Please do not misunderstand my question; it is not racist,; BUT?

Question

Why is it that most every black female in show business NEVER has ******* features? (only exception is Whoopi Goldberg)..why is this??? most of them look like white people, with darker skin..............Beyonce, Vanessa Williams, Queen Latifah, and the list goes on............

Answer 1

You are correct.

But this is a part of the more subtle kind of race predjudice in the country...

For instance, I have the strong belief that this is also why India.Arie began not being as popular as the lighter (and mixed) Alicia Keys.

And this is a known fact: Venus and Serena Williams were awarded fewer athletic endorsements than other women who were not winning tournaments based on their looks and race.

This is and has always been a fact of life.

There are plenty of darker and more "black looking" actresses and entertainers, but they are not used as often.

The standard of beauty is white...after that possibly an Asian female.

The further you get away from that the more "society" feels this is ugly.

I am light with green eyes, but proudly black and I don't feel that the women on the darker end of the spectrum should be ignored.

Due to miscegenation, black people come in about 120 shades.

All of them should be on display in the media.

Answer 2

I think the networks feel that if you have the "Whoopi Goldberg features" that you won't go far in show business or in the news especially if you are a black female. It is a fact and a reality. It has been documented and I recall Oprah saying some statements about this very topic on a show many years ago.

Vanessa Williams is black all the way. She is not mixed.

I think the deeper issue is corporate America, ratings, American society all play a part.

Answer 3

You know the answer to this question yourself......

Because "******* features" are still not acceptable in hollywood and in some parts of daily life. Hollywood has an exaggerated opinion of what is beautiful and acceptable.

Black people are not consider beautiful and are always considered the barometer of comparison to beauty, intelligence, physical attributes, or relationships.


The people you mentioned had to change themselves somehow to get pass the stereotype. Others like Monique, Whoopi Goldberg, and folks w/an afrocentric look had to use their shear talent to get by which may have taken longer because they weren't deemed as pretty.

I find this a very curious question since so many people pay big money to achieve ******* features. Most end up mutilating their body for full lips, high cheek bones, plump buttocks.

Answer 4

Hello, But if you are speaking English... speaking to native English speakers, why exactly are you specifically using the word "*****" for blacks, knowing that the word is pretty much "taboo"? Yes you have the tendancy, but you should correct it. Yes, you can say it's not racist... it's not, things mean different things in different languages. But being that you are now in a different country and the people speak a different language where some words in one language is a offensive to others, I say don't use it. People can honestly think of you as suspect, since you will resort to calling blacks "negroes" in an English conversation, and then using the excuse that it's Spanish. Basically, it seems as if you'd like people to be welcoming of your culture/traditions/language etc, but you won't acknowledge that in another (one that you are currently in) it can be quite offensive... even to the most conservative black. Now, that is racist.

Answer 5

There are stereotypes that influence the people who do the original hiring, screening, etc. that sets the criteria for the path to success in any career. This means that people who don't fit that mold are going to have a real hard time getting in & making progress.

Here's an analogy.

If you study crime statistics, you will find that more men disappear than women (I think that dead beat dads skew the numbers). Also more blacks disappear than whites (I think the credit society vs. traveling by cash impacts ability to trace missing people). People of all ages go missing. Plus there is an epidemic of missing children. So the statistics clearly say one thing.

But the news media focuses on the disappearance of attractive young white females, to the virtual exclusion of other sub-groups. What we see in the news media is a great distortion of the real world.

Similarly, what comes out of hollywood has many distortions relative to the real world.

Answer 6

There is a certain established ideal of what beauty is supposed to look like. But that is not always the case. You did not mention many famous black women that did not look white like, Tina Turner, Gladys Knight, Iman, Naomi Campbell, Oprah Winfree they're out there.

It is true that the more ethnic one looks the harder it is to meet the standard. You won't see too many women with large noses like Barbara Streisand out there or very short models or large models etc. But tastes change and attitudes change.

Women have been chasing the beauty ideal for a long time. Most every woman thinks see needs to be thinner, dark skinned try to look lighter, lighter skinned are getting tanned. Tall women wish they were shorter, short women wish they were taller. Women with large breasts are getting reductions women with smaller breasts are getting augmentations. Women with curly hair are straightening it women with straight hair get perms. Women with large lips have them reduced women with thin lips have them enlarged.

Everyone is looking for an ideal that doesn't seem to exist in nature.

.

Answer 7

I think you already have some really good answers to your question.

*soulflower* and *flextime* are some examples. **Al M** Right on!! There are so many other woman that come up missing due to a crime committed and it goes un-noticed. On Court TV this past weekend I finally heard a former prosecutor admitted that it's a problem that the African American woman that come up missing don't get the same media treatment as a pretty white woman. That prosecutor was white.


Good question to ask!

Answer 8

I disagree. Queen Latifa looks black to me. I know what you mean about the hip hop gals though. But then, hip culture is a complete sell-out any way.

I mean, BLING?

Answer 9

Because of racism. Period. But we're supposed to get over it....huh...good question.

Answer 10

because hollywood still has it racist moments and stereotypes....its not cool too look like a normal person of any race, gender, etc.