what's so funny about black women's bodies?
I'm currently working on a lecture that I'm giving at Duke University's symposium "Pictures and Progress: Early Photography and the Making of African American Identity" on March 2 & 3. I am focusing on the blogosphere and the images of black women that are out there for review on a daily basis. It really puts a different spin on library and archive research, doesn't it?
Is there a difference here? On the left, reportedly, an actual woman's body was used in Norbit; Eddie Murphy's head was superimposed on her body. Niecy Nash, above at the Reno 911! Miami premiere, was wearing a prosthetic butt (as she does in the film and on the show):
The film’s most impressive effect – surpassing even a 30-foot-long beached whale made of wood and neoprene – is Raineesha Williams’ enormous posterior, a specially created prosthetic that impressed all those who experienced its glory. “It was the most expensive prop, by far,” says Garant. “When Niecy modeled it for us, a group of people who were just standing around started poking it and turning it in the light. They had no idea it was a fake butt. And when we told one of our real-life police escorts the booty was fake, it was like telling a child there was no Santa Claus. It just crushed him. We all felt very proud of that butt.”
posted by Carla at 3:20 PM
4 Comments:
I have been trying to work out an idea i have for a series 'this black body', and portray it as I feel about it as opposed to how it seems the rest of the world sees it.
I feel violated when I see these things. It is a very strong and pervasive message about what is NOT considered beautiful. It's as if it is a reminder to the world that black women's bodies (my body) could not be anything but laughable, vile, disgusting. And if a black woman's body is found to be something other than that, well of course you get to paint her as Jezabel/Sapphire, and then it is just a sexual tool to be used and set aside.
It's not just me is it? I hope i am not babbling, this strikes something in me that I really have a hard time articulating. It's frustrating.
I will try to come back and give you something articulate that may help, but on first blush, i am unable to be helpful. The first reaction is ...just painful.
peace
is my reaction to this unusual?
Hey! I'm a bit slow responding to this... Carla, I think I sent you a link to a video piece I made, that deals with feeling poked and prodded and dissected - from the p.o.v of a mixed-race woman.
I actually started to write something called "But(t) there's got to be more to life than this" - It began when the Williams sisters were out here in February 2006 for the Australian Open, and there was a lot of media drama about the Serena's physique. I tried to get as many copies of the media articles as possible. It was so reminiscent of the texts about Saartje Bartman. I am always dumbfounded at the use of racist language that surrounds the Williams sisters when they are here.
Loloma
Tx
http://www.torika.net
i recognize & identify with these thoughts. & it makes me wonder: what to make of the legions of black (& other) men obsessed, worshipful of black women's bodies at their callipygous best? for many, i believe the appreciation is sincere, if carnal. it's fascinating to read the odes of men who truly prize the thickest asses. not all of them are crude--some of them profess their love, marveling at the beauty. having a body not unlike the famed Buffy (albeit camouflaged under more conservative garments), i feel i take a certain satisfaction from that unseemly population of admirers, even if i stop short of encouraging them. as for the "the world" (read: white, western world), & its perception of/judgment on 'my' body, i take comfort in being just one drop in the sea of unappreciated/controversial body types (the flat chests, no-asses, too-manly, the rotunds, etc.) in its eyes. there's no accounting for personal preference. (One man's meat...as the saying goes.) At any rate, I think it's hard to argue with whether or not a body is physically healthy, & able to perform the tasks it must undertake, which, of course is its real purpose. The impulse of attraction, from evolution, stems from the perception of the body's ability to thrive, & procreate. Of course, acceptance & happiness begins at home. I deal with body issues every day-- especially when i go shopping--but then i think, 'hey, i don't have cancer or high blood pressure, so i'm good.' there are a host of things wrong with entertainment, the media, western culture, so i can't really expect them to speak to me. on an individual level, i can be an example of a woman with a real body who is interesting & valuable simply because she exists. & i can view others that way.
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