SKINNY Jeans: The Emasculation Proclamation

The VMA's (Video Music Awards) on MTV/VH1 have come to represent a mish mosh of quasi-talented, self promoting "artists" who have been pre-selected to act surprised when they receive an award.  Their performance, presence, nomination and selection is all part of a well orchestrated advertising media fest designed to sell albums, create web traffic and generate viewers for corporations with an agenda. (I'll get to who they are and what that agenda is later.)  

This year, besides Beyonce announcing she was pregnant with Satan's Jay'Z's seed, one of the most discussed topics online was the wardrobe of rapper, Lil Wayne.  If you didn't see the debauchery, check it out:

(Sigh) Now.. I'm all for self expression. And I definitely believe that artists tend to be creative people that 'think outside of the box' when it comes to fashion. However, the man depicted here can't possibly be the Blood repping, Crip killing, gangsta rappin', skateboarding, syrup sippin', eyebrow piercing, leggin' wearing leave-em-dead-in-the-living-room G he says he is? Leopard print doe? What in the  MK Ultra sex-kitten monarch-programming Hell is this.

Did we forget this is a grown man with at least 4 children wearing LEOPARD SKIN LEGGINGS pulled just beneath his ass for optimal butt cleave exposure?!?! Is it me, or is something REALLY wrong here. Is this 'gangsta' trying to tell me that if he sees the wrong person wearing BLUE in his neighborhood (an affluent suburb) he's going to murder them, but if they have on leopard print skinny jeans they can rep his hood? This man is a walking contradiction! A puzzle, wrapped in an enigma.

Maybe he's having an identity crisis because he calls his 'daddy' Baby and himself Lil'. Perhaps his affinity for small things has trained him to fear growth.

Lil Wayne appears to be assimilating to fit in with his new crowd and keep pieces of his old self. It's starting to seem like many of the young men that delve into the 'Hollywood' lifestyle end up in similar outfits. Let's take a look, shall we?

Miguel, a new R&B artist with tracks like 'Sure Thing' and 'I Don't Wanna be Loved" was photo'd out rocking a mesh tank and some skinny jeans or jeggings (a mix between jeans and leggings). Although he vehemently professes his love for women, Miguel is constantly questioned about his style selections and his sexuality. What's most baffling about his style choice is that he sings to women and professes to LOVE women, and then wears an outfit that most women would consider neither attractive nor masculine. Somehow, his eyeliner, hairdo and outfit don't reek of manly protection and procreation. Are these the traits that attract women? Or men? #justsaying

And WHO exactly is styling these men? I would say that these artists just happen to have similar taste in clothes but when I saw this, I thought.. maybe not.

The blurring of gender lines and roles is occurring in fashion as much as it is in music and lifestyle. Although our birthday suits were designed by a The Originator to attract the opposite sex via hormones and structure, it seems like men of today are doing everything to work in opposition of that natural design. They are softening the strength of the male shoulder, slimming the width of the inverted triangle that defines their upper body and accenting the cleave of a man's ass instead of the prowess of his back and the strength of his legs. Even men's cologne smells like flowers, fruit and sunshine.

Gone are the days of roughly worked, powerful hands. They have been replaced by Drake's limp wrist and Miguel's twirl. Deep voices and full mustaches died with Barry White. It's a wrap. Stylists have officially murdered the physical presence of men in the eyes of heterosexual women. It is a term that will be viewed in historical references as 'The Great Emasculation'.. and Lil Wayne is the spokesman.

The Anti-Black Champagne Campaign

Are advertisers on their 'The Anti-Black Champagne Campaign?' Major corporations are attempting to shape public perception of black people while simultaneously wooing them into becoming participants in their own cultural demise.

On Aug 29, 2011 Mediatakeout.com published an interesting blog post about some controversial photos posted by members of the Australian airline Quantas sporting BLACKFACE.



On one hand, this could be viewed as a couple of white patrons, representing their company and paying homage to their favorite Aussie rugby player, Radike Samo. Perhaps they are unaware of the racial sensitivity associated with their 'gesture.' Perhaps...

Or on the other hand, these could be two grown men representing their company and its views. Maybe they are all well aware of race relations in both our country and abroad and thought it would be funny and demeaning to snap a pic mocking the appearance of an obliviously narcissistic Aussie rugby player.

Either way, the thing that was even more interesting than the photo itself, was the 'observation' Mediatakeout made about this Twitter faux pas.

MTO Wrote: "In recent weeks it seems that there has been an ALL OUT ASSAULT on Black folks by major corporations. First the company NIVEA put up an OFFENSIVE ad . . . saying that Black people need to be RE-CIVILIZED. Then last week VOGUE magazine called all African inspired earrings, "SLAVE" earrings. Now the Australian airline QUANTAS tweeted a photo of two White guys - in BLACKFACE . . . they thought it was funny. We're not sure what is making these companies so BOLD with their RACISM."


Here are the "ads" they are referencing:



Vogue's ad for 'Slave' earrings. What's so fashionable about slavery? Ahh yes, Whips and Chains..



And finally... This lovely depiction of a "well-dressed" (depending on who's standards you are using to define well-dressed) black man, tossing away his nappy headed angry-faced head is Nivea's way of telling Blacks to assimilate and join the land of the living. I guess that would make Black men the living dead.

When did an Afro and goatee become synonymous with a lack of civility. This would be a poignant question to ask the representatives at Nivea. If only we had a place to make them answer it: A press conference perhaps?

As a matter of fact, where are the press conferences threatening advertisers with our intent to boycott their products? These days, it's so easy to communicate, we can fight the power from the comfort of our living rooms. A statement on Twitter, re-tweeted a million times should be enough to evoke a mass boycott worthy of a public apology broadcast on the nightly news. (UPDATE: Blogs suggest that they have issued an apology, but it was a real quiet one. )

Where are the spokespeople for African Americans? Shouldn't the spokeswomen for the Zetas, Deltas and AKA's be standing in defense of THEIR legacy as educated black fashionistas who have evolved thru and beyond slavery? Shouldn't the NAACP, the 100 Black Men of Atlanta or the leaders at Omega Psi Phi be rushing to the defense of Black people, if not Black men in particular? At a minimum, shouldn't Cornell West be mad he didn't get paid for his likeness being used in the ad?

But seriously: Who will echo the collective sentiment of the black community writ large? These groups could easily release a statement admonishing Vogue for their insensitivity to the plight of slaves. I mean, Slave earrings? What's next? Holocaust wrist cuffs adorned in yellow stars? Really though.

These advertisers have lost their damn mind and we are guilty of driving them crazy and letting them go mad. Our 'spokespeople' are too busy finger-pointing, taking bathroom Facebook pics or are simply overwhelmed by the responsibility of having to exemplify that which they are tasked with defending.

If a washed out, poorly edited, loosely true, gossip rag like Mediatakeout can notice a trend in the disrespect we are receiving at the hands of the corporations we support then it MUST be painfully obvious. In addition to their campaign to sell sh*t, advertisers have embarked on a blatant 'champagne campaign' to disregard African American worth historically and create disdain for an African American life presently. (I also realize the role MTO plays in helping them with this endeavor. I'll get to that later)

If continued unchecked, insensitive advertisers will reinforce dangerous stereotypes, demonize the African American race and the rest of the population will rejoice when society's PROBLEM is economically displaced, disproportionately jailed, sent off to internment camps or exterminated.

Maybe that last part is a little much, but then again maybe not. What do you suggest society do with 'BLACK FACED,' SLAVES, who are UN-CIVILIZED?

Think about it.... I'll wait.

Source