My Photo

Search and ye shall find

  • Google

TypePad Profile

Get updates on my activity. Follow me on my Profile.
Blog Widget by LinkWithin

Social Networks


  • Via BuzzFeed
  • Clicky Web Analytics

Disclaimer

  • This is my personal blog. Any opinions shared do not necessarily reflect the opinions of my employer. Logo image: Ernest von Rosen, www.amgmedia.com

« New racist anti-Obama e-mail (hopefully not) coming to an inbox near you! | Main | Obama's VP text/e-mail announcement and faith in the next generation »

August 08, 2008

Comments

The Black Snob

Man. You gave me a flashback to me and John Frieda products which promised to take the frizz out of my hair and make mine flow, bouncy and curly together. I bought tons of that crap, but it was too weak and too thin to work.

Despite a slightly more diverse representation in the press, Westernized beauty is still idolized in our country and it seems a little silly to pretend like black girls and boys aren't bombarded with images of women, white and black, with long flowing hair (fake and real), all tan, light or white, but no one dark brown. And if their hair is curly, it's only of a particular grade.

And I don't think any celebrity is an ideal "role model" unless your kid wants to go into showbiz. Then maybe. Other than that your role models should always be someone close to you -- a parent, a sibling, a teacher, a mentor. Not someone in a lace front wig, singing into a mike, dancing on a stage far, far away from reality.

Katie

I agree that that photo is very strange. Everyone knows that Beyonce is black, so why are they whitewashing her? That in itself would be enough for me to disbelieve their marketing claims.

And I agree with you that it's ridiculous that so many beautiful, highly-visible black women disguise their hair and give unrealistic expectations to young girls.

The beauty world has a lot of strange expectations that cause a lot of grief for young girls of every color. It's really tragic.

RyanB

@the black snob -
John Frieda! Ugh, Frizz Ease was the bane of my teenage existence. I swear that stuff made my hair even frizzier than it already was.

@Katie -
L'Oreal claims that they didn't whitewash the photo. Either they're lying, or Beyonce is using some kind of lightening product. Both scenarios are equally sad.

Elita

Sorry, I don't think anything sinister is going on here. I don't think L'Oreal lightened Beyonce's skin for the ad. Beyonce is very light-skinned in real life, her eyes are very light brown, her mother is extremely light and has green eyes. Her mom is from Louisiana and refers to herself as "creole." There is a lot of white blood in her ancestry. Did ya'll see Dreamgirls? She looked extremely light in that movie, and that was her on film, no Photoshop. I mean, does she really look any darker in this photo (a still from the movie)?
http://bp1.blogger.com/_YPLSyaja5vU/R5VFaSjJPeI/AAAAAAAAAaA/9qZLhyTLo4g/s1600-h/beyonce+scarf.png

I do agree with the other sentiments, though, about how it's wrong for women of color to promote false advertising. That is definitely not the texture of Beyonce's natural hair and I surely wouldn't recommend any black folks use Feria to dye their hair (not that it would even take anyway). I think we should at least be glad there is some progress. Several black women have become the standard of beauty and are featured in ads for make-up that really are aimed at white women. That has to count for something.

D

thank God i am an African...i beleive most ( but not all) african Americans and even Caribbeans have such a high level of inferiority complex...i mean it is clear her skin is digitaly altered and yet some would sit down and claim how her mum is creole, french etc...why always give credit to the white man for a black persons looks even when that look is madeup? there are black people who have such paler skin but B is def not one of them and that is not to say her honey skin is not beautiful...we must celebrate the shades we come in...being a model myself i dnt see nothing wrong with photoshooping as the entertainment industry want to sell an unrealistic fantasy...however when that fantacy is so narrowed to a particular way of looking, it become problematic.i mean in African u ve the ethopians, somalians, the fulani(my people) and the huasa who often have paler skin, sriaghter features and striaghter hair but u also have their equaly beautiful dark skin sister especial the west Africa (Ghanaians and Nigerians) who are undeniably so beauty it can take ur breath away...i mean if they want a paler black model then use a paler black person but dnt use a tanner person and then alter their skin...but on the other hand this is happening in America(not soo surprice)...u no what they say back home 'one is not enslave when shackles are put on their feet...but when one is made to perceive themselve as inferior' hence the more i look a certain way, the more i am accepted and thus better.oh MOther Africa Free ur Children from slavery, slavery of the mind.

Diane

She looked darker here, that's for sure: http://mrsgrapevine.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/beyonce_jay_soho2.png

Whites getting tans and blacks lightening their skin..it's like they're subconsciously trying to meet in the middle somewhere.

whiteningcity

Looking for Skin Whitening Cream? Excellent Cosmetic Effects here! Results in 2 weeks.100% Natural Ingrediants, 100% guaranteed or Money Back Guranteed. Have you ever wondered how comes so many Black, Asian and Indian celebrities are all very light skinned? Have you wondered why early childhood photos of many top celebs show a much darker skin colour than they have now?Do you still confused!!!!!!!!!!! Read testimonials from our clients and FAQ section for more details about our product,
Visit www.whiteningcity.com or Mail back to us for a discount coupen at [email protected]

anita

why is it every time someone brings up beyonce's ever lightening complexion, her eye color, her "blonde" hair, and/or its straightness does someone always have to bring up her creole ancestry and the white blood in the family? beyonce is black-- period. maybe people don't remember beyonce when she first came out with destiny's child before they blew up-- she was not as light as she is in many of her current ads,etc. furthermore, many blacks who are darker than beyonce have white ancestry, yet no one ever brings that up as if it only exists for someone who has a light complexion and is famous. (beyonce has to look white friendly for big bucks to be made. even when she did a make-up loreal ad, they had her kiss a white guy on the cheek. helloooo!) it's as if because b. doesn't have the black parent-white parent thing going, people are like "darn, we can't lose that one. she must have white in her. we gotta get that out there...somehow" many blacks period have white, indigeneous, east indian or other in their gene pool and just looking at someone can't always tell you that. so please stop with the beyonce white ancestry stuff. stope trying to make her something that she is not. please stop the madness! Please. she is black and so is her mother.

Anna

Her skin has obviously been lightened by a whole lot. Yes I get how she's creole and has mixed blood, but that doesn't mean her skin was ever that light. Take a look at some of these pics.http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.celebrity-hairstyles.org/beyonce/images/beyonce7.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.celebrity-hairstyles.org/beyonce/beyoncehairstyle6.shtml&usg=__VUhlhLkF72jgxXmMGwfBZveXlqM=&h=457&w=350&sz=46&hl=en&start=37&sig2=PMM5Tft0KCengiSaBcAUlw&zoom=1&tbnid=CDa_fH2_h5lMbM:&tbnh=125&tbnw=96&ei=mVQdTfOKL8OBlAfdx5SxDA&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbeyonce%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26biw%3D1280%26bih%3D589%26tbs%3Disch:10%2C818&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=658&vpy=222&dur=636&hovh=257&hovw=196&tx=89&ty=166&oei=f1QdTZeXB4iq8Aaqs4HdDQ&esq=3&page=3&ndsp=30&ved=1t:429,r:5,s:37&biw=1280&bih=589

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://images.fanpop.com/images/image_uploads/Beyonce-paparazzi-beyonce-128584_1000_1272.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.fanpop.com/spots/beyonce/images/128584&usg=__cMo9PrX-KtKY_XrYTtourPkfo9Y=&h=1272&w=1000&sz=83&hl=en&start=136&sig2=35HNvpvlIETQkVS0Z-Jhwg&zoom=1&tbnid=-ZCMTj_LW2cQcM:&tbnh=141&tbnw=111&ei=uVQdTf2fDsKblgfd0IG9DA&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbeyonce%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26biw%3D1280%26bih%3D589%26tbs%3Disch:10%2C2762&um=1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=493&oei=f1QdTZeXB4iq8Aaqs4HdDQ&esq=6&page=7&ndsp=25&ved=1t:429,r:8,s:136&tx=81&ty=77&biw=1280&bih=589

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://img2.timeinc.net/people/i/2007/gallery/beyonce_si/beyonce_knowles1_400.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.people.com/people/gallery/0,,20011789_20011975,00.html&usg=__X6QUZeSDEouuzre8oL_9Cwe_K1Y=&h=400&w=400&sz=51&hl=en&start=67&sig2=Qi6cJ9DsvAK5_9i5Lnxq4A&zoom=1&tbnid=rpEVFaa7UF9MYM:&tbnh=130&tbnw=130&ei=51QdTfL5DoWClAeBgM3QDA&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbeyonce%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26biw%3D1280%26bih%3D589%26tbs%3Disch:10%2C1390&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=589&vpy=139&dur=573&hovh=225&hovw=225&tx=154&ty=149&oei=f1QdTZeXB4iq8Aaqs4HdDQ&esq=4&page=4&ndsp=23&ved=1t:429,r:3,s:67&biw=1280&bih=589

L'oreal is going too far with their photoshopping not just with Beyonce, but with everyone. They reshape the nose,lips,everything and the image becomes very fake and ugly. The thing that I'm wondering is why would Beyonce let them change her skin color like that?
Maybe the same reason why she wears weaves and is ashamed to show her REAL hair.

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://coolcruelworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/beyonce-hairline.jpg&imgrefurl=http://coolcruelworld.com/2010/12/03/hair-debate-doctors-warn-dangers-of-lace-fronts-weaves/&usg=__RLGGKIQBFhl_T66IE-wg8dKgonI=&h=310&w=477&sz=168&hl=en&start=0&sig2=2FonAIXuQo8YPuS2R_MPSg&zoom=1&tbnid=LUbTTZQNKDhDPM:&tbnh=107&tbnw=143&ei=BVYdTdbUNoGClAeHoKTXDA&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbeyonce%2Bhair%2Bweaves%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1280%26bih%3D589%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=577&vpy=189&dur=233&hovh=181&hovw=279&tx=174&ty=105&oei=vVUdTZ7LLoP_8AaP3O3TDQ&esq=12&page=1&ndsp=29&ved=1t:429,r:4,s:0

The comments to this entry are closed.

AddThis Social Bookmark Button
AddThis Feed Button

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Blog powered by Typepad
Member since 03/2007