The Horrors of an Around- the-block frock

This is Dave Young's Forum.
Can you really bridge the gap between reality and training? Between traditional karate and real world encounters? Absolutely, we will address in this forum why this transition is necessary and critical for survival, and provide suggestions on how to do this correctly. So come in and feel welcomed, but leave your egos at the door!
Post Reply
User avatar
Akil Todd Harvey
Posts: 790
Joined: Sun Feb 11, 2001 6:01 am
Location: Tallahassee, FL
Contact:

The Horrors of an Around- the-block frock

Post by Akil Todd Harvey »

http://www.calendarlive.com/printeditio ... 1878.story
By Elizabeth Snead, Special to The Times

Chanel made a pretty big splash at Monday's Golden Globe awards. Chanel dresses were spotted on hot young actresses Reese Witherspoon, Emily Mortimer, Natalie Portman and Vanessa Paradis as they strolled the red carpet.

But many in the fashion world are wondering why Witherspoon ended up in a Chanel gown previously worn (horrors!) by Kirsten Dunst. Reportedly, Witherspoon was excited to wear a "vintage" gown, thinking "vintage" meant a classic frock worn in some bygone era. She had no idea it was a Dunst redux.

It was only after the Globes that Witherspoon's camp learned the dress was worn by Dunst to a 2003 Golden Globe Awards party, with her hair done just like Witherspoon's. Yikes.

Chanel issued a statement: "Chanel apologizes for the oversight that Reese Witherspoon's dress was previously worn to a Golden Globes after party three years ago. We are honored that Reese chose to wear Chanel and thought she looked beautiful. We congratulate her on her well-deserved win."

Witherspoon's publicist, Nancy Ryder, told reporters that she and her other clients will boycott Chanel. And other stars' stylists are aghast that this duplication occurred.

"A star in the best actress category should never be seen in a dress that's been seen before anywhere, even on the runway," sniffed a top L.A. fashion public relations agent. "Most actresses today insist on a couture gown, specially made for them."
Seek knowledge from cradle to grave
User avatar
Akil Todd Harvey
Posts: 790
Joined: Sun Feb 11, 2001 6:01 am
Location: Tallahassee, FL
Contact:

As women suffer to the beat

Post by Akil Todd Harvey »

Irony of ironies.......we have a song about golddiggers.....and then we have golddiggers.........where is the outrage and where should the outrage be?????? I am sure that you do not want me to define for you how we should respond, and similarly, I am far from willing to allow others to define for me how I respond........Women and men are representing the opposite sex in an unfavorable light.....When do we stop? How do we stop? Is it necessary to stop or does it perform a useful public service?????? Putting down women and men as if the groups had identical characteristics throughout is ....well, too much.........but it sellls and it sells well...............and dont forget to boycott Chanell.......
Many rap hits have blatantly misogynistic lyrics. Yet both sexes keep dancing to them.

http://www.calendarlive.com/music/cl-et ... 6676.story

By Rashod D. Ollison, Baltimore Sun

If you tuned into pop or urban radio during 2005, if you went out to any hip nightspot last year, then surely you heard Kanye West's "Gold Digger" and the Ying Yang Twins' "Wait (The Whisper Song)." You probably downloaded them onto your iPod, or perhaps you bought the CDs from which the singles were culled.

But did you really listen to those songs?

Both are up for Grammy awards in February. Superstar rapper-producer West garnered eight nods for his double-platinum sophomore album, "Late Registration," which features "Gold Digger." The song held the No. 1 spot on Billboard's pop chart for 10 straight weeks.

For the Ying Yang Twins, the rowdy Atlanta-based duo behind such down-and-dirty stripper favorites as "Whistle While You Twurk" and "Salt Shaker," this is a breakthrough moment: a first Grammy nomination. "Wait," which peaked at No. 3 on Billboard's R&B/hip-hop singles chart, is up for best rap performance by a duo or a group.

Although West's cut and the Ying Yang Twins' tune were among the catchiest, best-produced hits of last year, they were also unabashedly misogynistic. While "Gold Digger" paints women as heartless and money-hungry, "Wait" depicts them as straight-up pornographic objects. The videos for the songs — writhing, scantily clad chicks in "Wait" and nasty, flashily clothed women in "Gold Digger" — illustrate the sexist attitude of the lyrics.

Check the first verse of West's smash, as sung by Jamie Foxx in his best Ray Charles voice: "She take my money/When I'm in need/Yeah, she's a triflin' friend indeed/Oh, she's a gold digga way over town/That digs on me."

No verse of the Ying Yang Twins' hit, including the "clean" version, can be reprinted in a family newspaper. The safest line is in the chorus where the two repeatedly describe their, uh, sexual prowess: "BAM, BAM, BAM, BAM, BAM."

What does it say about pop culture in 2005 when these two women-bashing trackscan become platinum-selling, Grammy-nominated smashes?

"Pop culture has always been a barometer of people's lives," says Carly Milne, a Los Angeles-based pop-culture expert and the sex and relationship correspondent for Maxim Online. " 'Gold Digger' has always struck me as tongue-in-cheek about girls we all know or some have dated. I think it was more about the musicianship of that song that made it so popular. This is a far cry from the gangsta-rap misogyny we're used to."

Misogyny in hip-hop is nothing new. Although "Gold Digger" and "Wait" aren't as in-your-face as some of the early women-bashing rhymes by Snoop Dogg and Too Short, the fact remains: Women are still being degraded. Even the ever-creative, free-spirited rapper-producer Missy Elliott plays up oversexed, money-hungry stereotypes in her music.

"The industry is so oversaturated with these types of songs," says Nicole Marzan, an industry insider and publicist for the Hyacinth Group, a New York-based public relations firm. "Women's lib — we've taken off our bras already and burned them. Women can wear the pants now in relationships, and they can like these songs without getting so offended."

Full disclosure: No matter the club I went to last year, an upscale joint or a hole in the wall, women in the place flocked to the floor whenever "Gold Digger" or "Wait" boomed through the speakers.

"How do you expect the media or anybody else to get upset about these songs when the women don't?" asks Reed Baker, a New York-based hip-hop record producer and chief executive of Sophist Productions. "Women — the women I know — concentrate on the hooks and the beats, anyway. There's a general unawareness of the lyrics."

There's no denying the pull and immediacy of "Gold Digger" and "Wait." The former boasts a strutting groove, a chugging beat that automatically gets your head nodding. The latter is minimally produced: just finger snaps, a four-note bass thud sequence and lewd rhymes whispered over it all. The questionable lyrical content doesn't hit you at first.

"In the past, songs like these would have received considerable media exposure and public vilification," says Thomas Ingrassia, owner and operator of TIngrassia Entertainment, a Massachusetts-based artist management firm. "It seems that we as a society have become immune to the words being sung by popular entertainers. The fragile nature of our social fabric today has created an environment in which people — young people especially — may have a complete disconnect with issues of degradation and devaluing women in particular."

Female sexual liberation, as depicted in pop music, seems to mean that women boldly embody the fantasies of men. That's certainly true in hip-hop with the rise of such over-the-top sex mamas as Lil' Kim and Trina.

"Hip-hop is all about talking about concepts and content that aren't comfortable," producer Baker says. "It challenges us to contemplate tough issues. The Britney Spears song isn't going to do that. 'Gold Digger' is a deep-song concept, more so than 'Wait.' It challenges some girls to think about situations they put themselves in. It challenges them to think about what they're going after in relationships."

Perhaps. But it's still disappointing to see black male artists perpetuate stereotypes long associated with black women.

Rashod D. Ollison is a music critic at the Baltimore Sun, a Tribune company.
Seek knowledge from cradle to grave
User avatar
Akil Todd Harvey
Posts: 790
Joined: Sun Feb 11, 2001 6:01 am
Location: Tallahassee, FL
Contact:

Post by Akil Todd Harvey »

But it's still disappointing to see black male artists perpetuate stereotypes long associated with black women.
And when the women are doing the same thing, I guess it must be ok......does this kind of thing, the misogyny in music, occur in a vaccuum or is it influenced by the rest of soceity in any way, shape, or form?

Does misandry have any effect on misogyny and how much we see it or support it?

Does anyone know what misandry is? I have heard a lot about misogyny and music lyrics, but I hear so little about misandry.....that must be cuz it doesnt exist, or cuz its well hidden and everyone is busy denying its existence....
Seek knowledge from cradle to grave
User avatar
Panther
Posts: 2807
Joined: Wed May 17, 2000 6:01 am
Location: Massachusetts

Post by Panther »

It has previously been acknowledged on one of your similar threads that there are good and bad everywhere. There are plenty of "he-man woman-haters" and plenty of "gold-digging man-haters"... So, the question is:

What's your point?

And as far as ANY celebrity, especially concerning their wardrobe...

Who cares?!?! Everyone that I know wears clothes that are "off the shelf" and (gasp!) they wear them more than once! What a waste of time to discuss such things when there are more important things going on in the world. It was a waste of bandwidth (not just talking about this thread) and a waste of the airwaves and the news media.

You have started this type of "he-man woman-hater" thread a number of times now... I see little, if any, responses. You should ask yourself if you are really accomplishing anything? In fact, what are you wanting to accomplish? What is your goal? Do you think you're achieving it? Or are you just annoying some folks?

Think about it...
User avatar
Panther
Posts: 2807
Joined: Wed May 17, 2000 6:01 am
Location: Massachusetts

Before posting another thread about misandry...

Post by Panther »

ATH,

After going back through the various threads that you have posted that in some fashion or another concern "misandry" or otherwise are threads that I characterize as "he-man woman-hater" threads, an alarming thing has occurred to me...

You have your view and there is absolutely nothing that will change it. Many, many folks have tried to be engaging, discussing, debating, responsive with you and they have universally been vilified in one form or another. You have been rather rude, offensive and, as you point out in your own words, "not afraid to piss anyone off".

Well... You have beat the horse that is this subject to death.

So... Please take notice...

Unless and Until you have some new ground breaking, earth shattering information that is different from what you have already posted on the subject of "misandry" and "feminism" run amuck... Don't post any more threads along these lines.

What is really ashame is the fact that you have been too blinded by your tunnel-visioned zeal to get out your message to see that there were folks, plenty of folks, who were trying to start a dialog and who, in some form or another, were voicing understanding and empathy for you positions. It should have been self-evident based on the number of people who spent considerable time and effort to read, understand and follow all of your long threads, long quotes, and rude, uncaring responses to their discussions.

I asked at the beginning of one such thread that you be nice here. Unfortunately for everyone else and fortunately for you, I have been very, very busy with things that I have been having to deal with personally, such that I haven't been able to follow threads as closely recently. I really don't have the time or energy to deal with your internal anger that is being taken out here. PLEASE calm down and don't bombard folks with this.

Thank you.

Take care and be good to each other...
Post Reply

Return to “Realist Training”