

By: Jess

Jess — Wed, 26 May 2010 04:07:30 +0000

I had the same issue as Jayna above – they looked so skinny, and sad, in ragged clothing, like prisoners in a war camp. they look like theyve been locked in a dingy room and left to starve to death. shudder.

By: Juli

Juli — Sun, 16 May 2010 19:34:53 +0000

To me, the way the black bodies are physically contorted to fit the surrounding walls/objects suggests nothing so much as a kind of sexualized middle passage. The black ropes in the last shot is also reminiscent of chains. I find it very hard to look at these images, and I don’t see in them a point of view that suggests that my discomfort is the point.

By: Jayna

Jayna — Sat, 15 May 2010 14:27:54 +0000

I was so distracted by the fact that they all look like skeletons that it took me a second to go back and look at the photos from the perspective that was being argued originally. Nothing wrong with being skinny, just — that’s much more skinny than anything I am accustomed to seeing on a human body.

By: Sally

Sally — Sat, 15 May 2010 12:10:10 +0000

Yeah, and she appears to be being pulled about by the other models in those two shots. Black men molesting a beautiful, unconscious white woman? What do you mean that plays into stereotypes? It’s FASHION.

By: Elena

Elena — Sat, 15 May 2010 09:57:53 +0000

She looks passed out or heavily drunk in all the pictures I can see. Ew.

By: Kit (Keep It Trill)

Kit (Keep It Trill) — Sat, 15 May 2010 08:47:25 +0000

It’s all about who’s perspective, isn’t it? Here’s a point of view from a black blogger, Seattle Slim in a guest post at Rippa’s blog, which resonated 100% with me, a black woman blogger:

“Now I fully admit that I was ready to get all upset, and at first, looking at these images, I was about ready to roll my eyes and mumble about the precious “virtue” of white women in racial images. However, when I looked at the images closer, I found that the the white model just really wasn’t eye catching to me in the long term.

I think I knew what they were going for of course. Don’t get me wrong. They were absolutely using the black models as props to have the white model stand out, like some jewel in the ruff, but I found that the black models actually made the photos for me. She’s not remarkable. I don’t even find the white model very attractive (she’s no Adriana Lima), although she could be classified as pretty. Her clothing is lovely, but I want to wear what the “props” have on.

She seems uninvited; like she crashed one of the hippest parties in town, after having run away from some lame, boring party in the Hamptons with uptight rich folks. I want to be at this party, as it ultimately seems she wanted to be. She doesn’t fit in. She seems terribly demode. The black female models outshine her as their skin is far more conducive to looking attractive while perspiring in a hot ass club. Their head wraps and makeup make them look like regal and strong; sexy and svengali-like.

It sees like most of the patrons in this club scene are not paying attention to her. They are going about their business with the occasional guy who seems to be there to make sure she doesn’t get lost, but he also seems like he can’t really be bothered.

I think as I progress in age, and I get more comfortable in my skin–as we all do as we age–I am not falling into the traps about what beauty should look like or what I, as a black woman, should strive to be. I find that I find all women beautiful, but I will not hold white women to some gold standard because they are women just like me, and they are beautiful just as I am. That’s why I’m not even mad at these photos (more are visible at the hyperlink). The message was lost on me because black is just too damned beautiful for me to not notice.

By: skeptifem

skeptifem — Sat, 15 May 2010 05:59:02 +0000

The white model looks like she is passed out or has had her legs forced open in all the shots (that I can see, the first two are gone bc of terms of use violation). There are a number of racist and sexist tropes being played out here. Gross.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 15 May 2010 05:30:36 +0000

I see the problem. But – I’m pretty sure those “black individuals” are models, too. Why don’t you refer to them as such?