Douchebag of the Month: Chris Brown

The biggest chauvinist, the biggest loser, the biggest douchebag...

***DOUCHEBAG ALERT DOUCHEBAG ALERT***

Wow people - he has taken the buffoonery to a new level this kid...WOWEEE!!!

Apparently, Sandra Rose is:

THIS LITTLE CLOWN/DOUCHEBAG/FOOL...He isn't even talking about me but I want to slap him upside the head with a wet cotton panty. Silly boy. He needs proper psychological evaluation.

And I love what Sandra Rose said in her most recent post on this issue

Chris Brown deleted his offensive tweets about dark skinned people. He then offered up a lame excuse to explain why it’s OK for him to make disparaging remarks about skin color in the first place:


…because he made a song about brown skinned girls. Can you believe it? What an idiot.


I don’t wish bad luck on simple minded people, but life is only going to get rougher for Mr. Brown because he’s reckless, immature and above all, he’s a moron of epic proportions.

Okay, now here I go. I cover the whole dark-skin thing quite frequently in my blog because it in indicative to me of a culture that glorifies whiteness and strives by all means to become more and more white as means of removing oneself from the ranks of inferiority that a white supremacist culture has placed non-white people. Obviously, this kind of ideology is too mature and involved for someone of the like of Chris Brown who I believe has not even completed his GED (speculative but I don't think that with all the touring and dancing and singing that he did during his teen years, he was able to get a proper education). So I forgive him for his folly. It's one of those cases where you say, "It's not (insert name)'s fault they're so dumb, they didn't complete high school. Never mind not going to College." So, that's part of the issue. Chris Brown is an inexorably ignorant young fellow with no one offering him any kind of wisdom or guidance. Perhaps someone should recommend he retreat to the Tibetan Hills and live with the Dalai Lama for a year or so. So the Old Sage can pump some sense into this lost, bemused and tortured soul. It's a tragedy, it really is.

But really, what is this silly boy on about saying that he prefers light-skinned women and na na na when the girl in his run it video is ummm....not exactly light honey!

Can I get a witness...
No she is not super jet dark like a panther in the forest like Ms Wek, Ms Oluchi, Ms Campbell or Ms Moi but she is not exactly your favourite flavour of black girl world...butterscotch and caramel creme deluxe.

**The rich 70% Cocoa Dark-Chocolate Bar is just too much for you too handle that's why you can't stand it fools...it's TOO MUCH FOR YOU BABEEEY!

But it's a tragedy which speaks forth an issue that I as a dark-skinned woman seem to find. Constant ridiculing of black women especially dark-skinned women from a myriad of different sources. I once too was the little dark-skinned girl at school whose feelings were hurt beyond anything you could possibly imagine by awful language aimed at putting me down because of my skin-tone. Of course, I can look on it now and laugh. I was a child then, I had no backbone. But even as a teenager, it was the same nonsense and the most intriguing fact about this - it was from a male who was equally dark. These days, it's a different story because not only do I have a thick skin, I have come to understand the links between issues of race and how society values people who are white and marginalizes those who are not. This very segregation and oppression is what leads darker-skinned people to seek salvation from their curse through skin-lightening methods. All this is a manifestation of the deep self-loathing that a white supremacist society embeds in the minds of black people. Chris is a self-loather without his realising it and what's even more sad is that he is too ignorant and immature to ever realise such a thing. He represents the majority of society who fail to a) recognise the prejudice in their behaviour and b) fail to pinpoint the source of all of it - white supremacist patriarchal and male dominated society.

Then there are the Comedians who usually find that the majority of laughs they get are from jokes made about Black Women. It's true - black men seem to have transferred the prized position of minstrel coon to dark-skinned black women.

I see people like this in my family, in my friend pools, on TV - just about everywhere. Stuck in the mud and blissfully unaware of it.

Nobody revels in being made a mockery out of especially not about such a sensitive issue. When will people learn that racist jokes are JUST NOT FUNNY!

What a sad world this is...

How does M.I.A. Feel about this BITER

As usual, Rihanna's team has nothing new to offer. The best they could do this time was offer a sexed-up, dulled down version of an M.I.A. Who started the process if reincarnating early 90's dance stars in 2007 - MAYA ARULPRAGASAM darling. So why are you copying, why why? I'm tired so tired. Of lyrics and music video that serves for male erotic stimulus. As usual. Like the Beyonce video for "Why Don't You Love Me". As per usual, she has her business spilling out of her scantily laid tight-fitting attire. Yawn!





She appears to me as an hypersexualized Grace Jones wannabe. All that winding and clapping. Please. I don't know why I even bother commenting but it shows, it just shows how male-dominated the music industry is. Everything packaged for male enjoyment. It's becoming rarer and rarer to find a respectable female artist that can keep her clothes tacitly on and sell an enormous amount. People don't want art anymore, they just want sex. Pah! The masses are boring.

I certainly do hope Arulpragasam is in the studio working on the next album. She is brill. Anticipating to hear what she has to offer.

This one too...lol! She doesn't always appear this saccaharine.

Breathing a Sigh of Relief

Tickets to World Cup matches to be played at Greenpoint Stadium in Cape Town are NOT sold out.Thank you God! There is still a chance that within the next three weeks, they will be available for purchase.

At the moment the site indicates tickets for all eight fixtures at Cape Town Stadium are currently unavailable. FIFA, however, says the matches are not sold out.


More tickets for all 64 games at the 2010 FIFA World Cup may be made available in the next three weeks.

Wonderful! My wish is to watch the Italy vs Paraguay match with a Category 4 ticket. Yes, the cheapest one. I love socccer but not that much unfortunately.

Ugh, Gender-Binary at ThinkGeek.com

Firstly,why are the guys T-shirts at thinkgeek.com so much better than the women's. Why do they insist on applying false gender-sterotypes to the phrases that are written on the girls Tees. That is, women are more concerned with romance and all that gooey stuff than men. I hate this notion, it's so false. What is it with this constant assumption that women are more concerned with romance than anything else. I've received this message a number of times and it bugs the nonsense out of me because I am one of those objective people that just could not be bothered. Really, just couldn't care less and I am a woman. So, there. Gender stereotypes are a waste of time as we all should note.

Yes, they are dope but in startling contrast...we do not even have a reference to "guys Tees" they just are. That is to normalize the male as usual. This happens too with the slang usage of "guys" when referring to people in general. When I thought about it, I saw how deeply troubling it is and how the fact that is has been normalized reinforces the idea of the male representing all peoples. What comes along with that is a simple negation of the female presence as its come to be.

Needless to say that the dopest T-shirts are located in the Unisex section...oh well...

Here are a couple that I particularly like...

Okay that was more than a couple but hey it was enough dopeness to make me stop ranting about those silly "babydoll" T-shirts.

When It Gets Rough, Get Tough Honey

I ask not for a lighter burden, but for broader shoulders.  ~Jewish Proverb

Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.  ~Garth Brooks

We acquire the strength we have overcome.  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

I know God will not give me anything I can't handle.  I just wish that He didn't trust me so much.  ~Mother Teresa

The robbed that smiles, steals something from the thief.  ~William Shakespeare, Othello

If you're going through hell, keep going.  ~Winston Churchill

 I've always been a person who believes strongly that there is something to be learned out of hardship. When it seems as though you cannot sink any lower than you have already sunk,it's important to remember that there is someone out there in the world who has it worse than you. But this should not give you comfort instead it should grow your compassion as your ability for empathy enlargens. The comfort comes in the fact that in times of adversity, your character is being shaped, your will is being strengthened and you are becoming the person you need to become in order to fulfill the calling on your life. So when it gets rough, I breathe easy and stay cool and ask the Creator to guide and show me what lesson I am to take from this. What aspects of me require changing. You cannot change unless some external agent brings your inadequacies to light and brings this necessity to your attention. So, if anything...gratitude should be one's greatest response to adversity. In the long run, you will look back and say "Thank you". I would not be who I am today had it not been for that meagre event which took place and you'll probably laugh at how you thought it was the end of the world when it was hardly even. So why not prematurely look back in hindsight and say "Ha. No big deal. Besides, there are reasons for this I cannot see now but will be capable of seeing in a time that is to come."

Done.

 

Of Being an "Exotic" in a Different World

I've never been a stranger to that feeling of being set-apart of feeling somewhat other-worldly. It's been interesting and it's grown my character to a position from which I can face society with a somewhat opppostional gaze. Not one that is strictly combative, but rather one that is never too afraid to shy away from critique. Although being black and being a woman is a tough venture, I say in all honesty - it has given me the opportunity to see the ugly nature of the way in which our world operates. Being part of a group of people who are considered to occupy, by default the lower regions of the social heirarchy has saved me from naivete, from seeing the world through rose-tinted glasses. So, if you were to ask me if I could go back and alter my gender or race before I had been born. My answer would be a definite "No". I feel that there is still much work that needs to be done, many strides to be made by women of colour that to be one, aside from giving me plenty of reason to see and witness changes made in the world around me, provides me with the responsibility of making somwhat of a contribution to altering the general ways in which black women especially are viewed and henceforth treated.

In the Pipeline...

I have come to see that the greatest deterrant when it comes to literary work is when one lacks courage and confidence. This has been a problem of mine and I realise that in order to begin the work of crafting a voice and creating that story that lingers in my head in disassembled fragments, I must attain am insurmountable level of confidence. Without writing for any particular kind of outcome at all.

individual effects of systemic privileging

Makes you think that your position in society as a white individual is justified and even normal and that having non-white people beneath you is also perfectly justified and normal.

Justified by what I ask? It's called a "white superiority complex" I think...

I'll never forget sitting in class in Grade 5, we were doing Natural Science in that period and our prescribed textbook had illustrations of a black girl and boy working on various experiments and asking each other questions. The white girl sitting next to me then proceeded to ask why all the central characters in the book's illustrations were black. Do you ever hear non-white people asking why almost every hand-model in a textbook is white for instance. Why always the white friggin hands? Or why actors in big-budget Hollywood movies are mainly white or why we consider white to represent the pinnacle of civilization.

The other day, I was sitting in a lecture and our instructor went on about how the style of learning in South Africa does not adequately prepare learner's for College and that we don't follow the European model. WHAT? Did I hear correctly. All I could think of at that moment was "white supremacist"...who told you that Europeans don't have a problem with "rote learning". That's a bold generalization. This glorification of all that is white is truly wack. What's even more wack is that people of colour hop on to the bandwagon and begin to loathe their own culture taken a drift by the all-encompassing need to take in as much whiteness as they can.

It's a never-ending story told from culture to culture...





And I don't blame whites...you're a victim the first time, once you've been shown an escape route, you become a volunteer

How About Tending to the Weeds in your Own Backyard

Magic Johnson raises a very good point when he says this:

"because it is disproportionately affecting women. There are the problems of gender-based violence, and women giving birth to babies and losing their children at a rapid rate because they have AIDS. We’ve got the same problems right here in the District of Columbia as they do in Africa. The sexy thing to do is to be able to travel afar and hold babies in our arms. [Hello, Madonna and Angelina Jolie!] I’m not demeaning that at all, but we have got our own problems, I just decided we need to come home and focus on our problems, because they’re getting worse here in our own country.”

Exactly. They focus the issue as if it only affects the "other" unyet its is a world-wide humanitarian crisis.

Got this from "Fashion et al"

Found this image so lovely, just had to re-post this up on my own blog///

Thank you Madame F

Good Ole Jozi

"I dare you to visit Johannesburg, the city for softies" written by Jeremy Clarkson is hilarious and very very true. Yes and I agree, Jo'burg just isn't as bad as people make it out to be.

Silly things like this Crack me Up

Oh, poor Justin Bieber...

Bieber offers his own explanation, via Twitter. "I thought this interviewer in NZ said 'Jewman' instead of 'German' people think I don't know what German is?"

Hahaha!

Oh and he's got a song with Sean Kignston. My worst fears have come to life! Thank goodness I don't watch TV anymore!

What a Profound Expression of "black-woman-pain"

Poem for Some Black Women
©1992 Carolyn M. Rodgers

i am lonely,
all the people i know
i know too well

there was comfort in that
at first but now
we know each others miseries
too well.

The rest of the poem is after the jump.


we are
lonely women, who spend time waiting for
occasional flings
we live with fear.
we are lonely.
we are talented, dedicated, well read
BLACK, COMMITTED,

we are lonely,
we understand the world problems
Black women's problems with Black men
but all
we really understand is
lonely.

when we laugh,
we are so happy to laugh
we cry when we laugh
we are lonely.
we are busy people
always doing things
fearing getting trapped in rooms
loud with empty...
yet
knowing the music of silence/hating it/hoarding it
loving it/treasuring it,
it often birthing our creativity
we are lonely

being soft and being hard
supporting our selves, earning our own bread
soft/hard/hard/soft
knowing that need must not show
will frighten away
knowing that we must
walk back-wards nonchalantly on our tip-toeness
into
happiness,
if only for stingy moments

we know too much
we learn to understand everything,
to make too much sense out
of the world,
of pain
of lonely...

we buy clothes, we take trips,
we wish, we pray, we meditate, we curse, we crave, we coo,
we caw,

we need ourselves sick, we need, we need
we lonely we grow tired of tears we grow tired of fear
we grow tired but must al-ways be soft and not too serious...
not too smart not too bitchy not too sapphire
not too dumb not too not too not too
a little less a little more
add here detract there
.lonely.

*Credit to Feministing for letting me see this.

Thoughts on "Gender-Week" - 10th-17th April

Got my chance to have a say about my opinions on gender-relations in the Varsity Newspaper and here it is online. So I am satisfied about that not for the stimulation of my ego but rather to offer university students a better clarification of feminism so that the stereotypes of angry, under-sexed, done-wrong, hard, butch, man-hating and power-hungry "bitches" will dissolve somewhat.

I attended a panel discussion during last week on the topic of "Masculinity in South Africa". I was glad to hear strong mention of a deeply entrenched white-supremacist (imperialist) patriarchal masculinity by all three of the panelists with one even making mention of the notion that "masculinity is made" i.e. socially constructed and a result of condition. The kind of masculinity she was making reference to of course that which feeds off of conquest, power and domination. The final panelist was also profound in conveying how this same white-supremacist patriarchal masculinity has embedded itself in our history. How we are made to admire the European colonial style of seizing power of weak natives and that this is the model we naturally wish to follow in order to gain a feeling of satisfaction with ourselves. This reminds me of a quote from Nineteen Eighty-Four in which O'Brein tells Winston, "If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face — forever". That's it..."Power is not a means, it is an end" which is also another quote from the book. It's all its about, that's all it's ever been about. One does not gain power for any other purpose than to satisfy themselves with a sick feeling a contentment. In closing, the panelist left us with the thought that we should continue to think critically about our history and not let history ride over us. If we never question how whites came to dominate the way they do, we'll never understand our the power-structure, economic-system and social-heirarchies. Why some people have it easier than others. History can not be divorced from the present. History has shaped our present and trying to forget about it will not make it's influence on today disappear.

But I still find this one interesting. The Deputy Editor of Varsity in the usual Editor's Comment section writes this:

If someone is against abortion, homosexuality and disagrees with feminism then that is their right and they should not be adversely judged or treated for believing it. The world, indeed liberals need more people who adhere to the bible saying that says “let those who are without sin cast the first stone”.

Which can be read in full here

Now although I agree with the notion of letting people be and not interfering with their personal right for individual expression, I have got to say that underneath Tatenda's self-righteous veil, he is practicing a very common habit patriarchal males struggle with and that is defending male privilege. Anyone who disagrees with feminism is simply defending male privilege and chauvinistic ideas.

Enough about that, during gender week three large boards were placed up at the Jammie Plaza one with the words gender week, another with a female figure and another with a male figure. With this, people were asked to write about their thoughts about gender and as you would expect the boards were cluttered with obscene, sexist, misogynistic, homophobic remarks aplenty. No surprise, are young people expected to have any morsel of maturity in a discussion of this nature. As consumers of highly sexist forms of entertainment what more would you expect aside from the usual sexualized trash when it comes to the topic of the gender-binary.

But of course it was racism...

Through CNet e-mail, I only found out about this incident this incident now. I do not refute the fact for a second that this young man would not have been arrested had he been a caucasian male. It sounds harsh becuase racism is essentially harsh you know. Harsh on those that have to live it everyday of their damn lives.

Faithful Daughter of Patriarchy

She reminds me of that mindless Camille Paglia. Kudo's to Feministing for raising my awareness of this:

Off the record, in dozens of interviews over a period of years, male soldiers and officers have confided that many men resent women because they've been forced to pretend that women are equals, and men know they're not.

 This is typical internalized chauvinism at its very best. As if the solution to the crisis of male violence can be solves by reverting into a time past where women were severely oppressed and not offered equal right. Let it be said that I don't think these acts only started to take place in a post-feminist era. Sexual violence against women has been going on since the beginning of time and stopping women from joining the military will not make that fact disappear. Instead of blaming a system that raises boys with a notion that violence, coercion, domination and manipulation are expressions of true masculinity, she blames women for the violence enacted upon them. How typical and how reflective of a person who has absorbed so much of the patriarchal ideology that she fails to attack it. It's always easier to blame a woman from a misogynistic perspective. 

The Allure of Fight Club

Before I begin, let me just say this. Yes, I LOVED Fight Club, I think it's one of the dopest movies ever made. I enjoyed watching it, I enjoyed the way the storyline unfolded. I enjoyed the way Helene Bonham Carter played the eccentric Marla Singer to perfection. I enjoyed Brad Pitt's half-naked body. I enjoyed the wonderfully-nuanced performance Ed Norton gave (yeah, I think he's sexy too). So, after reading the book a while ago and reading Chuck Palahnuik's afterword in which he lists the innumerable ways in which pop culture has assimilitated the movie and turned into something of a modern-film classic.

But why does the vision of a place where men can go to vent their frustrations with life through physical brutality hold so much appeal. Why is this an image that is so seductive? In my mind, much of this has got to do with quite obvious patriarchal definitions of masculinity. Built along the lines of a capitalist mentality which asserts that manliness is reinforced by one's ability to bring home the meat, Fight Club paints the picture of a man who is frustrated mainly as a result of his failure to live up to the very standards that a capitalist society maintains. In escaping from a life of materialism and choosing to live simply, Tyler Durden attempts to escape the pressures of a life built on the importance of accumulating possessions but chooses instead a life through which violence offers enrichment and fulfillment. The will to do violent acts is instrinsic, I believe, in this same patriarchal notion of being a man that Fight Club does nothing more than show us a young white male caught up stuck in much the same way men find themselves stuck and unable to escape the pressures placed on them to live up to the standard of manliness that society insists on maintaining. In that regard, whether Palahnuik offers his character any sort of escape or not (in the book, he ends up in a mental institution), he does a very good job in holding up a mirror to the ways in which capitalist patriarchy operates on the individual psychological level. These are men who seek to reclaim a false notion of masculinity they believe they cannot achieve through violence - they work regular jobs living pay-check to pay-check & grew up in homes where fathers were absent - Fight Club serves as their escape from these numerous castrations they believe life has performed on them. Unyet if only the their mindsets would change, if the definition of masculinity was not based on the same old tired patriarchal ideas, these men would find salvation from their own self-inflicted torture - of absorbing the notion that they have failed to live up to the standard. 

It's because of Fight Club's ability to raise this important aspect about the ways in which society's built capitalism create a people who imagine that a life of seeking possessions and wealth is a life well-lived and the story's commentary on how this very society informs gender-expectations that make it a modern-day classic. Beside the twist at the end of the movie that got me so good, I had to stand up for a minute and take a breath, it's a a story that speaks volumes about the tyrannical nature of a white supremacist capitalist patriarchal system (as bell hooks so aptly describes it).

Some Sources of Misanthropic Thinking

This incident noted at SWPD is heartbreaking. Nobody deserves public humiliation but to face this public humiliation to an indifferent audience is even more painful to experience. It's at this point most people lose faith in people. Some become misanthropes. *Ahem* You realise how cold-hearted people are and you give up, just give up on people in general. It happens on a wide-scale. The folly of it, we are all acting like icy motherfuckers to each other and secretly yearning for compassion yet not doing shit about it. Seems the practice of kindness and compassion requires conscious deliberation. You can't do it automatically because from all the coldness one gets anyway, it's enough to become indifferent and turn the blind eye to injustice anyway. It's a case of "well, why should I - it's not like anyone's been kind to me". But that's where character comes in. If you're strong enough to be kind and empathetic and compassionate despite all the cruel shit people have done to you then you are showing your true worth. This is a tough task but you have pass the test of character with flying colours when you are fully capable of completing it.

This makes me recall an incident which occured almost 10 years ago in which a black woman was seriously assaulted by a white man at what is now called Nelson Mandela Square after she slapped his sister who initially called out a strong racial epithe. Same shit, different day, different location. Of course, people just stood and watched. It's just a black woman afterall. Who cares?? Right??

I Saw Venus this Morning

Mercury and Venus Over Paris
Credit & Copyright: Josselin Desmars

Explanation: Go outside tonight and see one of the more interesting planetary conjunctions of recent years. Just after sunset, the planets Mercury and Venus are visible quite near each other. Now Venus, being commonly discernible as one of the brightest objects in the sky, is frequently mistaken for an airplane. (Venus will set quite slowly, though.) Mercury, however, is dimmer and usually harder to find. Recently, though, Mercury can be found just to the right of Venus, appearing increasingly below the brighter planet over the next week. Pictured above, Venus and Mercury were imaged next to the famous Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France. ?A careful inspection of the image will further reveal that the bright object nearly below Venus is iconic Eiffel Tower. 

Okay, yeah. It's always been there I just haven't taken notice until this morning when I looked in the direction of the Eastern sky at 6h15 just before sunrise whilst a waning gibbuous moon made it's passage toward meridian. There it was, the morning (and evening star) shining very brightly. Reflecting about 70% of incoming solar radiation, it is the brighest object in the sky. Even when the sun is rising, light population isn't great enough to diminish its effects.

Input to Varsity Newspaper

This is an article I just sent to the Opinions Section for the Varsity Newspaper. Hope they publish it. The whole thing that is! Here goes:

In response to Gosia Podgorska's succint article about the subtle ways in which chauvinism comes into play within our daily interactions with one another, I would like to expand on a number of points she made. But firstly, and this is by far the most important piece of news you will ever receive with regards the feminist movement: it is not an ideology that seeks to point men out as egregious rapists, wife-beaters and murderers. Quite clearly, there are plenty of men, young and old that each one of us can point out as not coming even nearly close to fitting this profile. But the truth of the matter is, on a broad scale, our world's collective society has evolved in such a way as to place the male gender on a higher position on the heirarchy. We see this manifestation in the wage-gap phenomenon (which is not much of a phenomenon when one begins to closely inspect the dynamics between genders). The fact that historically, women have been economically-repressed for centuries, by not being given access in the workplace, held back from seeking tertiary education, not being allowed ownership of property and land, disallowed from partaking in the public vote, being given titles in accordance with maritial status (which still happens today mind you) and others are plenty of cause for such a movement as feminism to have struck its climax during the 1970's and though some argue we now live in a post-feminist society (the same claim they would make with respect to race), I disagree. Put simply, until we reach a state of absolute equality between women and men in every sphere of society, feminism will still have its place in attempting to galvanise the notion that yes "Women are people".
To describe this pattern of degrading, dominating, controlling and humiliating women, I use the word misogyny. It's important to note that this word does not relate to the ways in which men view women but often times the ways in which society as a whole treats people who belong to the female gender. Women too can be guilty of it; I can bravely say that because our society is built on sexist beliefs pertaining to the gender-binary and chiefly subscribes to a notion that there are specific and clear-cut roles that women and men must play, the very language we speak, is a language of male chauvinism (upholding the false notion that men are superior to women).
From the ways women's bodies are commodified for media consumption and sexualized for the purpose of male erotic stimulus, it is no surprise that general "guy-talk" or what I would personally call "douchebag-talk" comprises of the excitement found in dominating a women sexually and then calling her a "slut" which relates to a very intrinsic manner in which society as a whole likes to compartmentalize female behaviour - you are either a "good-girl" or a "ho" (the virgin/whore dichotomy). Sexism often shows up in the dismissal of female intelligence and creative agency. Often times women are treated as if we are dumb and are in need of male instruction. It goes further, our ideas are often discredited despite the richness they may carry. In worse cases a male may even steal the idea and take credit for it knowing full well that people will have a better time believing in his intelligence rather than that of a woman. In asserting a gender-binary with regard to stereotyping, we all do ourselves a great disservice. I know for sure, there are young women out there who you'll probably find one afternoon sitting in front of the TV with beer in hand and Arsenal jersey getting aggravated about Fabregas missing the goal. Gender stereotypes are a fallacy, they are socially-constructed. We have effeminate men and tough chicks and plenty other types of personalities that bear to relation to the individual involved's gender whatsoever! What Gosia described is misogyny (hatred of females) in three acts. This perpetual need to re-affirm patriarchal masculinity by observing women as sex-toys, virgins, whores, crazy, uncontrolled, docile etc and not as the individual PEOPLE that they are. It's an attitude that unfortunately does prevail and for this reason, feminism is absolutely necessary in combating misogyny and deconstructing patriarchal definitions of masculinity.

Thelma and Louise - Reeeeemix!

This is some severely twisted, hyperanimated, comic version of Thelma and Louise and yes, me and my twisted, eccentric, always-searching-for-something-different, Grace-Jones-obsessed nature LOVE IT!!!

Beyonce, I have one word of advice for you. Keep on hanging with Gaga, she's your career's only hope. Oh, and while Rihanna is steadily suffocating in the ditches of hypersexualized, young singing sensation, maybe just maybe you can re-invent yourself and stop boring the pants off of everybody with the same old material.
Yeah, and thank God you dropped the Sasha Fierce get-up. That was getting a little tired too.

Good yes, Queen Grace. You have plenty to be proud of! Look at the legacy you've left behind. Ah, it's just wonderful.



Yeah, that's Tyrese Gibson being killed. HAHAHA!!

Why I'm Such a Bookworm

My college campus is running a 10 Days of Academic Activism and part of their campaign is this:

This campaign serves as a reminder to all students that our academics are the means through which we can take ourselves to new heights and reach the goals that we have set out to achieve in our lives.

 I love it when people emphasise the importance of the academic life. For me, it's not a matter of toughing it out for a couple of years so that I can get a decent job. It's about taking myself to new heights and using this organ I have sitting in my skull to the absolute fullest. Stretch my mind as far as I can possibly stretch it and do my part in making a positive contribution to the world at large. And not for vanity's sake. Oh no! (Although, I am tempted to sometimes...that's a sincere admission which took plenty of courage to make.)

The Ankh is Back...yeess Ms Badu

Firstly, I'm sure none of us who have followed Erykah since the very first days when she was crooning about her man calling his homeboy Tyrone and telling him to get his isht and what not that Ms Badu is ummm...eccentric. Yes, we have all known that. But if you haven't given a toot about her until now then you may not be able to understand where she is coming from artistically. Such as the bottom three people who I couldn't imagine knowing a single thing about her until their news network made them aware of the story which they'd have to critically discuss and offer opinions too.

Offensive?? What could be so offensive about a nekkid female body. She's naked, yeah, so?? Not like you don't know what the female anatomy looks like is it?



They're comments were too superficial. They were only talking about surface stuff - her being nude, the kids around, disrespectful of the president. Looking deeper. See the symbolism behind her choosing to mimic the assasination of JFK - a president who at a time of great civil turmoil in the US, attempted to make strides in ending segregation and galvanising a creed of equality. He was a revolutionary somewhat, why else did the people's feel such intense loss when he was shot down. So, if anything - this is a good remark for the legacy of JFK, one of America's most loved presidents. But people, as usual, too simpleminded to understand metaphoric speak.

Another thing - as for them not understanding the correlation between the video's statement and her lyrics. PUH-LEASE! I've only heard a bit of the song and know very well that she is communicating her wish for liberation, for a sense of freedom from all the limiting standards that society sets up along lines of gender, race, sexual orientation, age etc etc. And how all this eventually evolves to mistrust of the other, ignorance, fear and eventually hatred of those whom are dissimilar to ourselves. DUH! But I guess when you have been privileged and a member of the dominant racial group, you'd never understand this quest to escape dominance and oppression because you simple haven't experienced this.

Catch the video at http://erykahbadu.com. But where oh where could that unedited cut be?? Hmmmm???

Whoah Adam...

He's even touring Asia now. This is deep stuff. Deeep!

Okay, they watch American Idol. We watch American Idol. Think it's safe to say that American Idol is the most watched Idol competition in the world. Mainly because anyone who makes it in America, usually makes it in the rest of the world. It is the hub of music industry success. As seen with my darling Glambert.

Where is the Literary (Black esp.) Female Voice?

Alice Walker
Maya Angelou
Toni Morrison
Terry McMillain
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Zora Neal Hurston
Tsisti Ndangaremba
bell hooks
Ntozake Shange

Straight from the top of my head, this is all I could think of. Yet, if you had asked me to name white authors (male especially) on the other hand, I would probably summon a list far greater than this. Despite the fact that I am a a black female myself. Why is there such a shortage of acclaimed female writers especially those who are of African descent. Is it an issue...yes? Because it does not, as a person who may try to deny racism would say, that Black women cannot write. NO! The work of the above women is not an exception. There exist talented authors in every race and of every gender. But in a world that insists on privileging the white human above all other people's, people of colour especially women of colour have their talents often ignored since we are not expected to have a knack for narrative, or even a brain for that matter. Yes, I took it there. It's no secret that women of colour are thought of as empty-headed. That's why my existence is not only fascinating enough to write about. It would be a shame to hold these experiences to myself. The lives of people of colour are rich with stories of pain, humiliation, oppression, and on the opposite end love, compassion, joy and beauty that it is ridiculous to me to see a lack of writers within this demographic.

Black women, Asian women, Biracial women need to find the bravery to write. It is only with finding the confidence not to give a fuck whether your book will go dusty on the store shelf that one begins the journey of conceiving the first sentence, paragraph and page of that novel or memoir.

All the More Reason to Keep Striving

Yeah, she's dope. Yeah, I love her. Yeah, she inspires me. What upsets me to the core is all of those patriarchal sexist buffoons who feel it necessary to make sniding remarks about the way she looks. There have been many and it will not end. We live in a world that defines a woman's worth based on her looks. Courtesy of a male relative, I was given the information that this notion also has deep roots in the Christian faith. He told me that Jesus was apparently a very unattractive man and that this meant simply nil. His ministry still had great power and anointing because of his charisma and other positive attributes. And that Esther's beauty was her "gift" and that she was the "most beautiful woman to ever live". So these obviously sexist ideas that emanate from the Bible seem to have my brother thinking that there is an obvious Biblical justification for the assertion of a rigidly defined gender-role system. Where it is the male's job to hold power and the woman's job just to sit around looking pretty. And in this, he probably sees no problem with objectifying and sizing a woman's value up based solely on her looks, ignoring other qualities that may not be aesthetically visible. 

The Bible is full of patriarchal messages no doubt about that. But the sadness in all of it is that those who believe in the absolute divinity of the Bible follow suit according to the ideas presented and refuse to accept any form of revolt because this kind of thing would yield one as a doubting Thomas. A person "possessed" enough to question the word of God. 

Coming back to the First Lady of the United States. Who is an exceptional academic, scholar, mother and human being. These men know that she is lightyears ahead of them intellectually, morally and characteristically. The closest they can get to attempting to satisfy their patriarchal egos is making weak "disses" which are, I imagine, but  mere dust beneath this powerful woman's feet. 

I Can't Heeear You?

Is my voice really soft or are you just so used to ignoring people that resemble me

In what we have to say

To offer and bring

The pain that your quest for dominance has caused us

And then in attempting to protect

A morsel of my dignity

Guard myself from usage

I become the loather

In your eyes

The one who hates

Yet if this were really the case

Just know

I would have learnt from the best...

Telephone by Gaga

 It's a nice song. I'll give it that.

Sometimes I Just So Get Sleepy, Dog

Yes, dozing off when I know I shouln't be. Those guilty feelings one gets for taking in too many hours. Someone once told me that when you feel tired, no matter what you feel needs to be done...just sleep! I'll take her advice. Once I'm up to date with everything. Until that time. I'm just so darn sleepy, dog!
**Afterthought: air-conditioned rooms are a great thing. Too much heat and comfort, a recipe for disaster when the midnight oil requires major burning.

You Won An Oscar, Really?

Who knew, who knew...that these flying undoubtedly beneath the radar actors once won oscars

Yes, Cuba...it's been a dismal series of movie roles since that winning "Show me the money" shot. Even found yourself doing Disney movies. Snowdogs! Enough said.

And then there's that man who plays the lead in that mediocre action programme, Leverage, Timothy Hutton. If you had told me, without prope pictorial evidence that he won an oscar, I really wouldn't believe it.

Finally, the man himself, Louis Gosset Jr. That I can understand but what a tragedy it's all turned out to be post the era of "Fight the Power" and afro hair-dos. And if it were not for these Heineken beer ads we seem to be getting over here...the "What are you doing Dave?" thing. I swear I wouldn't even remember who this man is.

Solitude Can Be Great Sometimes

But others may perceive you as slightly deranged or of the notion that others are less than relative to you. I don't like having to dismiss people when I have that urge to be alone. It comes across as a bit insulting but that is the intended motive. To diss someone. Sometimes, I just prefer my own company, some silence and the space to be unabashedly authentic.
I often find that in order to be truly myself around someone, I must trust them enough. This often takes time. This may be a result of my upbringing. I can't tell but if you and me aren't cool, there is no way you'll really get to see the real side of my personality.
Walking alone is also very convenient. You get where you need to in your own time and at your own pace without having to accomnodate the wishes of another. Writing alone is perhaps the only way I can write and that includes academic writing. When I want to grasp the concept of something, there must be enough silence for me to hear my thoughts otherwise, I become confused and fail to absorb anything.
Although I do balance alone-time with the presence of company, I do not find being alone unbearable, in fact, I've grown to like it not because I am timid and self-conscious. Simply because I have found myself most capable of stronger mental activity when I am by myself and surrounded by complete and utter silence.

Double Standard Disarray

Thank you Lady Gaga for pointing out what may sound cliche by now but should never cease to be spoken of. Double-standards when it comes to naming female and male sexuality differently. Why it becomes a conquest for the latter has plenty to do with once again, a very rigid definition of patriarchal masculinity.

This song is excellent for this topic by the way.

o-What am i not s'pposed to have an opinion?
Should i be quiet to speak because i'm a woman?
Call me a bitch (bitch) cause i speak what's on my mind
Guess it's easier for you to swallow if i sat and smiled

Point of Hilarity...or maybe not

The ads that are showing up on my page are interesting to say the least. "Ukrainian Wives" up for sale. Mail-order brides are a big deal especially when they come from Russia, Ukraine, the Phillipines and various other countries in the world. Aside from the obvious reasons I can identify that would place a demand on such a woman, the normalization of this trend is profoundly disturbing. Women, of course, being commodified is no big deal. I tried to google the phrase "Ukrainian Husbands" and hardly anything on that topic showed up. In fact, what did show up was a mass of ads for the opposite as well as articles on the topic of mail-order brides. Hmmm. Anyone who tries to argue that our world is no longer sexist needs to open their eyes to small examples such as this one.

The tragedy is that women are all to eager to have themselves objectified because they are trapped in a system that normalizes and condones the sexist treatment of women. As George Orwell portrayed in Nineteen Eighty-Four, when there are no standards of comparison in one's mind, social injustice cannot be seen for what it really is. A dehumanization, a rape of the soul. Unless young girls and boys are shown a better way, they will only perpetuate this rotten system of male domination and female submission in all its forms.

Aversion: Mills & Boon

I have always had a latent aversion to this book series. The covers just put me off to begin with. Then their titles. Another thing I may not have noticed, which jump-started my aversion in the first place was the propagation of traditional gender norms upon which every single story line is based.

The books are highly branded and are often in a separate section of bookshops and libraries from the other paperback fiction and romance novels. Common themes are rich, ennobled and initially unattainable males (often of Mediterranean--especially Greek--origin), the desire of a character to have a baby (with this being thwarted by infertility or an unsympathetic husband), and the breakup and mending of a relationship.

Exactly. Why all the brothers have to be of European descent (and moneyed by the way) not only attempts to reinforce a notion that women are mostly in it for the money but also the idea that the heterosexual Caucasian male is the ultimate symbol for status, money and power.

Phallic Imagery E.g. 1

The more I understand about patriarchy and its many functions and manifestations in society, ads like this no longer seem to be much of a surprise.
The fact that even boys are included in this imagery is even more surprising to me. Yes, I understand misogyny plays a role in the sexualization of women, especially younger women in public media. That's also nothing new. But boys too. Really.
Aside from the latent homosexual rape theme, the ad seems to try and make analogous sex-slavery with the hold that a smoking habit takes on a person. Which is in a way making light of a very serious issue that cannot be viewed in a comical way no matter what the weather.

Party Time...Excellent!!

Some movies just never go out of style. I always laugh. Always. The Garth-look i.e. jeans, T-shirt of any random design and tartan shirt. Oh, it's the look baby. I rock it regularly. It's so comfortable. I fit right in with the science geeks rocking this one.

 Ashamed as I am to admit this. I am strangely turned on by Dana Carvey when he plays Garth. I think he's kind of cute, you know? No, you probably don't...LOL!

I Need to Get Four Wheels of My Own

Is it or isn't it a gender thing. Any time I see a couple driving out together, the guy is always behind the wheel. As I started to focus my attention on gender roles that are conditioned into the mind's of boys and girls growing up, I immediately began to tie this pattern to the way in which upbringing plays a part in all this.

In my own family which likes to hold true to traditional gender roles, there always seemed to be an underlying belief that driving is more of a manly thing to do. That this fact shows in the notion that boys start to drive, on average before girls do and are usually apparently "better" drivers.
Some comments at Freakonomics spoke of how this pattern relates quite directly to how patriarchal ideas inform men that they should be in control as a means of properly asserting masculinity. So, in a sense, the car is quite clearly a strong phallic symbol. One which affords a boy or man a feeling of dominance and power. Seldom can you find a brother that is secure enough in his masculinity to let you take the driver's seat just because.

I Pity the Fool...

That ever tries to take me to school...I been to school fool!

Gratuitious Violence

After enlightening myself about the different forms in which patriarchal ideas of masculinity show themselves, the senseless killing of a yet another UCT student has taken place. The reason why I look toward this as an explanation is owed to the fact that none of the boys that were attacked were robbed or mugged of any of their possessions. In essence, the murder was gratuitous. Yet these are the ways in which our culture encourages men to exert their masculinity. This if course being a more extreme form but a violent one nevertheless. The key word here. Even in its most subtlest forms when boys are raised up identifying a violent nature with their masculinity, they only become more violent as a means of asserting this especially when insecurities about one's self occur. No, I am no psychologist. But it makes plenty of sense to me for one who feels, at their core inadequate or powerless to find external means of expressing power to overcompensate enough to temporarily remove feelings of weakness. Gang violence is a wonderful example of this model of behaviour. A socially-disadvantaged underclass inhabiting forgotten, poor and dilapidated parts of a city will turn to the use of guns and various other weapons to strike fear into the hearts of their community. As a means of elevating oneself from the pangs of powerlessness in a system that does not care and does not seek to care for you as an individual, as a human being.

Guns, a phallic symbol in a patriarchal world will continue to be the main form of communication that men utilize to enforce power over others until these false conceptions of manhood that have been drilled into all of us are removed.

My deepest condolences to the Giddy family.

R.I.P Dominic Joseph Giddy

Essential Literature for the Male Mind

It is my wish for every boy and man to read this book and come to fully comprehend the pathology of the false conceptions of manhood and masculinity which patriarchal notions continue to propagate...

on an endless tidal wave of bullisht.

The Power to Define

Many of the problems I encounter mentally with Men's Magazines ala FHM and Maxim, GQ, XXL blah-di-blah-di-blah-blah stems from the idea that women, in order to be considered attractive, must prime themselves up to look and resemble women that are considered "hawt" in these glossy tomes. Women begin to view themselves through the male gaze and alter their appearances in line with male expectations or standards of beauty.

I have to say, though there may have been a point in my life where I succumbed to this pressure. I no longer do and I make it a conscious point to consider my own opinions and wishes above external expectations. In essence, I have that devil-may-care attitude and dress with the intention of expressing all of what I respresent. The androgyny, the punk-rocker/hip-hop head, the artiste...it's an outer representation of all that is within. It is awful to acknowledge that young girls mould themselves around the ideals of the male gaze. Why else would women appear in demeaning, sexualized videos, magazines, movies. Clearly they have normalized the idea of objectifying their bodies for the consumption of a patriarchal culture that condones fear, hate and disrespect of women.

This of course, was inspired by SWPD's err of a post which he eventually corrected after some commenters stated what would be obvious to a feminist woman but not so much to a man that has been raised in a culture of patriarchy that insists on evaluating women solely on their appearance.

These levels of superficiality usually annoy me. But what annoys me more is the fact that those who consider themselves privileged in society seem to think that they get to decide who's hot and who's not and that rest of us should just nod our heads in silent agreement. John Mayer is a great example right now. Talking about Kerry Washington and Holly Robinson Pete being attractive in the eyes of DudeBro X and how that justifies their true attractiveness. Man...these m'fers. So tired. Just so tired.

The Kind of White House I Like

When you have the President crooning alongside Smokey Robinson for a Black History Month celebration and the whole stage is just filled to the brim with such an ambience of blackness. Man. It's just wonderful.

Just Couldn't Agree More

If only all of us could think a bit more in these terms (including me). We're all guilty. Each one of us. Eluding the forces around us that compel our minds to create divisions where none should exist is hard work. But it is a work that must be done. Consciously. Each day, each minute, each second. "I don't want to be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me" - precisely.

Typical Attention-Seeking / Why Care Anyway?

Hello, 24 hours and what do I miss. John Mayer gives a ridiculous interview in Playboy and makes some iffy statements that nobody should actually be paying attention to because I feel as if he is being rewarded for his deliberate attention-seeking ways by being given attention. I did not even read the interview in full. But Black Snob offered some opinions and insight and so have racalicious

Why am I even bothering to talk about this guy. I don't know. This celebrity-obsessed culture of ours. Douchebags will always be douchebags.

But hold on...despite my embarrassment in the fact that I am paying attention to this absurd interview. I should say this. I am in no way despaired by the fact that he doesn't find women of African descent attractive. As Snob said, that is his business. We all have preferences anyway. This somehow kind of reminds me of the way in which black men will gloat it in your face that they are dating a non-black woman. As if some kind of vengeance is being taken on the collective black female population for reasons unmentioned. I take it they have past heartbreaks that cause them to hold grudges. Why everybody in everybody's business. I don't know that brother at the mall who is with a white girl. Who is he? Don't know. Should I be jealous for someone who I am not only not attracted to at all but do not even know? I don't know John Mayer. There's no reason for me to feel awful about his statements. It really is his business. As it always should be. Attraction to someone usually transcends the superficial. Someone can be attractive but have zero levels of class, zero morals, zero personality and zero character. would that person be suitable for a long-term or serious affair. Heck no. That's that. The opinions and beliefs of strangers on the street, on the telly or wherever bear no importance to my emotional, personal well being or sustenance.

Ngozi Adichie

I read The Thing Around Your Neck
last month. I found it beautiful. This woman is brilliant. So talented. Really don't know what else to say that could suffice to express the levels of admiration I have for her. She's going to go far. I can see it already. This is only the beginning.

For some reason, I only got the chance to see this now. But wow, she expressed this issue so concisely. "The Danger of the Single Story" is essentially that it inhibits us from seeing more of how things are. More of who people are. It limits us. She summarised this wonderfully in her closing sentence. 

"When we reject the single story, when we realise that there is never any single story about any place, we regain a kind of paradise."

There is so much truth in just about everything she spoke of. She makes me so proud to be an African today.

Haiti: Using Technology to Prevent Further Catastrophe

It's funny that humans only decide to begin taking stern measures against disaster-prevention after something catastrophic has taken place. It's taken this. The lives of almost 200 000 people to focus in on the danger of the fault line located near Port-au-Prince to bring attention to the fact that early earthquake detection is really needed for the nation of Haiti.As it looks, geologists predict that it is only going to worsen.

The earthquake has increased the stress on this eastern section of the fault south of Port-au-Prince and the section west of the rupture. This has significantly increased the risk of a future earthquake, according to a recent report by the U.S. Geological Survey.

 

False-color composite image of the Port-au-Prince, Haiti region, taken Jan. 27, 2010 by NASA’s UAVSAR airborne radar. The city is denoted by the yellow arrow; the black arrow points to the fault responsible for the Jan. 12 earthquake. Image credit: NASA

Taken from this NASA article discussing how scientists in this field will use radar image capturing to detect motions and pressures building up within the Earth's crust over periods of time. These satellite images will be fundamental for earthquake detections especially along fault zones such as that of what caused the Haitian earthquake some weeks ago.

This image will be combined with other images of the same area to be acquired later this month and in the future in order to measure the motion of Earth’s surface during the time between images using a technique called interferometry.The interferometric measurements will allow scientists to study the pressures building up and being released on the fault at depth.

Well. At least. 

Changing Up The Scenery

It does wonders on the psyche. You feel better able to press forward, embrace the new and leave behind old inhibtors, negative belief-systems, mind-traps that were all the more difficult to escape from in that old place. But when your body now inhabits a new place, your mind seems to follow suit. You even see yourself differently, perhaps even begin to see things for what they are. Old illusions too are left behind.

Dear Mr President Why Can't You Keep Your D*** in your Pants?

Was not the least bit surprised last week after hearing that
Zuma has fathered his 20th kid out of wedlock. In fact, I quite remember walking out of the house to take out the trash with the phrase "chronic babydaddy" running through my head. It's in his nature. He's part of that lame group of the populous that defends their debauchery and lack of self-discipline with power and privilege. They're a lot of them. Yes, all the US senators and mayors that have ever been involved a sex scandals. Sportsmen that take on any ole groupie that happens to be flashing her cleavage on their way out of the arena. Can't keep their c**ks away. Just can't do it. The poor babies.

After the trial, he apologized to the nation, saying: “I erred in having unprotected sex. I should have known better.”

You know? This one kind of goes without saying.

In an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Jan. 28, Zuma defended the practice of polygamy and said he treated all his wives equally.
“That’s my culture,” Zuma said. “People interpret culture in different ways. Some people think their culture is superior to others. That’s a problem which we need to deal with.”

And some people think that their GENDER is superior to others. Foolishness! (thank you Niecey Nash). Using the culture argument as usual. Typical African male chauvinist. Will protect your ability to sleep around as much as you want to instead of leading, governing and attempting to improve the state of the nation that you happen to be president of. Yes, I acknowledge that perfection does not exist. But try, just try like Obama does to uphold a certain creed of moral values. You are the leader, we are all meant to follow you. But how can we when most of us are of the opinion that given the chance, we could sure as heck do a better job than you and your sexist, power-obsessed crew are doing.

Look out for the kids...

As if it's not awful enough that citizens of Port au Prince have lost their everything. That foolish individuals are still taking vacationary trips to Haiti to BBQ and jet skii. That young men are being shot down for wanting to have some rice for their hungry stomachs. Kids. Vulnerable young orphaned children are being trafficked out of the country. What kind of madness is it? It's difficult to imagine the kind of chaos that now ensues after the quake. The safety of kids must always take priority. It breaks my heart to know what kind of evils that are perpetrated against children. But to stand by and let it happen is to be a participant. I hope that greater measures will be taken to ensure the children of Haiti are kept safe from these criminals.