sextonseven said:

That's cool. But in your opinion has India achieved the same amount of success as, say, Alanis Morrisette? In terms of the publicity she gets, the support from her fan base, etc? I don't think she has. There can be any number of reasons for this but I think across the board it's not b/c she plays the guitar vs. piano

CalhounSq said:

Oh, of course; the piano thing was just my preference only. I'm sure looks had lots to do with the difference in success between Alicia Keys and India Arie, but I wonder if sales for their respective albums would be a little more equal if Clive Davis was in India's corner like he was Alicia's. Clive has a really good track record, 'Rave Un2 The Joy Fantatsic' notwithstanding.

sextonseven said:

Maybe so, but I remember hearing on the Whitney Houston E! True Hollywood story that Clive Davis didn't like Whitney's first album cover as she looked to "afrocentric". SO I doubt he would want to work with India Arie.

dancerella said:

If Clive really said that, then wouldn't the opposite be true and India wouldn't want to work with him?

dancerella said:

If Clive really said that, then wouldn't the opposite be true and India wouldn't want to work with him?

sextonseven said:

I don't know if it's true or not but that's what they said on the show but it sure as hell wouldn't surprise me if it were. The music inustry is pretty fucked up and superficial, now more than ever. I guess India Arie wouldn't want to work with him if she knew about that statement. It's just frustrating not to see any darker skinned artists out there. It sends a very negative message about us. That we're not pretty or talented enough. unfortunately i don't things are going to change anytiem soon either, if this is still going on in 2005.

sextonseven said:

I don't know if it's true or not but that's what they said on the show but it sure as hell wouldn't surprise me if it were. The music inustry is pretty fucked up and superficial, now more than ever. I guess India Arie wouldn't want to work with him if she knew about that statement. It's just frustrating not to see any darker skinned artists out there. It sends a very negative message about us. That we're not pretty or talented enough. unfortunately i don't things are going to change anytiem soon either, if this is still going on in 2005.

dancerella said:

It's not going to change until blacks in the industry get their act together and take a stand. If we don't support each other, no one will.

dancerella said:

Men don't seem to have this problem--at least not as much as women.

sextonseven said:

They really don't. But across the board (regardless of race) men aren't scrutinized for their looks like women are

sextonseven said:

They really don't. But across the board (regardless of race) men aren't scrutinized for their looks like women are

CalhounSq said:

So sad but too true. Women have it a lot harder in general but if you're black it's even worse. It's also true that black men are seen as more sexy or exotic than black women. Don't really know why that is.

For example, Taye Diggs is very good looking and I know a lot of women would go out with him but how many guys want to date India Arie? She's not reallly looked at as a sex symbal.
[Edited 4/25/05 16:02pm]

dancerella said:

Taye Diggs is a poor example because he has been receiving dealth threats from racist groups all around the country b/c of his white wife.

Hotlegs said:

I had heard about that. Taye's wife's play had received bomb threats because of their interracial marriage. You'd think it was still the 1950s or something.

Hotlegs said:

I had heard about that. Taye's wife's play had received bomb threats because of their interracial marriage. You'd think it was still the 1950s or something.

sextonseven said:

I never really thought of him as being sexy b/c he looked to nerdy .

sextonseven said:

Sad, isn't it? The people who threaten them, I wonder what they want them to do? Divorce the person they love just to please other people??? It's fucking insane

Ok this is a touchy subject and I guess it's a bit awkward to discuss but we're all adults here so why not?

I was just reading an article in Vibe Magazine about Tweet and she mentioned how she used to have a complex about the color of her skin. I was a little sadened to read that though I think I know how she feels. I'm dark skinned too. I'm half west african and half british and I think I felt the same way she did as a kid but by the time I reached about 15 (you know hitting puberty) those feelings went out the window because I started to accept myself and feel more comfortable in my skin and i've always had guys tell me they thought I was attractive and how much they liked my complection, so it really hasn't crossed my mind for years now. I'll be damned if someone makes me think i'm not atttractive because of my skin.

You don't see many dark skinned pop stars these days and I wonder why? Grace Jones was seen as scary because she was so androgynous but I bet her skin tone had something to do with that as well. Seems like if you're a black woman and you don't look like Beyonce you're not hot. Tweet is a beautiful woman and she could really be a great role model for other women who are dark and show us that you don't have to be light skinned to be attractive.

Anyway, i'd love to get some thougts and feedback on this matter. Let the drama unfold.....

Dark skinned black men don't have the same issues. They are loved on all the time..even the ugly ones ie Wesley's stank ass.

Hell, I've had black men tell me I'm attractive to be so dark.

Xavier23 said:

[color=red][flame snipped - Tom]

Hotlegs said:

[flame snipped - Tom] it certainly aint Nina Simone ,and about this "black women can bleach thier hair + their skin to look more yellow yet still be black" is bullshit. why would you want to wear blonde haie anyway? are u that dusgusted with ur own hair?? it all goes to negative self image. the almost universal practice of black women wearing straight hair is another sign. Yall can say whatevr u want but fucking facts are facts . black women don't HAVE BLONDE HAIR!!!!

Xavier23 said:

Okay, now you're on some bullshit I have a friend who's Black, both her parents are Black, her hair is blonde like that weave Ciara is rockin. NATURALLY, known her since we were 10. So none of this shit is absolute

I agree the universal straight hair thing by Black women is assimilation but it's also a STYLE CHOICE. Everybody ain't ready to rock the fro, everybody ain't ready for their girlfriends to rock the fro There's degrees to this shit man, you can't just lump everything together. Some people are most definitely on some "I wanna be White" shit but not everyone. Pull it back a little...



.
[Edited 4/25/05 17:47pm]

Xavier23 said:

Okay, now you're on some bullshit I have a friend who's Black, both her parents are Black, her hair is blonde like that weave Ciara is rockin. NATURALLY, known her since we were 10. So none of this shit is absolute

I agree the universal straight hair thing by Black women is assimilation but it's also a STYLE CHOICE. Everybody ain't ready to rock the fro, everybody ain't ready for their girlfriends to rock the fro There's degrees to this shit man, you can't just lump everything together. Some people are most definitely on some "I wanna be White" shit but not everyone. Pull it back a little...



.
[Edited 4/25/05 17:47pm]

Xavier23 said:

You racist motherfucker need to go elsewhere with all that useless bullshit. We wear our hair any fucking way we want .Black women come in all shade and all colors and your comments shows your lack knowledege you ignorant motherfucker!!!!
[Edited 4/25/05 17:57pm]

Hotlegs said:

Hotlegs said:

Hotlegs said:

[flame snipped - Tom]

Xavier23 said:

Please you need to quit with the madness. If I want to wear a natural I can. But if I choose to straighten my hair that's my choice too. Who the hell are you to pass judgement on a women's right to color or straighten their hair? That has catbooshit to do with wanting to be white. And for the record there are plenty of black people who have naturally light colored hair.

I find your comments on these two subjects to be quite funny since you have a picutre of Michael Jackson as your avatar wearing a jheri curl and two shades lighter than he started out as.