Newspaper Page Text
The Maroon
IP age 6
January 1997
Women in
a Capsule
by ytasha womack
It's 2096. I want to study the culture
of African American women in the
1990's, the decade before the new
millenium. What did they value? What
characteristics did they share? How did
they interact? What was their role in so
ciety?
I gather a few statistics and note some
historical milestones, but I want to dig
deeper and feel the ambience of the 90's
Black woman: I pick up a few collector's
editions of the TV shows Living Single,
Martin, and Family Matters, and the
movie "Waiting to Exhale." Reading
that rap was the voice of Black America
at that time, I purchase vintage Lil' Kim,
Da Brat, and Foxy Brown CDs.
I want the African American male per
spective, too. Hitting all coasts, I listen
to Notorious B.I.G., 2-Pac, and Luke. I
get footage from the Oprah Winfrey and
Ricki Lake talk shows, which featured
Black women daily. Add a few back is
sues of local and national newspapers,
TV newscasts, a copy of How Stella Got
Her Groove Back and I should have a
comprehensive view of the African
American woman in the 90's.
Scary isn't it?
What might I conclude? Black women
were very emotional beings, apparently,
because they're incredibly insecure.
They're either crying hysterically, an
grily snapping at someone for a reason
that doesn't justify such hostility, or
craving for sex.
Black women were only newsworthy
when they were crying or angry. Occa
sionally, I would see images of a woman
being attacked or killed, and occasion
ally a "sista" might be performing in the
local theater, but generally most photos
of Black women in the newspaper cap
tured them pouring over a murdered or
imprisoned son, or yelling at a school
board or city council meeting.
Situation comedies showed that Black
women were catty, manipulative and
materialistic. Regardless of how intelli
gently they presented themselves,
women of color always resorted to
childish antics to resolve adult situa
tions- accented, of course, with a bar
rage of neck rolling and eye popping.
On Ricki Lake, the catty image of fic
tional Black female characters was
justified in real-life situations.
However, their major concern was!
sex. It rated higher than family, bills,!
and health as depicted in the mass
media. No matter how righteous
she appeared she was the noto
rious "bad girl" who everyone
wanted to sleep with but n
one wanted to marry, the or
gasmic noise that accompani
music riffs; she had the self-p
claimed "ill nana," liked to
"freaked all night long," a
enjoyed her status as one of he
so-called man's many womeuAs
a matter of fact, this hidcjpn ani
ike sexual drive was her primary asset
despite any other talents she may have
had. For example:
•It wasn't Tina Turner's incredible
inner strength or dynamic voice, it was
her great legs that got the attention.
•And it wasn't Angela Basset's dy
namic acting ability people noticed, it
was her muscular arms.
•Oprah's success in staying trim out
weighed interest in her business savvy.
•Halle Berry's beauty was far more
fascinating than her acting.
This illicit sexuality, associated with
every Black woman made her unwor
thy of respect, be she famous or not. You
couldn't have borderline prostitutes in
ads for jewelry, dish-washing detergent
or perfume. It wasn't "wholesome." It
wasn't "feminine."
Which leads to the revelation of the
century. Based on the mass of informa
tion cir
culating
on
or
m e n -
tioning
black
women-
with
ex
of
Th
Show, etc.
could easily con
elude ll that
women weren't really
Perhaps biologically they were (it
helped if they straightened their hair),
but they definitely didn't live up to the
"ideal" image of a woman. Black
women were too loud, boisterous, silly,
and jealous and had too many wild,
sexual desires (accented by their oddly-
proportioned figures) to be REAL
women. They were a couple of notches
above primates, but not quite human.
So what's that. . . about 3/5 human?
When social scientists study a group
of people in a particular time period,
they assess remnants of their culture to
determine who they are. Remnants
from our current mediums- television,
newspapers, books, and CD's will be
used to assess who we are.
The picture painted by these mediums
aren't accurate, but it will be what our
descendants have to go by. The mass
production of these products, and the
overwhelming consumption of them by
large numbers of African-Americans
will be used to validate the content.
Image isn't everything, but it is a ma
jor factor when we consider that thou
sands of young Black girls look to the
media to define themselves and dictate
their role in society. They look to music
and sitcoms to determine what qualities
they must develop to attract men, what
their role in relationships should be, and
to form an image of the ideal life.
By the time they realize that they've
been idolizing a mirage, they will have
become what they idolized, the fantasy
thus becoming reality.
Take control of your images, before
they take control of you.
All Photos by Kenji Jasper :