Beyonce

[Is this the finest woman ever built?]

Is this the finest woman ever built?

Clearly

 9 (17.3%)

Her booty will rule the world

 12 (23.1%)

Who could be finer?

 2 (3.8%)

She's ok

 18 (34.6%)

Nah

 11 (21.2%)

Total Members Voted: 27

[casino]

this has turned into an interesting thread.

my .02:  i know that the word "mulatta" does not exist in north american culture, but in brazil, cuba, and other latino countries with large african populations, the word is used to designate a woman descending from the sexual relationship of the white male slave owner and the black female slave.  the mulatta is one of the national symbols of brazil, and mulattas are generally considered the most beautiful women there - over pure white women (from the portuguese, italian, spanish line) and pure black women.  i think it is possible that here, in the united states, our ideals of beauty (when i say "ours" i am obviously making a generalization) are not that much different from latin cultures and african countries.  whites and blacks alike both project women such as beyonce and halle berry not necessarily as the norms for beauty in the black community, but the norms for beauty in the larger american community as a whole.  i think it speaks for the changing demographics in our society.

casino

[amarain]

I think Beyonce is very pretty but she appears to be dumb as a post.

[rohan]

this has turned into an interesting thread.

my .02:  i know that the word "mulatta" does not exist in north american culture, but in brazil, cuba, and other latino countries with large african populations, the word is used to designate a woman descending from the sexual relationship of the white male slave owner and the black female slave.  the mulatta is one of the national symbols of brazil, and mulattas are generally considered the most beautiful women there - over pure white women (from the portuguese, italian, spanish line) and pure black women.  i think it is possible that here, in the united states, our ideals of beauty (when i say "ours" i am obviously making a generalization) are not that much different from latin cultures and african countries.  whites and blacks alike both project women such as beyonce and halle berry not necessarily as the norms for beauty in the black community, but the norms for beauty in the larger american community as a whole.  i think it speaks for the changing demographics in our society.

casino

Casino you could be on to something here.  The norms of beauty for the "larger American community as a whole" tend to lean towords the "mulatta" looking woman i.e The white looking black woman, or the black looking white woman. 

That would explain why white girls risk skin cancer to get tanner bodies and inject God knows what into their lips to make them thicker.  And black girls (well mostly celebrities I think) get their noses slimmed down and wear straight blonde wigs.  Did you guys know that asians get eye surgery to "fix" their eyelids.  There has to be somepoint where we realize that this is f-king hilarious.

[vmersich]

Ruskie has shown, in this thread, why she commands respect from the long-term LSDers.  She basically owned everyone who challenged her.

And DOWNY, once again, puts forth a gem so terribly overlooked:

Since when did measuring some celebrity's ass become the barometer for complex social issues? WTF?

[amarain]

timna, I'm confused by what you said.  I just don't think she's really all that talented or bright. I would not attribute her success to her own brilliant management (isn't her father her manager? plus I am sure she has a whole team of handlers). Britney Spears is wildly successful as well, but she is clearly not intelligent either (or nearly as attractive as Beyonce for that matter). I don't hold it against them. I'm sure they're very nice people, and if you can make millions of bucks by wearing skimpy clothing and dancing around on a stage, hey, more power to you. Probably beats 3 years of law school   

And maybe Beyonce and Britney both secretly discuss Hegel in their spare time, we just don't know about it.

[amarain]

That's true - I don't know if it is Beyonce herself managing her career, but whoever is doing it is doing a great job. I just had the impression, based on interviews and such that I've seen, that she was rather dull and not very bright. It's hard to tell with stars like that, because who knows how involved they really are with the decisions that are being made.

timna, I'm confused by what you said.  I just don't think she's really all that talented or bright. I would not attribute her success to her own brilliant management (isn't her father her manager? plus I am sure she has a whole team of handlers). Britney Spears is wildly successful as well, but she is clearly not intelligent either (or nearly as attractive as Beyonce for that matter). I don't hold it against them. I'm sure they're very nice people, and if you can make millions of bucks by wearing skimpy clothing and dancing around on a stage, hey, more power to you. Probably beats 3 years of law school   

And maybe Beyonce and Britney both secretly discuss Hegel in their spare time, we just don't know about it.

Alright, amarain.  Got you.  Sorry - thought you were dissing B for the wrong reasons and being snide.  I retract.  Yeah - who knows about her book smarts, but she (and Mr. Knowles) both have business savvy - Neutrogena and L'Oreal campaigns - black woman creeping up on white terriory and thereby increasing B's fan (merchant buying) base and solidifying her current base.   

[A_guy]

geez, how could a "beyonce is hot board" turn into a "light vs. dark" board with a mix of "conventional beauty" board?  i'm not sure, but i will add my comments any.

1.  beyonce: she is attractive.  she has hips and a nice booty (notice i didn't say big).  she has talent and good management. as far as her hair, yeah its blondish but who cares it fits her and doesn't look bad.

2. light vs. dark:  just a little history so i need to go back to slavery for a minute.  being light during those times was an advantage.  black people with lighter skin were able to work in the house which was "easier" than working in a field.  lighter slaves had access to better food and clothing b/c the were in the house and seen as better.  u may not agree, but this is a fact.

the differences in color were used by the owners to create further divisions within the slave population.  the idea was to create turmoil within the group and there by reduce the cohesiveness and ability to unite.

fast forward:  the division bewtween lighter blacks and darker blacks continued.  light skined was considered better b/c life was perceived as "easier" especially if someone could pass.  black people enternalized the ligh vs. dark issues and as a result things such as the "paper bag test" and the "ruler test" were developed"

fast forward again to the black power movement:  black was beautiful no matter what the shade.  people embraced thier "darkness" and begin to embrace their heritage.  people began to connect with the "mother land" and embraced the african culture.  and we can't forget the emergence of the Afro.

in the 1980s:  something happened because light was right.  everybody wanted to be redbone (at least in my area).  str8 hair was the thing.  i remember how popular weave was starting to become (i also remember the curl, but thats a diiferent post).  

late 90s until present:  halle berry, beyonce, jill scott, angie stone, etc.  all women that help to represent the various shades, shapes, and sizes of blk women, yet we are still debating the light vs. dark thing.  instead of pulling each other down we should be lifting each other up (cliche, i know).  who cares if beyonce has blond weave, and jill scott has a natural?  does it really matter?  i mean they are still blk?

this board reminds me of the movie skool daze.  sepcifically, the good and bad hair scene.  if u haven't seen it u should its a good movie.  i showed certain scenes in a presentation on the division within the black community based on skin color.

btw, i didn't touch the "convential beauty" stuff b/c this post is way to long already.

[AngieNYC83]

Ok you guys are way too uptight. This thread was just showing appreciation for Beyonce’s beauty. Did it really need to get out of hand like that?  You guys inappropriately made this thread a race issue. So what if someone feels Erykah Badu and Jill Scott’s features are unattractive. Why are you guys taking so much offense in that?

What will happen when someone says Jimmy Choo shoes are hot . . . are people going to start arguing about sweatshops? This is ridiculous.

It’s very clear that some people have a problem with Beyonce getting any praise. It’s rather sad.

[DOWNY]

Who's Beyonce?

[A_guy]

this thread has not been made into a race issue and it is still related to the original topic.  the topic was about beyonce being attractive which lead to a discussion of "conventional beauty" and then to a discussion  of light vs.. dark"    theer was a natural progression.  it is neither wrong nor inappropriate.

as far as no one bein ghappy for her, i personaly love to see successful black people doing something positive.  and aside from that, i like beyonce and her nusic, and think he has talent.