tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-788247236906826630.post3546678372773134869..comments2024-01-29T01:52:28.701-05:00Comments on The New Elegant Black Woman: Looking to Africa for Fashion and Beauty Standards?Elegancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06086459974594918860noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-788247236906826630.post-68429023681721765352014-03-31T01:13:31.774-04:002014-03-31T01:13:31.774-04:00You make very good points. While, it is not expect...You make very good points. While, it is not expected that you should favor clothing you're not accustomed to, I would like to tell you that there are so many different African clothing styles than what is portrayed. Do more research, there are beautiful plain outfits as well as highly patterned ones. Many of the outfits are just as simply beautiful as saree clothing. As a person of Nigerian heritage, sometimes it feels like other African nations feel that we like to speak for Africa, which is untrue, but Nigerians do put themselves out there more and always show great pride. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00005250756941884100noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-788247236906826630.post-8743718230034722782012-04-25T12:35:16.704-04:002012-04-25T12:35:16.704-04:00Hi Anonymous,
I visited the MIMI site and there w...Hi Anonymous,<br /><br />I visited the MIMI site and there was a lot of variety there but a lot of the women did look like those I see everyday too. So I don't think any one person can be held up as the "average" attractive Black or African woman. Just some features in combination with others are more attractive and a lot of it depends on the individual and on how that person was conditioned to think.Elegancehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06086459974594918860noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-788247236906826630.post-46810669102784286232012-04-25T12:27:41.615-04:002012-04-25T12:27:41.615-04:00Thank you so much anonymous and Shae :) Of course ...Thank you so much anonymous and Shae :) Of course this blog is not for everyone so there will be criticism. Some women are actually anti-feminism and ridicule doing ANYTHING that would make them appealing to men or dressing in any way that is old fashioned. Some of my favorite femininity blogs are ridiculed too. It's okay though. I've succeeded where I needed to in life and haven't had some of the struggles others have had so I don't feel like a victim the way they do. I focus on my life and what happened to me personally not what happened to others who have the same skin tone as me. Otherwise I would feel constantly victimized. This blog is not for someone who feels victimized constantly because they will be focusing too much on who they feel hurt them rather than on self-improvement.<br /><br />There is no point trying to convince anyone to do anything. Instead I'm just going to live my life and chronicle my journey and my thoughts. If someone reading things what I post is helpful they will change the way they think and act. When I read blogs and I like the ideas I also change and we are all constantly changing. When people around me see the way I live, if they want the same thing then they may decide to change too. If they think what I'm doing is stupid they will just continue doing what they always have and it will have no affect on me either. Seriously though, I'm exposed to way more negativity online than in real life so I really have to moderate how much of that negativity I expose myself to so that it doesn't affect me :)Elegancehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06086459974594918860noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-788247236906826630.post-16995853053125607372012-04-24T14:47:06.404-04:002012-04-24T14:47:06.404-04:00Girl i cosign %100 as well. I find enlightenment a...Girl i cosign %100 as well. I find enlightenment and empowerment in your many post as well. Girl don't worry about some of these clueless ass brainwashed deep down self hating BW out here. Yes I said it and you would be absolutely surprised at the way some BW are hell bent on keeping you down because they don't have a clue as to how to lift themselves up. And therein lies the problem. It's out of their comfort zone. Even though a lot of BW would love to be more feminine and to not have the attitudes and negative labels society throws on us. Just as they would love to have all the benefits and perks that having this graceful feminine attitude entails. Simply because they don't know how they will try to bring you down and make you feel it's not worth having. I think Harriet Tubman said it best when she said I freed a thousand slaves I could have freed thousands more if only they knew they were slaves!Shaenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-788247236906826630.post-57887755863652845802012-04-24T10:40:23.404-04:002012-04-24T10:40:23.404-04:00I completely co sign.
And I am an African woman le...I completely co sign.<br />And I am an African woman leaving in Europe who happens to have lived in her home country.<br /><br /><br />African women are diverse: I am tired of Alek Wek being thrown at me like an example of what African beauty is or isn't. There is no homogeneity in African features even in Africa- that is why there are tribes. Plus mixing happened there too!!! The AA woman those people promote only exist in their head- see MIMI magazine http://www.mimimagazine.com .<br /><br />Honouring one's roots, affirming one's identity mean not renouncing one's preferences. I am not Nigerian but Cameroonian. Most Cameroonian people I know who live in Cameroon actually wear European clothes. Why? It is cheaper (all those NGOs sending their leftovers to the continent). Plus, we like diversity too- so traditional prints (that are Dutch by the way) are not the only way we dress. One of my aunt actually has a kimono top sewn in wax and it suits her fine. And this is an African woman who speaks her tribe language. So keep your stereotypes to yourselves, thanks !!!<br /><br />I know nothing of Nigerian clothing. I would never wear it myself because Cameroon & Nigeria happen to have a power struggle à la France-Germany. For this reason, I find it interesting that Nigerians have labelled themselves experts on all things Africans. <br /><br />Last but not least, an identity is not only found in clothes. There are actually a lot of African writers. And people interested in Africa would benefit from reading them. Contemporary African literature (and I'm not talking pharaonic Egypt) would give nostalgics a flavor of what Africa is right now. <br /><br />For instance: <br />http://www.presenceafricaine.com/ (online library, French books only)<br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_African_writers_by_countryAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com