Are Black Americans programmed to hate themselves?

Just a thought.

found more articles. but i think its a valid question.

as i learn and reach out more and talk to other people outside the USA and in other cultures. I'm finding what's considered undesirable and ugly here in the USA is exotic, attractive and highly sought after in other parts of the world.

i think my favorite example is the knowledge that dolph lundgren used to date Grace Jones back in his View to A Kill / Rocky IV days in the 80's. In the US grace jones is considered to be a UGLY woman. Much in the same way that Wesley Snipes is considered to be a ugly dark black man. the ugliest of the ugly.



but being that dolph is swedish, when he was in his youthful prime, he wanted to be with Grace. I bet he loved being with her too. i personally think that grace is not ugly but that when she was young she would wear things and dress heself in such a way that made her ugly and bizzare. take for example her warrior princess look for the conan movies.

but women who look like grace are indirectly taught to hate themselves here in the USA. Men who look like wesley snipes are taught to hate themselves here it seems too.


http://thefreshxpress.com/2009/07/just-like-michael-jackson-i-hate-being-black/http://thefreshxpress.com/2009/07/just-like-michael-jackson-i-hate-being-black/

Michael Jackson is or was an extreme example of talented - once good looking black man who learned to hate myself early in his life. its a very sad thing. Joe Jackson is a bad man.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZmXRp07Dhk

the generalization is dark is ugly. big noses, big lips are ugly. Nappy heads are hideous.

and women who choose or are forced to have weaves are the brunt of jokes all the time.

the saying "there is nothing uglier than a bad weave!!"

recently my father and I were looking at the recent Dirty south Hip Hop awards that on VH1.

http://www.vh1.com/shows/events/hip_hop_honors/_2010/

And the one thing he said most was "Look all of the rap stars / executives & hip hop producers have exotic fair skin or mixed race black women on their arms!."

and at the end of the day its a complex issue. aside from materialism and all the other issue that black americans have.

but i personally am intrigued and delighted to SEE that this stigma is really only an issue in the USA.

me personally i really do feel that i was indirectly taught to hate my own looks at a young age and it caused alot of problems in my life.

now that my eyes are open i feel like i have been cheated in some ways. i do realize that there was no way my childhood could have been differrent i was born in washington DC in the 82' but i wonder what its like for black men who grow up outside of the black looks non-sense here in the US.

I simply was not handsome enough. I was raised in a very socially competitive middle class black environment. In order to have friends or dates you had to look like Will Smith or LL Cool J. And what you didn't have in looks you had to make up for that in personality

now that i move around more and have shared my childhood/teen photos with women from other cultures (germany,france,italy,russian,australian etc.,) and i now see i had nothing to be ashamed of.

i'm even now very suprised to see that there is a Wikipedia article for High Yellow take it look. It speaks the truth!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_yellow

 

It seems you believe so.

 

There's so much truth here I can't even front. Good post fam.

I agree with you that we live in a culture that favors western european features the only thing that saves us as men is that women are more attracted to our bodies and how successful we are and how we treat them more so than our facial features. Unfortunately for women the further away from cultural ideal of beauty the less likely you are to be desired and this is as especially difficult for black women.

 

The question has merrit

 

Really, so Black men get by on our bodies, not faces... ??? or there is dissociation there of?

 

You should change the title to "Are non whites programmed to hate themselves". This is bigger than a Black American thing, this applies to all non whites. There was a test they did involving black kids and a white doll and a black doll. When asked which doll was the good guy they all said the white doll and when asked which doll did they like better they said the white doll. The kids were then asked which doll resembles you and the kids hesitated to pick the black doll. Colonialism was and still is a bitch, it took 400+ years to condition non whites and its gonna take 400+ years to undo it all.

Rome wasnt built in a day and neither will the psyche of non whites be built into a positive thing (regarding self esteem, beauty standards, etc) in a day.

 

Something i think is worth adding....

Standards of beauty dont always coincide with both genders.
Example...Common attributes many find attractive in a Asian female may not translate to a Asian male. The same can be said for Black men and women.

 

Hardly formulated well. Are Black Americans programmed to hate themselves could go beyond looks! His post only focuses on looks. Programmed? As in a conscious effort to present SSA as unattractive, or just a result of living in a European dominated society?

 

I'm saying that the standard of beauty for men is different than women's. Men are judged more on ability more so than asthetics and when women usually speak about about us its about our bodies not our faces. I'm not saying its easy for black men but I as far as being appreciated for our physical attributes its easier than it is for black women.

 

I think its because we look different that many from the status quo look at us differently so focusing on looks helps to determine the problem. You don't think there's a mass under valuing of african features by many in the US?

 

You may not have a lot of experience dating girls outside your complexion why you assume facial features do not play a deciding factor.

I am curious why would anyone use Grace Jones as an example when she is not African American. She is a Jamaican.

Cheers!

 

appreciated by who, white people? If self acceptance is dependent on non Blacks (people who don't look like you..) finding one attractive, no wonder one would have self hate issues with regard to looks.

I'm not sure what constitutes under valuing of African features? Must white society find Black people attractive for there to be proper value?

 

what's your solution?

 

Does Dolph Lungren have self-esteem issues???

Studies have shown BW have a healthier body image than WW.

Asian women have more cosmetic surgeries than BW....by far..

Iran is the nose-job capitol of the WORLD...!!

Truth be told..

Black people have a healthier self-esteem(considering the constant attack on our image) than many of the groups certain negroes tend to worship.:smt039

Ever hear the phrase "self-hating jew"??

I have.

 

Good points everyone.

atleast MrFrantastic gets the point of what i'm saying not nitpicking.

But i guess all ethinic groups have their issues.

i used Grace and Dolph as examples because grace atleast in the USA is famous for her american mainstream movie roles and less for her singing/modeling she has done.

infact the american sketch comedy show "in living color" used to make fun of her. and the point the skits made was that she is UGLY black woman dominatrix. that's why its funny.

TAKE A LOOK


1.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqUenSypcKU

2.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c07nl_lJEfE

yes i probably should have said Non-Whites not Just African-Americans.

i'm simply talking from my limited perspective as a AA.

and as a move around and see i'm seeing more and more that what's ugly and undesirable or just average here in the US is Exotic and highly desireable

i feel good when a german girl told me recently that i had a contagious beautiful smile. but to the same type of american WW i'm just average if not passable.

 

Uhm, I've never met a girl who thought the way her man/potential man's face looked wasn't important.

I adore my boyfriend's face. It's what attracted me to him. He has some amazing eyes.

How the hell are we concentrating on a body when we talk to the face???? That's absurd. Facial features are just as important in attraction, it just comes down to how important anything physical is to the individual in choosing their partner.

 

TPIWWP

 

Not too long ago....sisters used to call dark skinned Brothers monkeys.

A BW bringing home a dark Brother would get the old "think about what your children will look like" lecture.

WW changed all that shit.:smt039

 

this is true. if this thread gets more replies i just might post something!

 

Why are you singling out Grace Jones, even in a society that saw her skin and hair as attractive features, there is no way to tell how she would be regarded. In such a society there would be a beauty standard and some people would be considered attractive and some ugly. The palest people in this society are not always considered the most beautiful. To often when issues of this type are broached, grace jones, whoppi goldberg and now gabby precious are used as an example. Guess what? They just might not be attractive in any society, the Gabriel Unions and Kenya Moores of the world would be the sex icons most likely!

which is more to the conversation of essentialist beauty standards....