the coil review dot com

thecoilreview.com

really, psychology today?

An article entitled "Why Are Black Women Less Physically Attractive Than Other Women?" by evolutionary psychologist Satoshi Kanazawa was recently published on Psychology Today's website.  Chock full of pure garbage and utter nonsense, the article stayed on the website just long enough to garner the fiery backlash it was asking for.  Though it has been taken down, its contents are still available on other sites.  Kanazawa uses unsound logic and a poor excuse for a study to explain his findings that Black women are objectively less attractive than women of other races.  Over at the grio, Lori Adelman reacts, writing:

"The resulting piece of journalism -- and I use that word very loosely in this case -- is just as offensive as one might suspect. And the author's arguments turn out to have quite a few holes, not the least of which is that his "scientific analysis" of black women's inferior beauty is based on the opinions of unidentified "interviewers" and their entirely subjective standards of beauty." (the grio)

Now, is there anyone out there who truly believes we live in a post-racial world?  Really?
Personally, I couldn't care less what Kanazawa has to say about Black beauty, but for those who can't easily brush off the foolishness, don't forget that this is nothing new:  For centuries, so-called scientists have been trying to undermine Black identity in America using so-called scientific reasoning.  And our beauties are just part and parcel of our identities.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

is "nappy" an offensive word?

In the wake of Rihanna's recent twitter smack down of a fan who critiqued her hair for looking "so nappy", Jessica C. Andrews, in an article over at Clutch, asks if "nappy" is a word we can reclaim.  She likens the process of redefining hate-marred words that have been used to demean Blacks to walking on a tight rope, where at any given antagonizing moment, pain from years of degradation can be brought to the surface.  Andrews writes:

"It’s clear that in society’s imagination to be nappy is to be unattractive, undesirable and unkempt. It’s a look that is oft rejected by corporate and even popular culture. Rock it and prepare to defend yourself—or be ready to correct it with a flat iron or a relaxer. Yet again, we find our hair tangled in the web of institutionalized racism and sexism in America ...We are one of the few groups of people forced to defend the texture that grows out of our scalps." (Clutch)

I'm a bit torn on this:  See, like Andrews, I love my naturally kinky hair.  I don't feel at all insulted when I hear the term 'nappy hair'.  The word 'nappy' means 'kinky', nothing more.  So, in answer to Andrews' questions about reclaiming 'nappy', I'd say that the only thing that needs reclaiming is perspective and truth:  Beautiful nappy hair exists just like beautiful silky hair does.  I said this out loud in conversation with friends recently and inadvertently sparked a bit of a debate:  One person, citing the Don Imus "nappy headed hoes" fiasco, said that the term 'nappy', when used by a White person to describe a Black person's hair, is akin to the n-word.

I think I understand a little:  It's not like most of the White people in my life have a tendency to have deep hair conversations with me.  The topic tends to stay at bay most of the time, so yes, it might feel a little awkward if a White friend (who doesn't usually) suddenly started touching my hair, and using the word 'nappy' to describe it.  It might feel a bit experimental, a bit naive on their part, because clearly, 'nappy' is a word that has been historically loaded and meant to be derogatory towards Black hair for a long time.  But I don't think it would feel the same as being called a n---*r, at all.  And it would certainly be an easier segway than the n-word into possibly having an educational conversation about Black hair.
What do you think?  Does the term 'nappy' make you twitch?  Give you pause?  Make you want to cuss somebody out?  Do you use it?

imani uzuri- "the gypsy diaries"

From the first note I heard this lady utter, I became a fan. If you like what you hear (and I bet you will) you can be part of bringing her beautiful new album, "The Gypsy Diaries" to fruition. Check her out on Kickstarter:

"mother" defends decision to give 8-year-old daughter botox!

I'm still struggling for words to describe the kind of knot that formed in my stomach when I came across this story: Kerry, a mother from San Francisco, injects her 8-year-old daughter Britney with Botox, she says, to keep up with the kiddie pageant world in which she is involved. In an interview with Lara Spencer on Good Morning America this morning, Kerry and Britney talk about the process candidly (showing photos of the child during the process all bruised up, with ice packs and everything), saying they are definitely not the only ones who do this.

The (so-called) mother talks about it as if it was a joint decision between two adults. But in a very telling moment, when Britney is asked why she gets Botox done, she answers "I don't know".  At this point you  see Kerry flinch at her daughter's answer, and throw her a look. And then you see the child look at her mother, receive the look, and snap back into her script, continuing "Oh yea, I see like, like wrinkles and, um, it just, like... I just like, don't think like, wrinkles are nice for a little girl."  I don't know if I would have believed it had I not seen the clip for myself:



The disturbing twist to this story is that the Botox almost completely eclipses the leg-waxing the child has also dabbled in, thanks to her (so called) mother.  Britney says in the end that she "looks way better, like beautiful, pretty, like all those kinds of nice words."  The little girl smiles throughout the interview, and the knot in my belly tightens with her every word.

the shoes: south of africa

 

South of Africa

from the mouths of beauties: staceyann chin

"... i want to go down in history in a chapter marked "miscellaneous" because the writers could find no other way to categorize me  in this world where classification is key i want to erase the straight lines so i can be me!"

poet and spoken word artist extraordinaire, Staceyann Chin

reversible obis from folie a deux

folie a deux

folie a deux

Want more? Go here.

brow tutorial - how to get the perfect shape for YOUR face

My favorite facebook status update today reads: "Whenever I try to pluck my own eyebrows I end up looking mildly suspicious of everything for a while."  I feel you sis, having been there myself on several occasions.  It's easy to get a little carried away with tweezers (thank heaven for brow pencils).  So here is a video that should help us all make sense of brow madness:

Cheers!

nina simone-four women

no mirror? for a whole month?!

photo: getty images

Writer Autumn Whitefield-Madrano, who blogs at The Beheld, has decided to do away with the mirrors in her life for an entire month.  You heard/read me.  I ... She said one month with no mirrors.  I have to admit, an idea like that has never even whispered in my direction, so I was fascinated when I came across the story on Clutch recently. 

Whitefield-Madrano's inspiration came from the "uncomfortable recognition" she had while reading the following quote, from John Berger's Ways of Seeing:

 "A woman must continually watch herself. She is almost continually accompanied by her own image of herself. Whilst she is walking across a room or whilst she is weeping at the death of her father, she can scarcely avoid envisaging herself walking or weeping. … And so she comes to consider the surveyor and the surveyed within her as the two constituent yet always distinct elements of her identity as a woman. … Thus she turns herself into an object—and most particularly an object of vision: a sight."

In preparation for the experiment, which she started on the 1st of this month, Whitefield-Madrano has covered up her bathroom mirror; her windows will either be open or covered with closed blinds, and any accidental meeting with her reflection throughout her days (shop windows, other peoples' homes, etc...) will be met with a swift turn of her head in the other direction.  The only exception she'll make will be a small mirror she'll use to apply color (makeup) products. She wants her experiment to be about all the time she spends looking into mirrors for no practical reason (don't we all, especially without even realizing it?), and what happens with that time when the mirrors are taken away.  She writes:

"There’s nothing wrong with looking in the mirror. There’s nothing wrong with sometimes looking to your reflection—even when it is impossibly subjective, and backward at that—for a breath of fortitude, centeredness, and assurance. I just want to see what life is like when I’m not using that image as my anchor; I want to see how it affects the way I move through the world, the way I regard myself and others. I want to know what it’s like to sever a primary tie to one of my greatest personal flaws—extraordinary self-consciousness—and I want to discover what will fill the space that the mirror has occupied until now." (The Beheld)

I don't know if I've ever loved an idea so much, while at the same time feeling like I wouldn't even know how to begin to try it.  I mean, just thinking about the covered up bathroom mirror gave me a little anxiety, and I don't consider myself especially vain.  So while, I may not have Whitefield-Madrano's gumption, I am a huge fan of her May mirrorlessness (try saying that 5 times, fast).

What about you?  Could you live without looking into a mirror for a month? a couple of days? 

temporary lip tattoos

photo: violent lips

With Violent Lips Temporary Lip Tattoos, rainbows, cheetah print and polka dot lips are at your fingertips.  Just wet and apply the stick-ons and voila!  Over at stylelist, Lindsay Mannering writes that if she showed up to work with a polka dot mouth, her boss would probably laugh in her face and tell her to go home. Not that she sounds at all like she would be inclined to try the look, even if that weren't the case:  

"I'm not sold. I think the look is cool, but I only see Ke$ha really wearing this, and the "bad girls" who go to prom that pretend to not want to go to prom, but go anyway, and with lip tattoos. Am I right? They'll regret it though, if they want to have a make-out sesh .. " (stylelist)

 Um ... okay ... It's none of that for me.  I guess it's just the makeup artist in me thinking "Hey, these might be fun."  And at $15 per pack of three, makeup artist or not, I don't see a reason not to try some on.  What do you think?  Would you try Violent Lips Temporary Lip Tattoos?  Here's a tutorial to encourage those of you who are inclined to play:

michelle obama dancing to beyonce!

beauty beauty beauty beauty beauty everywhere! ... I ADORE our First Lady.  check it: