Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I grew up with A LOT of Black Creoles here in Los Angeles (whose roots were in Louisiana) so I have a different perspective. You can have generation upon generation of lighter skin Black Creoles intermarrying with each other so that although a person can have two "Black" (Creole) parents the children are light complexioned because both parents and both sets of grandparents are ALL light skinned. These are obviously people of both African and European ancestry but their complexion is not attributed to having one White and one Black parent. An example would be the DeBarge family.
Yes, I know plenty of Creoles as well. They are somewhat of an exception.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colddiamond102
To me, they are. Too lumpy. I dont like all those muscles with veins showing. Ick. Not my type, black, white or polka-dotted. If they're built that way I dont want them. I like mine nerdy.
Then hell for me will be ice cold....I wouldnt look at them twice. Those are the kind of guys that when they approach me, I shoot down cold and pass along to a buddy. Not worth my time or effort.
Because they have muscles? That's pretty silly.
Quote:
Originally Posted by K.O.N.Y
Its not really my definition. The usage of the word black is largely an american construction. Used to define the descendants of slaves here in america. It is, for the most part, a word to describe americans. Thats why you have some caribbeans,hispanics etc that are as dark as night, claiming they are not "black"
I think the problem is we are confusing biracial with mixed
I haven't confused anything.
You are right in saying that in the US that "black" is more about identity and ethnicity, but worldwide, the word still refers to an entire race of people.
My point still stands. Lisa Raye is obviously not 100% African, but you also do not know that she or any of those other women are 100% "Black American". The original point being made, and what those posters were arguing earlier, is that these women have something other than black (and moreso than most blacks) in them somewhere down the line.
I already gave the example of most black sitcoms featuring females who are significantly paler than their male counterparts. This is a fantasy family; in the real world, if Bill Cosby had kids it's no more likely his son would be darker than his daughters, some of whom could almost pass as whites or at least Latino/Middle easterners in skin tone.
You're reading a bit too much into it. It's somewhat common knowledge that the 'The Cosby Show' was meant to reflect Mr. Cosby's actual family. His real wife Camille is very fair-skinned and his children also looked mixed.
And I have no idea where you're getting this "most black sitcoms" thing from, because off the top of my head, I can't think of any other shows where what you're saying is true. Even if there are several others, I guarantee you it isn't most.
Good Times - everyone on this show was brown skinned or darker Family Matters - show begins with a dark skinned wife; later replaced by a lighter, but still brown skinned actress Martin - light skinned girlfriend, but I wouldn't give her complexion too much consideration. Tisha Campbell was simply popular at the time, coming off of House Party Moesha - completely brown/dark skinned cast Fresh Prince - dark skinned wife replaced by light skinned actress (not because of her color); the oldest daughter was light skinned, so you might have a case for this show The Jamie Foxx Show - dark skinned husband and wife couple; the lightest woman was Garcelle Beauvais, who is brown skinned; most other guest appearing actresses were also brown The Parent 'Hood - completely brown and dark skinned cast Everybody Hates Chris - brown and dark skinned cast Girlfriends - complete mix of different skin tones My Wife & Kids - light skinned wife; dark skinned daughter replaced by light skinned actress The Bernie Mac Show - brown and dark skinned cast
These are most of the more popular black family sitcoms over the past few decades, and it's clear that the overwhelming majority of these featured darker skinned actors. So again, I'm not sure where Trimac is getting this "most black sitcoms" thing from.
She ain't 100% black by a long shot. If you plopped her in the middle of a Nigerian village and told everyone she's 100% black they would laugh at you.
Why would they laugh? People in Nigeria are aware of the slave trade and of the fact that there are African populations in the western world with mixed blood lines. There are African-Americans living in Africa who, whether genetically true or not, are considered "100% black" and are treated as such. They would be considered no different in Africa than the women of your race who try augment their appearances to look more western would be in Asia...
She ain't 100% black by a long shot. If you plopped her in the middle of a Nigerian village and told everyone she's 100% black they would laugh at you.
Can you remind me why this matters again? Is it that any claim to beauty must be tied to whiteness? Are you people really that flipping stupid and petty?
I have to disagree on a couple of points here. First, I think being "black" is a "racial" designation based on aesthetic/genetic inheritence. Anyone from almost anywhere can be "black." What I think you're referring to is African-American culture. I think someone such as Lisa Raye is African American but not necessarily "black." I personally don't believe that they are mutually inclusive.
Also although most African Americans are mixed to some extent--we are all mixed in different percentages. I'd hardly draw the parallels between someone who is 99% white and 1% black with someone who is 99% black and 1% white. On a racial genetic level, it's hardly the same.
I dont believe in the term "African-American" Im not AA im Black. And black ranges in color from extra light to wesley snipes..and everything in between. Im pretty sure lisa raye looks at herself as being a black woman, along with the rest of america. I have cousins lighter than her and they're still considered black
The percentage of how black americans are mixed are neither here nor there to me. Its most likely all around the same. A brother and sister can have the same mother/father. One can come out dark the other can out light skin(more mixed looking)
Quote:
Originally Posted by calipoppy
For the sake of clarity....
100% Black (in the minds of most) translates into having 2 parents who think of themselves (and who culturally identify) as Black regardless of how dark they happen to be or the percentage of non-African ancestry they have in their lineage. Vanessa Williams and Colin Powell fit into this category.
100% Black does not mean 100% African in America.
ETA: The issue of mixed race heritage can be a "tricky" issue to comprehend for those who are outside of the African American community. The reason is because many Black Americans are light skin because of their female ancestors being raped by slave masters during slavery (and even by White men after slavery was abolished). It wasn't as if these women had a choice in many cases. This is one of the reasons that many Blacks, especially from the older generations, refuse to acknowledge their obvious non-African ancestry. It can be a very painful topic. My great-grands on my father's side could "pass" for White (two of them actually crossed over and lived as "White") but this was not a result of a consensual relationship so they refused to discuss their lighter coloring.
Lisa raye has both black parents making her 100% black american.
The other women i posted described themselves as being black/african american. But your right there is no way to really know. They dont look mixed or out of the odinary to me for a black woman. So i dont know why its being questioned in the first place
But it was so thats why i posted two women(lisa raye-keri hilson) who we know have black parents and who look more "european" than the girls posted
That didnt seem to resonate so i used my cousins as an example. Two of my cousins are extremely light skinned. One of them can past for bi racial. They have a sister who is gabrielle union's complexion. All with the same black parents
K.O.N.YI dont believe in the term "African-American" Im not AA im Black. And black ranges in color from extra light to wesley snipes..and everything in between. Im pretty sure lisa raye looks at herself as being a black woman, along with the rest of america. I have cousins lighter than her and they're still considered black
I think "African American" is just a way to dinstinguish between black American cultures from other black cultures (e.g Jamiacan, Hatian, Nigerian etc). In regards to Lisa Raye, I think what people identify as and what they actually are can be two different things. If racial identity were completely left to observation and anything less concrete, then arguably Lisa Raye could wake up tomorrow and call herself "white" if that is in fact what she saw in the mirror. It sounds more like a choice, as opposed to something that is evidently beyond ones control. All in all, the lighter skinned "blacks" who identify as "black" are technically "mixed" with a large percentage of non-black blood. Not ALL African Americans have the same admixture from other races as some are attempting to claim here.
Quote:
The percentage of how black americans are mixed are neither here nor there to me.
I think that you're glossing over it because there really isn't a plausible way to legitimately explain how someone can be 99% white and 1% black and still be as black as someone who is 99% black and 1% white. It definately is not the same in genetic/aesthetic sense. The similarities between the two do not extend beyond culture.
Quote:
Lisa raye has both black parents making her 100% black american.
She's African American culturally, but I'd hesitate to call her "black." See above
Quote:
The other women i posted described themselves as being black/african american. But your right there is no way to really know. They dont look mixed or out of the odinary to me for a black woman. So i dont know why its being questioned in the first place
Personally, I think she is clearly of African and mixed heritage.
Quote:
But it was so thats why i posted two women(lisa raye-keri hilson) who we know have black parents and who look more "european" than the girls posted
That didnt seem to resonate so i used my cousins as an example. Two of my cousins are extremely light skinned. One of them can past for bi racial. They have a sister who is gabrielle union's complexion. All with the same black parents
I don't understand the point. Sometimes children inherit certain charcteristics that the other sibling doesn't. THat doesn't mean that they're genetic make up is 100% the same.
Quote:
And the word black is an extremely american term
I think that we're just using the term "black" because most of us know what it refers to.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Not worth my time or effort.
" than the girls posted
