Passion

Rap and Rape Culture

Posted by on Apr 11, 2013 in Passion | 5 comments

Sooo, we all know the rapper Rick Ross.  About a 150 pounds overweight, perpetually high and has a penchant for performing with his shirt off (As if anyone wants to see that)

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Recently he has come under fire for a set of lyrics he penned on a song called “U.O.E.N.O”. The lyrics are as follows:

“Put molly all in her champagne, she ain’t even know it /

I took her home and I enjoyed that, she ain’t even know it,”

I for one think that these lyrics are disgusting not just because they speak of a very common situation but also because they make light of the fact that there really are guys who slip things in girls drinks just so they can have their way with her. Ross apologized for the lyrics and explained that he is in no way condoning rape. Then what exactly do these lyrics mean? They weren’t written for no reason and its a classic cop out to say that its all a misunderstanding.

Men like Ross need to be held accountable for their actions. Even joking about rape can be harmful and what is called a “trigger. Just imagine what it feels like for a woman who has been roofied to listen to lyrics like these. And this isn’t the first instance where a song makes light of a rape situation. Yesterday in the Hub I picked up an “”Only do it with consent” T-shirt and I answered questions concerning rape and rape culture.

This Rick Ross controversy in conjunction with Sexual Violence Awareness Week has made me think a lot about how our society treats rape and rape victims and how discouraging it is that lyrics or comment like Ross’s are seen as harmless or OK. Hopefully sometime in the near future our society can reach a consensus that any frivolous mention of rape is not a joke nor is it something to ever laugh at.

 

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The Evils of Celebrity

Posted by on Apr 4, 2013 in Passion | 0 comments

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Heidi Klum is probably better known for her stint as a gorgeous Victoria Secret supermodel. Earlier this week she earned her colors as a lifeguard. Kind of. While in vacation in Oahu, she single-handedly saved her son and two nannies who had been swept up in a strong current. The pictures taken from the accident show Heidi jumping in to save not only her son but two other grown women as well. The most surprising aspec tof this story isn’t the super human display of strength but how I even came to know about the story: photographers

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I understand that being a paparazzi is a job and people ultimately need to make money, but a line definitely needs to be drawn in an instance where someone’s life is in danger. I don’t understand how you can watch people fight for their lives and not even attempt to intervene. Because we are focusing on advocacy and taking a stance I would like to take a stance against paparazzi. Really they serve no purpose except to be glorified stalkers. There have been numerous instances where paparazzi have endangered the life of others such as with Princess Diana and even more recently when they almost caused an accident with Justin Bieber.

Even though I wish that we could live in a world without the paps I know that it is probably not a reality. We live in a visual-based world and paparazzi just help us live in that world. Just think, I wouldn’t be able to add pictures with my celeb stories if it weren’t for the paparazzi taking the pictures. What do you all think? Do paparazzi need to go or are they a necessary evil?

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Baby Kimyesus

Posted by on Mar 28, 2013 in Passion | 4 comments


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I want to kind of connect my passion post this week with what I’ve been focusing my Civic Issues blogs on: Issues of race and diversity.

As you all probably know, Baby Kimyesus is upon us. The baby that will try and probably fail to top adorable Blue Ivy. This child will probably be born with a leather diaper, 5 gold chains and stilettos no matter what the gender is. At least we still have a few months to prepare before the arrival of Kim Kardashian’s child (Am I the only one still amazed that she is actually having a child??). As we all know the father of Kim’s baby is none other than rap superstar Kanye West. Kim was asked during an interview if she would be prepared to raise a bi-racial baby seeing as she is Armenian and white and Kanye is Black.  Kim’s response was,  “the way I want to raise my children is to not see color”. 

I can see where Kim’s good intentions lie. It’s difficult to be bi-racial in this world, especially in a country where everyone obsesses over what race they are and how they’re 177th % this or that. It will be hard for Kim and Kanye to teach their child that discrimination exists for people of mixed races and that there will be inevitable struggles down the road for their child. However, the solution to these problems is not to just pretend that race or racism does not exist. For one it is impossible. If their child won’t learn it at home they will soon be made aware of their race by the outside world. Also the implications of teaching your child to ignore color can be detrimental.

For one, if Kim does not show her child what race is she will be denying the cultures that herself and Kanye both come from. Cultures that have gone through tremendous hardship but also are beautiful and rich in culture. Raising someone to be “color blind” makes them just that, blind to influence of race on a person. Your heritage, culture, and language  shapes their past, present, and future and this is a lesson that no one should be denied of.

I consider myself proud to know my heritage and how my race overcame and went through struggles and still is beautiful. Even though I did struggle with identity when it comes to my culture at times I can say that I’m glad that someone took the time to sit me down and tell me of where I came from and the experiences of others like me. I hope that Kim and Kanye come to the realization that denying race does no good, even with the best of intentions.

Comment below with your thoughts!

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Modeling with a side of Reality

Posted by on Mar 21, 2013 in Passion | 4 comments

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“The Face” is  a new modeling show on the Oxygen network that tries to find, well, the new face of modeling. I don’t pay much attention to the show but it comes on after Bad Girls Club (which I love!) and so I’ve seen snippets of it from time to time. What happened on this week’s episode has everyone up in arms. The girl pictured above is a model on the show named Devyn. During a deliberation with guest judge Wendy Williams, Devyn was asked if it is hard to be a black girl model and Devyn’s response shocked all of the judges.  Devyn responded that she does not see herself as a black girl model because she is fair skinned with an “international” look. World famous supermodel judge Naomi Campbell said in an outrage that Devyn is black and that it’s a disgrace for her to claim otherwise.

Devyn’s comment’s on the show bring up a lot of sentiments of women of color and the modeling world. Most modeling campaigns feature either fair skinned white women and if there are black models they are extremely light skinned. Go on to your favorite clothing website and look at the different models; How many are black? Hispanic? Asian? It is no secret that the fashion industry is incredibly and blatantly racist. Is it a surprise that Devyn chooses not to identify with a race that is continuously ignored? Even though Devyn does not identify herself as a black girl model, others will and that is a problem that she will undoubtedly face during her career. Perhaps Devyn should have a sit down with Naomi Campbell who made a living and a name as a dark skinned black model.

What do you all think? Is the problem with Devyn’s comments or the fashion industry that creates the racism? Comment below what you think!

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Twitter and Tirades

Posted by on Mar 14, 2013 in Passion | 0 comments

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So, we all remember M.I.A, right? She got really popular a few years back with her song “Paper Planes”, which I definitely listened to extensively the summer it came out. She’s always been known for being a little radical, like the time she performed on stage 9 months pregnant in a weird polka dot get-up. She’s been out of the spotlight for a while but now she’s being scrutinized for something other than her music: her custody troubles over four year old  Ikhyd Edgar Arular Bronfman

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Earlier today on Twitter, M.I.A accused the father of her child, Ben Bronfman, and his family of conspiring to have her child taken away from her. She launched into a fiery tirade on the social networking site which may not have been the best choice concerning such a sensitive subject.  There is another side to this story that makes things difficult. Ben Bronfman comes from an extremely wealthy, very well known family in Canada. This family founded Seagram (Think ginger ale), oil companies, and also founder of the Warner Music Group. So, if Bronfman wanted to take sole custody of his child on maybe not so justified grounds, he has the influence to do do.

This situation brings up many questions about custody battles. We usually tend to think that courts always side with the mother in cases like these but statistics say otherwise. In a study of US appellate cases (court of appeals), 51% of fathers who applied for custody won.

Obviously, all of the information on this case isn’t out in the open but hopefully all of the adults involved work out what’s in the best interest of the child. Comment below with what you think!

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Oscar Pistorious: Lover or Murderer?

Posted by on Feb 21, 2013 in Passion | 1 comment

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Oscar Pistorious. Handsome. Charming. World renowed track star. And possible murderer. The shocking celebrity news is that of the murder of Pistorious’ girlfriend Reeva Steedham. The Olympian claims that  he mistaked the 20 – year old TV personality for a burgurlar and did not realize until after he shot her that she was not an  intruder. Investigations and court hearings are already underway and the funeral for Reeva was also earlier this week. Surprisingly, or unsurprisingly depending on how you look at it, the media has been extremely lenient concerning this tragedy. Most seem to believe Pistorious’s account of events and paint him as the victim and not a possible assailant.

This news came as an extreme surprise to me. I mean, I cheered for this guy during the Olympics, he has no legs for god sakes and he still manages to win. Also, in case you haven’t noticed this man is extremely good looking. His accomplishments have made him a hero and success story for his country of South Africa. When I started to think about how these things may influence how people interpret the case I realized that Pistorious may just get off for this crime that he may have committed.

Perception plays a huge part in how a court case plays out. How a defendant looks or acts can have sway over the decisions of the media or even a jury. Earlier this week, Oscar Pistorious was seen crying uncontrollably during his court appearance. Real or not, it elicited a response from the judge who sympathized and let the man have a moment to collect himself. Pistorious’s general persona as a good looking yet humble start athlete has already influenced anyone who learns of his case. Even I had trouble believing that he actually shot his girlfriend dead. I still can’t fully wrap my head around it.

Hopefully can look past all the good this man has done and focus on the man who possibly committed pre-meditated murder against his innocent girlfriend. Afterall, Ted Bundy was the picture of attractiveness and he killed countless women.

What do you all think? Did he commit the crime or is that impossible? Is the media too weak with coverage of the story or just waiting for more concrete information?

 

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