Source: TWP

Last weekend Paige Johnson, the daughter of BET co-founders Bob and Sheila Johnson exchanged vows with Dudley Payne III in front of over 200 guests, during a lavish wedding ceremony at the Ocean Club in the Bahamas. Bob told the Washington Post that he approves of his daughter’s new husband and even referred to him as “perfect.”

“This guy is the perfect guy for Paige. He’s a true gentleman,” Bob said.

Although most would perceive a father offering his nod of approval regarding his daughter’s husband to be a good thing, his comment about Dudley being a “gentleman” stirred up a bit of controversy in the Black community. Many are wondering how he could be so adamant about passing his daughter off to “one of the good guys” even though his television network served as the ultimate vehicle in the glorification of thugs for years.

In a blog post titled “BET Heiress Marries Rainbeau! Just Goes to Show Rich Folks Want Ratchet for Everyone Else Except Their Own,” Swirling author Chrtistelyn Karazin pulls no punches as she tackles the subject. An excerpt from her post reads:

“Wait. Did she marry Lil Wayne? Ludacris? Drake? Common?

Oh no?

This is the ultimate irony. Bob Johnson, co-founder of BET, a vehicle that has single-handedly tarnished the name of black American women all over the world, wants a “gentleman” for his daughter. Funny, because he’s made his fortune convincing black women that thugs, drug dealers, and gold teeth should be the standard of sexiness and allure for us mere-mortal regular black chicks.”

“Mr. Johnson said that this WHITE INSURANCE BROKER IS THE PERFECT GUY FOR HIS DAUGHTER. I’ve said this before on other issues but it bears repeating like a broken record on a Victrola: Be careful of those who advocate a lifestyle on others that they would never desire for themselves. Do you think Jay-Z is going to want his precious little Blu Ivy gallivanting with the progeny of his homeboys?  Doubt it.

Why are we so effing blind? So many of us are being fed a pile of horse-pucky about a lifestyle that nobody with any damn sense wants for themselves or their own. Has the precious Paige been in any of the ratchet BET videos that parade half-unclothed black women in front of men who call them bi***es, hoes, and c*m dumpsters? No? Maybe it’s time you ask yourself why.”

Karazin went on to say that she’s happy for Paige and that she simply desired to note the irony of the situation and provoke thought in the Black community.

What are your thoughts on this?

Source: Shutterstock.com

As quiet as it’s kept, May is national month. Some of us have no problem taking care of business and pleasuring ourselves. Others of us don’t understand what the hype’s all about and then there are some of us who feel like “self love” is despicable…against God’s will even. We asked our Facebook followers if they knew about the month and why they feel some women are hesitant to talk about it. See what they had to say about it. 

Flavia: Cause society teaches us to be ashamed of our bodies and of our sexuality. While men are raised to embrace it and be proud.

Martina: All women don’t do it. It’s not a fear thing. It’s a preference.

shutterstuck

Somewhere along the line the term “double standard” became accepted as only applicable to women. But there are plenty of, “Wait a minute…that’s not fair!” moments that men experience. They may not tell women because women would feel offended —even though women can point out double standards against them left and right. Consider that double standard #1. And here are the rest.

There are double standards in life. Always has been and always will be. That’s why men get props for having multiple sexual partners while some women get dogged out for it. Somehow, double standards have also crossed over to interracial relationships and with them come lowered expectations, flawed thinking, and poor dating decisions.

Once upon a time, people used to choose mates based on their overall attractiveness, their personality, what they brought to a relationship, and the qualities they deemed acceptable. In today’s world, for some people, race is becoming the lone factor when choosing companions. Some very nice looking, successful, and intelligent men and women are increasingly finding themselves in ratchet relationships with people of the opposite race who have nothing to offer. Why? Because they actually have a beef with men and women from their own race that they don’t want to be honest about.

Time after time, people display their disdain for those within their own race that are too dumpy, too frumpy, too fat, too lean, too angry, too unambitious, too trifling, too hateful, too independent, too this, too that.  Yet when those same characteristics appear on someone of the opposite race they become acceptable.  When a black woman ditches black men altogether because of one terrible relationship and then puts up with just about anything from a white man because she thinks the end results will be better, it makes no sense. When a black man says he doesn’t think a weave wearing black woman is attractive but then parades a heavy makeup wearing white girlfriend around with the same love for extensions, his double standards become painfully obvious. When this hypothetical scenario made its way into reality for me, that was when I realized how common double standards are in interracial dating.

I have a black male friend that has an affinity for white women.  He’s a great person, always treats me with respect, and we always have a lot of fun. One of the best qualities my friend has is the fact that although he exclusively dates white women, he’s never really bad-mouthed black women.  His fondness for white women was a non-issue with me until the fateful day he reached the point of no return.

We were having a discussion about our preferences in potential partners when he jokingly said he could never date a woman with fake hair, bad credit, and no job. When he stated these reasons were what kept him away from black women, I couldn’t help but be bothered by the stereotype he tried to use to justify his appreciation for women of other races. I mentioned that some of his white former girlfriends were uneducated, unemployed, and wore excessive makeup and extensions on the regular.  In response, he explained that his former girlfriends wore makeup because they had bad skin and that they didn’t work because they were trying to pursue their passions, so it was all good. I tried to tell him that I didn’t understand his stance, but he continued to make ridiculous statements supporting his views.  His asinine, stereotype-based explanations for his basis of eliminating black women from his dating life made me think it wouldn’t matter what a white woman had going on: as long as she was white, she was all right.

My friend is not alone in his line of thinking.  There are black women, white women, and white men, Asian women and Asian men, basically people of all backgrounds, who also fall prey to the double standards of dating interracially–what they claim they can’t take about one group of people, they’ll ignore for another. Like who you like and do what you want when it comes to your dating life. One of the best aspects of the freedom we get in this country is the opportunity to date whomever we choose.  However, it would be wise to fairly apply the same standards to everyone without regard to race. All I ask is that people be more honest about what they like, and why they like it, as opposed to using stereotypes and a few bad experiences with a certain kind of individual to blacklist and bash a whole group of them.

Source: Thinkstock,com

Thankfully, I work in a very lax, very creative environment. Pretty much anything goes. Between Maury – show watching, celebrity shade throwing (looking at you Wyclef) and impromptu jam sessions, clowning is expected on any given day. Now, let me first explain that our office is mostly comprised of women, with 2-3 men in the mix. So it can be assumed that with the spirited conversations that take place, there is some equally colorful language from the men and women alike.

Usually, it’s not an issue for either party. Or it wasn’t until a couple of days ago.

We were talking about the plausibility of certain celebrities being gay. Somewhere in the middle of the conversation my boss, who is a woman, said “…but he sucked his d!ck.” Then someone else said it and then I said it. In the span of 40 seconds, at least three women had said the word d!ck. Finally, one of my male co-workers had had enough. He interrupted the whole conversation, face all twisted up: “Language, Language!”

Oh, that was interesting. Every cuss word under the sun has been uttered in this office at one point or another; but d!ck was a non-negotiable, huh? Apparently so. I didn’t take offense, in fact I strongly believe in avoiding words that offend others. I’ll just use them in front of people who don’t mind. Plus, how many times during the work day do you need to say d!ck?

It was surprising but the more I thought about it, I’d heard another man say something to that effect. Once my sister and I were having a private conversation and my father just so happened to overhear us use the word d!ck. Naturally, he was not having it. I could understand that. For him, hearing his little girls say that word probably elicited images he was certainly uncomfortable with. After all, that word, d!ck is almost only used in a sexual/demeaning context.

So maybe my coworker doesn’t want to think about us in that context, which was interesting. In fact, the whole concept of some words just being uncouth has always interested me. Back in sixth grade, I remember cussing in front of my lockermate/friend and in true sincerity, he told me that wasn’t very ladylike and subsequently not very attractive. *Clutches pearls* Well!

In retrospect, it’s amazing that a boy at 12 or 13 was so adamant and clear about his dislikes at such a profanity-filled time of uncertainty and insecurity.

I mean, I’m fully aware of double standards, I’m just always surprised when they’re so blatantly thrust in my face.

This whole incident made me ask myself, are there any words I can’t stand to hear men say? I definitely have a couple. As much as it dominates mainstream music, I can’t stand to hear the word bicth too much in a song or from the lips of a real life man in a real life context. But I don’t know if I would have gone out of my way to correct one of my male coworkers for using it. (Not that I minded him, feeling comfortable enough to “check” us.)  I’d just resign to judge them silently.

What about you, ladies, has a man ever told you your language wasn’t very ladylike? Did you take offense to that warning or did you take his words to heart?

Do men have the same rules in the dating game as women? If so, are men allowed to break those rules, or do certain rules only apply to men?

There are a number of rules people play by and get played by in the game of dating and courtship. For instance; wait three days to call after a date, don’t rush things, pay attention to red flags, so on and so on. These three rules apply to both men and women when it comes to dating, however, there is one recent rule that has surfaced that applies strictly to women…or does it.

The infamous ’90 Day’ Rule. This rule encourages women to hold off on giving a man any benefits, particularly sexual benefits, for ninety days. This is a pretty straight forward and common sense rule for most women; in fact a substantial amount of women apply this rule very well in their dating lives. But does this rule apply to men too?Should it apply to them? The answer: absolutely.

There are so many benefits for men waiting to have sex with women, and there are benefits for the women who date men who are willing to wait for sex. One benefit is that a man can get to know a woman for who she really is, and be attracted to the beauty that lies within her. It’ll also give him time to see if he wants to be strictly friends with her or if he wants to pursue a relationship with her that will serve a purpose without the sex factor clouding his judgment.

Another benefit of men applying the 90 Day Rule to their dating lives is the prevention of unwanted, or unexpected pregnancies that may come with a lifetime of unnecessary drama. Now let’s not get things twisted, children are a blessing, but without taking the time to get to know someone before having sex with them, then realizing you made a mistake in sleeping with them and ‘slipping up’ may make you resentful towards the child who didn’t ask to be conceived, and deserves two nurturing parents who are on the same path and page.

Without taking the proper steps in getting to know someone first, you won’t know if you are on the same path and the same page; all you’ll know is the feeling of sexual gratification…maybe. For women, a man who is willing to wait to have sex means that he values you for who you are as a person, and does not view you as just a sexual being. It also shows that he is sexually responsible, and he has set standards for himself. Before having sex with a woman, a man should think about his long-term intentions with her, rather than seizing the short-term moment of physical gratification, because short-term moments can breed long-term effects.

If men decide to start applying the 90 Day Rule to their dating lives, it shouldn’t just be limited to sexual benefits, but it should also be applied to other major and some minor benefits, i.e. lavish dinners on the first date, elaborate gifts before six months, calling a woman more than twice a day, etc. If men held out on giving a woman any type of benefit other than the benefit of getting to know him for who he is rather than what he has, it will reveal the woman’s true intentions for being with him. This is not to say that a man should not work at getting and keeping a woman’s attention, but his focus for getting and keeping a woman’s attention should be to keep her focus on who he truly is.

While the 90 Day Rule is a simplistic rule of common sense for women, it should also be a simplistic rule of common sense that applies to men as well, because a man’s body should be valued and treasured the same as a woman’s.  If the 90 Day rule does not apply to men, it creates yet another entity to the double standards of dating that says men are allowed to do certain things, but women aren’t. And if this cycle continues then both men and women will continue to lose at the game of dating. Men who decide to wait to have sex are aware of their bodies, and the responsibility they hold with the jewels they possess that help spring forth life and replenish the earth. They are conscious of the purpose for having sex, they value the intimacy that sex can bring, and they hold that responsibility near and dear to their heads and hearts. Ladies, let’s support those men who are willing to wait for sex by learning how to withhold sex from them and start building meaningful relationships.

Should the 90 Day Rule apply to men? Would you date a man who was withholding sex?

Liz Lampkin is the Author of Are You a Reflection of the Man You Pray For? Follow her on Twitter @Liz_Lampkin

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Why do some men expect monogamy from women, but fail to reciprocate? Why do some women allow men to have a relationship with them, but have relations, or even another relationship, with other women…while they are dating them? Are the expectations of men that low, or have women not set expectations and standards for themselves?

There are a number of categories in dating people use to define their relationship status; however the two primary categories in dating; ‘dating’ and ‘a dating relationship’ are the categories people often confuse which brings about the dating double standard.  ‘Dating’ is often thought of as a form of courtship involving people with the purpose of assessing one’s character on a  general level for the possibility of engaging in a meaningful, long term relationship, friendship or distant association.

A ‘dating relationship’ is thought of as a form of courtship involving two people exclusively for the purpose of assessing one’s character for companionship, with the possibility of marriage. Men are often accused of indulging in the dating double standard because they date more than one woman at a time, but expect the women they have the most interest in to remain monogamous with them. A few reasons some men expect monogamy from women, but don’t reciprocate are: some men are selfish, women allow it, some men aren’t being held accountable, a man doesn’t want to share the good woman, and some men are ego-centered. And sadly enough, some women indulge in this double standard.

Why do some women indulge in the dating double standard? The answers are simple; fear of being lonely, foolish flattery (he wants me all to himself), fear of losing a ‘good catch’, and the desire to have a title, even if it has no meaning (wifey, main squeeze, ‘the one’, etc.). Both men and women indulge in the dating double standard because they confuse dating and a dating relationship, and this is because they are so eager to have companionship, they don’t set standards for themselves in the categories of dating, nor do they define the terms of both dating and a dating relationship. When two people decide they want to get to know each other better, they designate time, and plan to go on a date. If they decide they want to keep spending time with each other, they continue to communicate as they see fit, and here’s where the confusion begins.

When most people have spent time with someone they are attracted to and enjoy being around, their emotions get involved, and they have the tendency to make a dating situation more than what it is without consulting the other person. When two people are dating, it does not mean they are bound to the one person they spend the most time with unless they have discussed, and mutually agreed to move beyond the dating category/stage and enter into a dating relationship. Most people skip the ‘deciding discussion’ phase because they get caught up with the dating activities (going out, sex, affectionate text messages, etc.) and they presume they should be involved in a monogamous dating relationship because they are doing things that couples do. Then when they find out the other person is dating other people while dating them, it brings about unnecessary drama.

Surce: Africanlimelight.com

Tyrese needs more people. One minute this man loves women, the next he’s telling them everything that’s wrong with them. Today he’s doing the latter.

During an appearance on V-103 radio, Tyrese was asked his thoughts on how women can keep a man (why do people keep asking him these questions?) and, unsurprisingly, he said it all comes down to what’s between our legs.

“A lot of women are very unrealistic. To have a man that’s attractive and successful, you have to be in the position to hold him down mentally, spiritually, emotionally, physically, and sexually. Some of ya’ll have wack sex. Some of ya’ll are so consumed in your swexy that your sex is horrible. Your swexy attracts the man, but after you attract the man you’re not able to keep him.”

Women may have been able to roll with him on the importance of satisfying your man’s physical needs had he not dropped this “gem” on double standards.

“If women have sex with too many dudes, dudes call you [hoes] and all your own home-girls will call you out. When men have sex with a bunch of girls, we get props. So men are not as ready to settle down. We may be ready in our minds because we feel like you’re so beautiful, special, and consistent. But we still want to get some other [girls]. We want to spread our love just a little while longer while at the same time not losing you.”

Seems to me that proves it doesn’t matter how good you are in bed, if the man still wants to “spread his love just a little while longer” he’s going to do it regardless. Also, the idea that women can’t sleep around but are expected to kill it in the bedroom is comical to say the least. One redeeming point of Tyrese’s interview is that he did promise we’ll never come across an Internet sex tape featuring his “African Warrior.”

“I don’t ever film myself. My African Warrior is not exposed on camera, its not gonna happen. Its no way that those photos or videos wouldn’t leak at some point. I don’t ever do that, I keep it safe.”

At least he got one thing right. You can check out his five-part interview here. What do you think about Tyrese’s wack sex claim?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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Ever wondered why everything Michelle Obama says gets dissected and scrutinized to the nines? Simple statements about her pride in this country somehow get misconstrued as un-patriotic statements that only the angry black wife of a “socialist” husband could make. But when Michele Bachmann makes similar comments, the media, the political pundits–everyone, plays stupid and ignores them. Why? A wack double standard that black women continue to endure that says sit down and shut up, or run the risk of being viewed as the stereotypical raging b***h.

Our friends over at theGrio analyzed this standard and questioned how and why Michele Bachmann gets to say whatever comes to her head with zero filter, but any formed opinions about policies and what U.S. citizens should be doing about their health by the FLOTUS are shunned. Writer Sophia A. Nelson breaks it down to a T:

“Black women in America, including Mrs. Obama, still have to deal with racial stereotypes, double-standards, and being viewed as “invisible” or better “kept in our place”…Let’s face it, America is far more comfortable seeing Mrs. Obama talk about growing gardens, dote on her husband, mother her kids, support our military families, and help our nation eat healthier, than we are seeing her discuss policy, form opinions, or speak her mind.”

Nelson makes some pretty deep points that you should check out, but do you agree? Do you think Michelle Obama’s words are held to a different standard than Bachmann’s because she is a strong black woman with opinions she likes to share rather than a meek woman in the public eye? Let us know!

To read the full story and hear how The Help plays into this double standard, click over to theGrio.com.

Only a few decades ago premarital sex was shameful.

Today, most men and women snicker at the thought of abstinence as a means of birth control. Talk show host Wendy Williams recently took to GSN’s Love Triangle to declare virginity “impractical.” Is it because virginity requires a substantial amount of self-control in an oversexed society? Is it laughable because it is something few of us have the will power to achieve?

With birth control and Roe v. Wade came a sense of female sexual liberation and power. Or so we like to think. In our quest for equality, we reject double standards and sexual freedom is often associated with indulgence rather than control. Yet, many modern women who have intercourse with multiple men lie to potential mates about their total number of sexual partners. Sure, men may say they prefer someone experienced; but, at the end of the day, who’s stuff is more valuable—the virgin or the woman who’s been “broken in?” For that reason, I find it interesting that women who choose to remain virgins or abstain are often mocked and criticized.

Virginity is perceived to be indicative of religious repression, a patriarchal society or desirability when some women and girls have simply decided to remain in complete control of their bodies. Sexually inactive women don’t have to worry about being labeled sluts, condoms breaking or the emotional baggage of a baby-daddy relationship. They don’t have to lie about sleeping with three guys instead of 13. Likely, when their moment comes it won’t be with a random bartender or the 20 year-old guy still attending high school parties. How many of us don’t have one or two we’d like to forget? There’s no buyer’s remorse for virgins.

We fight against sexually promiscuous women being called sluts, why not do the same for those who choose to abstain? Instead of shaming them for going against the grain, why not praise them for being examples of self-regulation? As we seek solutions to decreasing abortion rates, reducing the percentage of children born out-of-wedlock and STD’s, it might not be so bad to take a look at how some contemporary women are saving themselves.

LaShaun Williams is a lifestyle and relationship columnist, blogger and social critic. Her work has been featured on popular urban sites, such as The Grio and AOL Black Voices. She has made appearances on the Tom Joyner Morning Show and Santita Jackson Show. Williams is also the founder of Politically Unapologetic, a blog where she unabashedly discusses culture, life and love. Follow @itsmelashaun on Twitter, Tumblr or Facebook.