FROM: Whataboutourdaughters.com, Our Black Bodies, Our Black Selves

"Racial and gender equality mean an equal opportunity to act a fool on the international stage. But that belies a larger question.. Do Black girls have the option of being “different.” Whimsical. Creative.  Are our bodies only allowed to be shoved into some sexual context anytime they are displayed? To some people what Venus Williams wore on the first day of the French Open was obscene. I was ready to hop on the bandwagon with you.  Until I actually looked at other pictures of the “outfit” and quite frankly its more odd than obscene in fact when viewed inlight of the apparel for both men and women across all sports, its rather boring. She needs to try harder to stretch the limits like playing tennis in dirty coveralls.

"Yes,  Venus Williams looks ri-dayum- diculous playing in the hot blazing sun in a Black lace corset, but when you actually look at the photos of her playing at different angles, it doesn’t look any different than figure skating when they wear body stockings. The shorts aren’t actually the same color as her skin.  And Venus actually has a history of wearing brown undergarments to give the illusion of skin. Much like women’s ( and men’s) figureskating. See, here she is rocking a “nude” undergarment at the Australian Open. Its brown that’s all."

Some comments in response to  the above post.

Why won't we let Venus be great?

Last night:

Had cocktails and pretzels at the Taschen bookstore over on Greene Street in SoHo. It was 90 degrees out and even tho the Cosmos were chilled, alcohol was not the smart way for me to cool down at this  Meet & Greet.  The good thing tho was that you got free pretzel and hot dog tickets from Taschen as soon as you checked in with the door-woman. That move was  to manage your drinking and  potential hangover; and to link two iconic New York City foods with  a new New York book published by Taschen  called  New York: Portrait of a City by Reuel Golden, pictured above. Met him on the way to the hot-dog stand after my second Cosmo. Nice guy, kinda shy.

More photos on p.2

Pages: 1 · 2

From Aint it Cool News

Always one for the spectacle of the occasion, Robert Rodriguez, with the help of Danny Trejo, released this special “illegal” Cinco de Mayo message/trailer for Arizona and its estimable legislature.

That's right. Machete is coming.

Original Video- More videos at TinyPic

Photographed by Ruven Afanador, styled by James Valeri

Ruven Afanador is a Colombian and is a well known and respected photographer. Is he also racist? His obsession appears to be contrasts as evidenced by his previous work which includes models painted darker than their normal appearance.  I am clueless about his ideas about black folk as I have not spoken to the man but if you are look at his work certain conclusions may be drawn. I think the pictures of Kobe are interesting because he's photographed in a way we are unaccustomed to seeing him. He's not gripping a basketball with a primal scream nor is he posed on a white background in a tailored suit. I think the photographer may have been referencing his own demons as they pertain to Spain's colonization of Colombia  and  Spain's uncomfortable realization that at point in its history, it was ruled by Moors.

The black blogosphere  is atwitter over Kobe Byrant's appearance in LA Times Magazine over the weekend.  Typical homophobic comments on blogs like Necolebitchie.com include:

W….T…HELL….ALL HE NEED NOW IS SOME LIPSTICK AND EARRINGS…..LMAO

These pics look fruitier than my childhood breakfast cereal….except for the one that looks like a runaway slave.
REFUND please! I know he did not approve these pics? I keep looking back at them waiting on him to do a ‘2 snaps and a twist’ motion! O em gee!