The controversial cover!
If you figured out that the above analogy relationships are antonyms (opposites), then you are ding-ding-ding right! However, some Essence readers would plead to differ with the first analogy statement. In a recent response to Essence’s February 2010 cover choice Reggie Bush, an overwhelming entourage of Essence readers harshly criticized the women’s magazine for choosing a man who’s in a relationship with a non-black woman (Kim Kardashian). Here’s one response from the magazine’s website:
Any black man whose romantic attention is on a white or any other non black woman is a black man who is not about black women PERIOD.
This is why this man has no business being on the cover of Essence. It does not matter if his mama, sister, aunt, cousin, whatever is a black woman, he can’t control that. What he can control is who his girlfriend and or wife is. This clown and others like him think black women are not good enough to be their wives or girlfriends. So forget him.
I actually thought the days of Jim Crowism were slowly fading into mere happenstance, but then this situatuon arises, showcasing the fact that black people suffer from severe hypocrisy and resistance to progression! Here this reader goes placing relationships under the category of whites only and colored only!
What if the shoe were on the other foot and this were a Vogue magazine cover, showing off the chiseled body of Robin Thicke (if there is such a thing) and a swarm of white women openly criticized the magazine for choosing a man who’s in a relationship with Paula Patton, an African American woman? Suddenly, a sea of Black Panthers would unite and we’d have Al Sharpton calling a press conference in the front of Conde Nast publications! We would be outright offended and appalled of a white person’s resistance to change and progression. We would call them racist and literally bring Dr. King back to life as we replayed the “I Have a Dream” speech!!
Which leads me to pull the rug from underneath so many black women who are seemingly bothered by who famous, black, men choose to date. Let’s pull the facts out…Reggie Bush is damn sure fine, but he’s young. He’s 25 years old. I mean I don’t feel like I’d be rocking a Cougar-badge if I were to date him, but if the men I date are my age and they even have maturity issues, why would I desire a man that’s younger? Been there, done that, could write a book about it! He’s also a celebrity…not saying that I’m unimportant and that he’s better than me…but we’re not in the same circle. We’re not in the same brackets, not in the same league, don’t shoot at the same baskets…I wouldn’t run into him on my occasional outings and he’s not my FB friend, either. He’s also a star-athlete, which makes him even higher up in the untouchable status. Beyond the facts, I don’t know too much else about him. The attributes that would normally make a person more inviting, attractive, and desired beyond superficial qualities, in his case are based on speculations. So…why would it be offensive to me if he chooses to be in a relationship with Kim Kardashian or any other non-black woman for that matter? And how 2-faced is it for me to justify the criticism of his presence on a magazine cover because he has decided to engage in a relationship with a non-black woman. I guess we still wrestle with Dr. King’s call to integrate totally, even African
Don't they look like a Match.com couple? Whatever!
Americans want to play black supremacist from time to time. Exercising the same discriminatory practices that our ancestors have fought against, boycotted against, and died for. We want to keep black, black. But encourage others to understand and embrace our struggle when convenient.
Does it bother you that Reggie Bush is on the cover of Essence, a black woman’s magazine? Or, is it the fact that he chose a woman who’s curves are a little more shapely than the traditional black woman? Does her curvaceous body make you shiver in disbelief and insecurity? Maybe even question your African bum-bata having the power to have the brothers take a second look, standing next to her body of comic-book proportions? Honestly, based on what I’ve witnessed on Keeping Up With the Kardashians, Kim’s not a real knock out. Thank God for makeup and plastic surgery, because without it, she’s just a normal girl…her Armenian roots are not even that prevalent to me, except in her Oriental Black powdered permanent dyed hair. She’s not a walking book of knowledge, and their relationship seems to be a match made in heaven when witnessing their dialogue on the episode she ditches her family while at a winter ski resort. He seemed to be unmoved, uncaring, and even bothered by her pouting episode. He even encouraged her to leave her family during a snowstorm, or maybe indirectly he was saying I don’t care what you do, because I’m tired. In a nutshell, they are just great PR for one another, moreso for her. Other than their relationship, booty measurements, and drama-filled family show, she has nothing else to supply her five-star taste. Their relationship is anything but, a Valentine’s Day Hallmark card. Seeing them together, does not make me feel anymore lonely or desiring a relationship of their proportions. And honestly, if there is truth behind a successful black man searching for a white woman to marry in order to feel accomplished, why the hell would I want a man that thinks like that?!
So, what do you think? Do Essence readers have a point?
