Randomness

CL - Mental Breakdown Eng cover… ——-

Okay, so I know this has nothing to do with K-Pop (although it did make me think of that bit of controversy in Rain’s recent music video) but since this blog is dedicated to black K-pop fans and since I’m pretty sure a large portion of us are female, I think it’s still relevant… .and it’s Black History Month so I figure, ‘Why the hell not?’

I feel like we black women are always dealing with a situation that’s a “double-edged sword”; on one hand, we want to be proud of our bodies (as we should be) and should be free to show off our figures (or cover them up) as we please.

But at the same time, I truly feel like women particularly of African descent have had our bodies exploited for a ridiculously long amount of time that clearly precedes the 20th century; and I’m referring to those of us who haven’t gone under the knife. Sometimes I feel like our pride comes at a price, especially when I see female celebrities like Beyoncé, Nicki Minaj and Venus and Serena Williams.

And it’s true that black women aren’t the only women in the world who have full figures. And of course not all black women have ample figures in the first place (we aren’t required to) but it can’t be denied that ample bottoms and big bosoms are more often than not associated with women of the African diaspora and as we’ve pointed out many times on this blog, this stereotype is has gotten so widespread that it’s reached the countries of Far East Asia. I’m sure we’ve all figured out by now that there’s a difference between admiration and exploitation.

I learned about Sara Baartman for the first time in my World History class about 2 years ago and while I was disgusted with how she was treated during her short life (and how her remains were so blatantly disrespected and dismembered after her death) at the same time, her story didn’t really surprise me at all. It explained a lot actually. It kind of pinpointed for me why even in the summertime I’m still hesitant about wearing clothing that draws too much attention to certain body parts.

While I’m not ashamed at all of my figure, I’ve realized that that won’t stop certain people, particularly of the opposite sex, from staring at me, speaking to me in a disrespectful manner, or even trying to put their hands on me like I’m a sideshow at a carnival (the way Sara Baartman was). And truth be told, the Black women who appear as extras in rap videos aren’t really helping the issue either. I know we can’t stop women from putting their bodies on display if that is their choice, but when I see so many cases of my fellow sisters being put on display pretty much like pieces of meat, I can’t help but wonder if we’re unintentionally adding the fuel to the flame.

I know this is random but I just wanted to put it out there and get some thoughts/comments from our followers. And FYI, if you haven’t read about Sara Baartman yet and you take it upon yourself to look up her story, I should give you fair warning, it WILL PISS YOU OFF!