LEONARDO DICAPRIO'S TEARS

strugglingtobeheard:

thelandthattimeforgot:

mickyalexandria:

alexandraerin:

siddharthasmama:

ladyatheist:

Study finds: “White kids are far more negative about racial interactions than Black kids are” (by AlloCanada)

This needs to be watched. Seriously. Stop acting like kids don’t see race. They DO. And in specific, white kids associate Black/Brown with bad. That is not something to ignore.

“Implicit bias” is a phrase to remember.

Sigh…. obvious things are obvious.  

Most kids do have parents or siblings or guardians or relatives that raise them and pass on ideas about race, class, gender, sexuality, everything.. Why pretend like that means nothing?  

I don’t like the way picture part of the study was conducted. From those pictures, I probably would have said the exact same thing (A pushed B off the swing in order to get on). They aren’t ambiguous enough for kids this age, who might typically have feuds over who gets to play on the swing set during recess on a day to day basis. The direct questions were more effective than the photos. 

i disagree considering the Black children saw a completely different image. if most Black children saw a child who was hurt and the other kid is sad because of it or that one was waiting their turn for another and only 38% of the Black children see a negative story compared to 70% of the white children, it says a lot about perception and how people see things, even from that age. those white children see acts of violence perpetrated by Black children in that photo, acts not necessarily being committed. the photo is ambiguous for that reason. for the interpretation. if it was sooo straight forward, their would still be differences in how the white and Black kids saw it.

why did they only do this study with white and black children?

frenzypoetik:

blackfashion:

Chester French - Black Girls

goldenday asked: How do you feel about Chester French’s new release Black Girls? As a product of an “interracial” relationship, I totally understand what he means, but there seems to be some backlash from some of the female members of the black community. What are your thoughts?

 I’ll give you my snap judgements. What immediately came to mind in the order they appeared (btw: I was familiar with CF before this song, and dig prior tunes - just a note, okay):

1. I don’t like this music.
2. The white woman appears to be the subject and the black woman appears to be the object. (Somehow, these two things are different in my mind, bear with me.)
3. If D.A. & Co. like black girls so much, why aren’t they doing the kissing and sexing of the black girls they love so much in the video? I don’t understand. 
4. I don’t think I like this, but I am not yet sure why. 
5. I do not know how to feel. 

Okay, so after a little reflection, maybe I’d like this video a whole lot more if the band featured in the video and they were maybe…idk…dancing around, or posing, or strutting, or copulating with, a bunch of beautiful black females themselves. However, the attempt of the song to defy the status quo, or upset the stigma of interracial relationships between white men/black women is somehow defeated by this video. I say that, because that is not the couple we see featured here. 

People might be shocked and upset when they see the video, but (and this is me just going on a hunch) I bet that they’d be more shocked about that fact that this is a portrayal of a same-sex relationship between females than the fact that one female is white and the other black. 

Maybe this is just me, but the insertion of another cultural taboo (homosexuality) that is not at all mentioned in the song somehow lessens the intent and strength of the “message” that DA & Co. (Chester French) were trying to convey.

Also, I get what he was trying to do. It was, I guess framed with good intentions. But I mean, look. DA & Co. are waving this flag and yelling, “HEY, WE LIKE BLACK GIRLS! LOOK AT US! WE ARE WHITE HETEROSEXUAL MALES AND WE ARE ATTRACTED TO BLACK FEMALES!”

Alright, whaddya want kid, a cookie?

In summary,

Sometimes one member of the human species likes another member of the human species, that may or may not be the same sex/gender, and that is not of their race. 

Sometimes white boys like black girls. 

Gee, Chester French

(Is it just me? I want to know.)

I’m a fan of Chester French and I’ve been waiting for them to come out with new stuff for years now. Admittedly, the song (melodically), is disappointing. Seeing this video, made me feel conflicted as well and I think those are some valid points (made by frenzypoetik) that may explain why it left me feeling off as well.

I think Wallach is presenting this song like one would about blonds or girls with hazel eyes, because theoretically (seeing as there is no genetic distinction between the socially constructed races) being attracted to a race or skin tone should be the same as having a favorite hair color on whatever sex you’re attracted to. However, like any topic dealing with race, there is just so much more than the surface of different colors. The history of objectifying black women is a long one that still exists today. But Wallach (having majored in African American studies), would be well aware of this history and his first lines, “This ain’t no fetish, ain’t objectifyin’ no one,” show that he acknowledges that black women are still made out to be an exotic other. Now why there two women makes me wonder if lesbianism is being fetishized, used for shock value, or if it is for the sake of making an interesting video by having the juxtaposition of a woman lip-synching to a man’s voice. 

In this day and age, one does want to respond to this song/music video with a “Well, duh.” But there are still people out there saying Negro. And I think there is still a sense of novelty (for some) in dating someone of another race. I once dated a white guy who told me all his friends thought it was cool that he was being progressive (the guy I was with didn’t see it as such a big deal). And those were people of my generation (I’m now 19), whom we like to believe are being raised with the “we’re all human beings” mindset. That’s why I think this song was written and why (although it’s not great), it holds relevance. I think Wallach is trying to convey that he sees humans as humans, and he happens to like the ones of a certain kind of brown (though I don’t think the phrase “dirty brown” was the best lyrical decision to convey that).

I think there’s a bit of necessity in having songs like these, because a white guy being into black girls isn’t seen as a norm. The song comes off as a bit obnoxious and there are definitely different ways it could have been done (I mean, you listen to enough Jack White songs and you know he’s into redheads without him having to write a song that explicitly says it). However, I think media and the arts (just as they perpetuate stereotypes, socially accepted gender roles, etc.) are also the only ways to bring change to public conceptions. I recently did a short research paper on the song “Strange Fruit”, which confronted the issue of lynching that made white America face itself and is cited as being an influential protest song. Now “Black Girls” is by no means a “Strange Fruit” and it probably won’t ever be nearly as influential, but I think another song of a similar vein could be. One has to confront social and historical realities when controversial statements are made I’m glad that Wallach had the sense to do that. 

On a more personal note, having grown up as a mixed kid who was frequently attracted to white guys but consistently felt that they were uninterested in me because of my complexion (and not just in the sense of aesthetics), it’s nice to know that this song is being made. I think there needs to be a lot more praise and representation of all kinds of interracial relationships/love in more mediums than just music to show that it exists and that it’s not the big deal that the current taboo makes it out to be and disarming it of its psychological power in the minds of so many.