My eyes can't stay open today because I was up til crazy hours last night reading this new blog I found (blackgirlsareeasy.com). The name is a bit misleading, because it's not as bad as it sounds! Rather, the author points out the difference between 'women' and 'girls' (interesting study posted the other day, comparing statements from rapists and those found in ladmags, showed that when the men were talking in a derogatory and sexist manner about females, eg. the way they had sex, and looked, and didn't deserve any respect, they used the word 'girls' and when they were complaining about how hard done by they were by females who were too independent and confident, they used the word 'women') and posts super long essays about how men and women should strive to have self respect and be more adult, if you will, in their relationships.
He also writes a helluva lot better than me, so you won't find such crazy running sentences in his work.
The main themes he writes about are women (of course), self respect, commitment and drive. But in such terms! I can't believe that I've been living a sheltered life, but some of the stories he tells, and the comments that people leave, are shocking. Do some people out there really believe that men are incapable of monogamy? That women need to investigate everything about a man before she can trust him? That men take pride in emotionally abusing women, and that women take pride in their vagina's ability to keep a man? It would seem so, unless the people leaving the comments are hiding behind their screens and putting forth this ghetto persona. Which is a shame, because it goes against what the author is saying.
As indicated by the title, the blog is written by and read mostly by black people, and so black stereotypes are discussed - that women are catty and spoiling for fights, poor and socially disadvantaged, and that men are gangster balling players (I'm not sure I used those words right...). I think it's great that these stereotypes are talked about and argued so eloquently. The writer's style is very bold and confrontational, and I think that works brilliantly with the messages that he puts across. I think everyone can get something from reading his blog - for me, his 'don't hate' messages are presented in such a fresh manner that it really makes an impact. It's not a vague 'be happy with what you have' open letter to the world, but a passionate and fierce missive that has so much force and conviction that I can't help but believe in it. There is a lot I don't agree with (such as the interchangeable usage of the words 'woman' and 'bitch', and being so blase about using multiple women and objectifying them) but still, it is good to try to understand different viewpoints and accept them - or at least, accept the fact that they exist.
All in all, a riveting read.
