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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 :