The other day some magazine called Psychology Today put out an article called Why Are Black Women Less Physically Attractive Than Other Women? | Psychology Today. In this piece they ran down all sorts of backwards pseudo science ranging from Black women having higher testosterone levels on down to having mutant genes.. It was a sad day in journalism, but I guess one shouldn’t be surprised. After all, in 2011 far too many mainstream media outlets have been pulling out all the stops to marginalize and out right ‘dis’ various communities.
Here’s some of the outlandish claims made in the article…
I can think of that might potentially explain the lower average level
of physical attractiveness among black women is testosterone .
Africans on average have higher levels of testosterone than other
races, and testosterone, being an androgen (male hormone), affects the
physical attractiveness of men and women differently. Men with higher
levels of testosterone have more masculine features and are therefore
more physically attractive. In contrast, women with higher levels of
testosterone also have more masculine features and are therefore less
physically attractive. The race differences in the level of
testosterone can therefore potentially explain why black women are less
physically attractive than women of other races, while (net of
intelligence) black men are more physically attractive than men of other
races.
If you want you can peep the entire article on this site HERE.
Needless to say the article set off a firestorm as angry folks descended on the magazine’s website and flooded its phone lines. Before the day was out the article which we linked to, was pulled off the site, but the conversation is still raging.
What stands out foremost in people’s minds is why the continued efforts to show hatred toward those who are Black especially the Black women? The Psychology Today article was not the first time in this country’s sordid history that we’ve attempted to demonize Black women. No need to list the media assaults that are constantly being thrown at our mothers, sisters, daughters, aunties,wives, girlfriends and loved ones…
While we cant always control the insidious behavior of those outside the community, perhaps we should use the discussion that arisen from the PT article and pledge to do better in the way we public depict and treat the women in our community. Perhaps we should take along hard look at the psychological damage being levied on our daughters who may grow up suffering from self esteem issues, because we allow too much public pimping and don’t highlight enough public loving…Part of looking good is feeling good….Beauty starts inward and radiates outward for the world to see…
Below are a couple of videos that speak to this eloquently. The first comes from rapper NY Oil who did a song several years ago called ‘You’re a Queen‘. NY did the song on the heels of his controversial song called ‘Y’all Need to Be Lynched‘ where he took artist to task for continuously raising stereotypes and maligning women in their music. He felt like sisters including his wife and daughter needed to hear affirming messages from artists who appreciated them on all levels and recognized their beauty beyond the two dimensional shallow depictions in videos..He also wanted to remind the world that sistas set the standard for beauty.. The video to the song is below…We also put a link to the live performance of the song which is also good..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDhhSjRbwe4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qgt-oEi9ooQ Live Performance..
The other video which hits home is a reading from author/scholar Adisa Banjoko of the Hip Hop Chess Federation. He is the co-author of the book ‘Be A father to Your Child‘ . here Adisa talks about what he needed to do to raise his daughters self esteem, after realizing the dramatic impact daily media assaults was having on how she saw her self the world around her.. The title of his essay which he’s reading is called ‘How Jada Pinket Helped Raise His Daughter’s Self Esteem‘…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXU60VkDq6c
As for Black women being unattractive as asserted by the article… Moms, Grandma, my aunties and all the sistas who live in my hood who may not be famous from around the way who got it going on along with some of our more visible icons like Michelle Obama, Angela Basset, Jada Pinket Smith, Saana Lathan, Joan Morgan, Dawn-Ellisa Fischer, Imani Perry, Tamron Hall, Sarah Jones, Serena Williams, Ferai Chidaya, Gabrielle Union, Thandie Newton, Skyy Brewer, Erykah Badu, Rha Goddess, Vanessa Williams, Jill Scott, Pam Grier, Tariji P Henson, Hallie Berry etc.. ..Nuff said..
First off let me start by saying this;its time to drop all this bullshit, your a QUEEN CRAP. The idea that royality means anything is a joke. It speaks to the need to prove we are greater then normal people. Down thru history Afrikan women have been fighters on all fronts.They didn’t need to be QUEENS to be intelligent or about the protection of their people.
As to their inferiority, to even waste time debating this RACIST WHITE SUPREMCY BULLSHIT is a waste. Lets keep in mind the following facts, all the variations in skin color are from relationships between primiarly Afrikan women and white men.These were not relationships based on mutual love or respect.
In the distant passed,during the time of Kemet,this wasn’t the case,relationships and intermarriage between diverse ethnic groups was a natural part of people coming together for both econmic and political reasons.In early european culturals, greeks,romans, relationships did take place between Afrikan people in general and people from these cultures.
The ideas in this article are simiply throw backs to early 19century concepts of white supremecy.Ideas of Afrikan women being like the so-called HOTTENTO figures so popular in europe,come to mind in reading this pro-seudo-science retread of old racist ideas for the 21century.
As the father of 4 grow beautiful daughters, who range from light skin with green eyes ,to different shades of brown,i can only laugh at this stupid shit. All my daughters are beautiful,intelligent and desirable as is shown by all the men who desire to be in their company. Their mothers were equally beautiful and desirable,as was my mother and millions of other Afrikan women continue to be.
Now heres the kicker,as we see white people have attempted to appropriate every vestsige of our culture right down to the lips and asses.At the same time they have us so twisted that alot of us are working over time at trying to look,act and behave like them. This psychology as many of you know was created by JEWS, and is still controlled and used by them to program us into these feelings of insecurity and needing to fit in at the cost of our sanity.Has it worked?
When you see young fools like LITTLE WAYNE,you see just how deeply it has taken over the imagination and self worth of too many of us. Michael Jackson was a poster boy for this type of brainwashing. He has become the standard by which the LITTLE KIMS,LITTLE WAYNES and other lost broken Afrikan youth are drawn toward. In closing ask yourself this question, HOW INSANE HAVE SOME OF US BECOME WHEN LIKE MICHAEL JACKSON,WE NOT ONLY CHANGE OUR FEATURES,BUT ARE WILLING TO CREATE WHITE CHILDREN,RATHER THEN CHILDREN OF MIXED ANCESTERY.Michael Jackson is the triumph of 21century WHITE WORLD SUPERMECY TO THE MAX.
Too all Afrikan men who buy into this madness,what it says is just how deeply you have been programed toward your own selfdestruction. Does this mean ,we shouldn’t love or have relationships with other women from different ethnic group of course not. The same applies to Afrikan women.Our intellect,talents, and compassion has been and is appreciated by not just Afrikan people.
What we must keep in mind is the following;NOBODY CAN DEFINE THE BEAUTY OF AFRIKAN WOMEN FOR YOU BUT YOU. NEVER ALLOW THIS TYPE OF THINKING TO BE DIRECTED AT YOUR CHILDREN GIRLS OR BOYS. STAMP OUT ALL COLOR STRUCK,GOOD HAIR,simpleminded thinking in your own families.Above all make it your busy to educate your children,to the full range of knowledge concerning the collective history of AFRIKAN PEOPLE ON A WORLD WIDE SCALE .ALL SO THE PSYCHOLOGICAL UNDER PINNINGS OF WHITE RACISM THAT HAVE BEEN CREATED TO CLOUD AND OBFUSCATE THE TRUTH ABOUT WHO AND WHAT WE ARE YESTERDAY,TODAY AND TOMORROW,MUST ALSO BE PART OF THIS EDUCATION.
We are at a critical pt in our history as Afrikan people on a world wide scale,if we don’t get it together,we will become like the BLACK ASTRANOUNT IN PLANET OF THE APES, a figure in the musesum of a EXTINCT people. Don’t go out like the DODO BIRDS!
I must first thank you Davey D for bring this article & continuous mind set in the 21st century. I must admit I was ignorant to professional people could even began to think like this.
To me for them to try to find ways for us to be inferior to them in any compacity show how intimidated they are by us as the QUEENS we are.
Peace!
BLACK MAN IS GOD BECAUSE GOD IS WITHIN THE BLACK MAN.BLACK WOMAN IS GODDESS BECAUSE GOD IS WITHIN THE BLACK WOMAN.THE ORIGINAL MAN IS THE BLACK MAN AND THE ORIGINAL WOMAN IS THE BLACK WOMAN. FROM HER TOES TO HER HEAD THE NUBIAN SISTAS OF THE WORLD,YOUNG AND OLD AND IN BETWEEN ARE WORTHY OF PRAISE AND THEIR GOD GIVEN NATURAL BEAUTY IS FOREVER.PAY THE SILLY, PALE, MENTALLY CONFUSED WHITE PEOPLE NO MIND BECAUSE ONCE YOURE BLACK AND PROUD THEY’RE JEALOUS AND HATE US FOR ETERNITY. ALLAHUAKBAR!!
You can tell that folks like the author of that so-called article are running out of ideas. No need to go into all of the demographics of what is defined as beauty, especially on a global scale. I’ll also agree with “Darkoverlord” in that this is basically rehashed white supreme talking points, only from a so-called Asian.
They’ve already compromise (or almost) compromise the image of the black man, now their working on our sistahs. Google the title of a movie coming out soon called “The Help.” Based on this book. Tearing down Iman and putting up Mammy. “Oh and hey Darkoverlord? Now is the time to start calling ours sistah queens, their gonna need to hear some postive words because of whats coming in the future.
FRUITOFISLAM19.. just LOVE your logic.
I just wonder why black women are always so ANGRY?… Can’t even hit up a Denny’s at night without risking walking into brawl.
Darkoverlord, MUCH Respect to you, Brotha. You always are on point. I agree with most of your point. However, where I dissent is this: since Black Women so many times are and still are being called Bitches, Hoes, Skanks, and several other mysogynistic terms, not just by us, but also by the alabaster power structure, would’nt you at least agree that the words such as “Queen”, “Princess”, “Guardian Angel”, and “Goddess”, while not a complete counterattack for all the mysogyny, are at least a good place to start??? I too, am a Parent, and I have a 4-year old Daughter, whom I’ve already been reading and teaching her from books such as, “Black Woman From Antiquity”. It is up to US to define US, no disagreement from me on that at all.
I hear what you’re saying about the term, “Queen”, or, “King” being flawed because it implies that one is better than those that they preside over. While there is plenty of historical evidence to prove that Kings and Queens many times looked down and persecuted their subjects, (especially in European history and some African history)I recall historians such as Legrande Clegg and Ashra Kwesi stating that there were plenty of African and Kemetic Kings and Queens who actually treated their subjects with dignity, and respect.
In the end though, whatever word we come up with to combat this racist, sexist, and anti-feminine phenomenon, it must be attached to a psychology, a world view, and a plan that can be collectively and cohesively executed to actively counter and wipe out that which vehemently and viciously opposes it. Peace.
@Critical eye
I understand and agree with your post. I say this there are more creators,inventors and real creators of history that have done more for people then all of the kings and queens. Call your daughter,teacher,scientist,engineer archtech, great writter or any other words that connotate her future abilities not her false sense of past greatness based on historical illusions of power and superiority. Thanks for your thoughtful responds.