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www.itiemafOontiger.com
November 9- IS. 2011
OPINIONS
Hypocrisy at Spelman Over Music and
Portrayals of Women
Rokhaya Fall
Staff Writer
rfall@scmail.spelman.edu
H ypocrisy is the practice
of professing standards
and beliefs contrary to one’s
real character or actual be
havior, especially the pretense
of virtue and piety. I love my
institution, Spelman College,
but there surely are some as
pects of the college that I dis
agree with.
It is a well-known fact that
in the past few years, a lot of
rap artists have been banned
from performing at Spelman.
This is the result of their bla
tant disrespect of women in
rap music.
As a high school student, I
remember seeing Spelmanites
on Oprah standing up against
rappers and their disrespect for
women. I was proud of my Spel
man sisters for having enough
courage to stand up against the
powerful music industry. As
a feminist, I completely agree
that society has gone way too
far with song lyrics.
The only topics used in
songs are those that describe
sexual acts that men want
women to perform for them.
To make matters worse, the
songs are degrading and treat
women as if they are supposed
to be some type of sex slave.
These songs are notorious
for using demeaning words
that are not complimentary
to women. It is disrespectful,
but many of us still support it
anyway.
The hypocrisy comes in
when these songs are played
publicly, everywhere on cam
pus at least once a week. The
cafeteria is notorious for host
ing miniature parties where
these songs by banned artists
are played at maximum vol
ume. Occasionally, there are
dancers who practice their
“club moves” in the cafeteria
accompanied by these songs.
What is the difference be
tween having these artists
physically perform here, and
playing their music all the
time but never inviting them
to our institution? I believe
that there is no difference be
tween the two. Either way, we
are supporting these artists. If
we are going to play their mu
sic despite the ban, we could
just as easily get rid of the
ban and welcome these artists
back.
I have a hard time under
standing how there can be
church in Sisters Chapel on
Sundays, but a place of par-
Appreciating A Woman’s Beauty
Garrett Ransom
Staff Writer
g2ransom@aol.com
H ave you ever been on
a social network web
site and have seen a females
picture with a long list of her
female friends commenting,
“You’re gorgeous,” or, “You’re
beautiful?” Sometimes, the
compliment seems justified,
and other times the compli
ment seems “fake” because of
what we believe beauty to be.
I have found myself label
ing a friend as being “fake” for
calling her friend beautiful,
and I am sure that many other
people reading have had simi
lar feelings.
But one day, I had an epiph
any that completely changed
my whole outlook on the sub
ject.
Mainstream society has
molded and shaped our out
look of what beauty is. What
exactly is beauty? Is it the
video vixen in the rap video
or the hard working female
college student? Does beauty
has a visual representation or
is it an aura that comes from
within?
To many of us, beauty is
simply a word to represent
an individual’s physical attri
butes. Rarely do we associate
a person’s internal qualities
with the word beauty. In the
real world, the video vixen is
awed over and the hard work
ing female student is just ap
preciated.
What type of effect does
the word “beautiful” have on
a woman? To call a woman
beautiful gives them a foun
dation of respect, entitlement,
and confidence. All three
traits essentially make a “real
woman.” When a woman calls
another woman beautiful, she
is not lying; she is empower
ing her. Who is to say that any
woman does not deserve to
feel beautiful or attractive?
This empowerment, howev
er, poses a threat to men, and
also women who feel they are
more attractive than the rest.
Many people feel as if wom
en who are not mainstream
beautiful should not have as
much confidence. Why not?
There is a domino effect
that comes along with a sea of
women who consider them
selves beautiful. An insecure
woman is often more easily
manipulated by men. If every
woman believes that they are
beautiful and entitled to better
treatment, then men will have
to change how they approach
these “beautiful women.”
Does society truly want ev
ery woman to feel as if they
were beautiful? The answer
to that question is that it is
doubtful. Society has enough
issues with allowing each eth
nicity to feel beautiful. Avoid
the brown paper bag!
The world thrives off of
women’s insecurities. What
would the make-up industry
do if every woman felt that
they did not need makeup? A
whole industry would crum
ble. How many women have
tried ridiculous diets and
workout regiments, not to be
healthier, but to look better in
a bikini? Too many too count!
Many individuals in soci
ety become submerged in the
typical appearance of beauty,
and rarely veer away from it.
Many people also have forgot
ten the power that the word
“beautiful” has. We often
proclaim women beautiful
who need to hear that they
are beautiful least, and leave
many other women deprived
of the beneficial manifesta
tions of the word.
We have set up a world in
which many women perpetu
ally reach toward an unat
tainable plateau of physical
perfection that just internally
illuminates more personal in
securities. Maybe this is a plan
to develop monetary gain by
someone much bigger than
us, and they have evidently
succeeded.
This article is not made for
change of thought, but food
for thought. Often times in
our judgment of others, we
find insecurities in ourselves.
Take time to think about why
she is not beautiful without
thinking about what society
has shaped you to think. Be
the pilot of your own plane,
and allow her to feel beautiful.
^ Recycle The Maroon Tiger
tying on the weekdays. These about their body parts in such
songs banned by our institu- a manner,
tion are played too often in Needless to say, we as wom-
Sister’s Chapel and people en sometimes welcome the
dance to them as they would disrespect from musicians and
at clubs. While I am not a reli- men in general; therefore, I
gious individual, I find it to be do not solely blame rappers
hypocritical and disrespectful for the way they treat, talk to
to the chapel. and about women. I think it is
During SpelHouse home- pointless to ban these artists
coming this year, Miguel per- from campus, because they are
formed as the neo-soul art- all around us anyway. In addi-
ist in King Chapel. In one of tion, the ones that we agree to
his songs, he sang the lyrics, welcome on campus are no dif-
“That p**** is mine.” Women ferent than those we banned,
everywhere went crazy. It’s So I say, get rid of the ban
unbelievable to me that re- and let us enjoy “ratchet” per-
spectable college women were formances for recreational
entertained by a man talking purposes!
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