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At an event in October...

In today’s installment of “Somebody, come get your mother!” Basketball Wives LA star Imani Showalter (the one who called Draya worthless) took to Twitter (@IamMelissaImani) to showcase her new figure. Not that she was actually large at all during the first season of the show, but she looks substantially leaner and very different in the face. In the shots from her Twitter, the reality personality is seen trying on a new bikini that she is looking to wear on an upcoming trip to St. Barths. She recognizes that she looks absolutely different in the pics and acknowledges it to her followers who were probably stunned: “Yes it’s really me haha” Not sure if this is a result of some hard core boot camp classes or what, but the difference in her look from the show and now is tres interesting–and she looks pretty good.

While the swimsuit is cute, and once again, she looks to be in good shape, we can’t help but wonder why she’s doing the ABSOLUTE most right now??? As a mother of three, I don’t think I would tweet pic photos of myself in a scandalous a** bikini for the whole Internet to see (at least not for free…). Save all that for when you actually get to the pool–not a minute earlier. But then again, she wouldn’t be the first mommy we’ve seen on social media taking scandalous photos bent over stoves and squatting over tubs for social media “friends” to see…

Do you think Imani looks fab? Would you ever take photos like this as a mommy?

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I, for one, hate woman bashing. All women are different; but we all want the same things to some extent. Through life and experiences different women go through different trials which shape their decisions. Let’s take the most common example, strippers. Recently strippers have been taking over the media. Whether it’s a rapper talking about how he’s making it rain, a music video set in an actual strip club or actual strippers trying to make a name for themselves, what used to be frowned upon is now accepted. Even if you look past the black community, there are plenty of exotic dance workout tapes and housewives putting poles in their basement to spice up their marriage. Everyone likes strippers when they are confined to the walls of the club but once they try to integrate into society all hell breaks loose.

Take, for instance, Draya on Basketball Wives: LA. She caught the heat from the other woman on the show for her dancing past. They automatically looked at her a certain way. Now I can’t honestly say that if I met someone that was an ex-stripper that I wouldn’t have preconceived notions about them. The fact is they took their clothes off for money and God knows what else. But hey, maybe at this point in their life, they are past that. Who knows what happened in their life that actually brought them to that line of work? Maybe I’ve watched too many episodes of Law and Order: SVU over the years, but I am always interested in how someone got where they are. It is never cut and dry.  It must have been something really bad to actually make them get up on that stage. Do we give Draya credit for taking that step to get out of that life? Every woman has skeletons in their closet. Who are Jackie, Laura and the rest of the ladies to look down at Draya because of what she used to do? With the same token do we judge Gloria if we find out she really did cheat on Matt? Or do we judge Laura if she really did sleep with Shaq?

Look at Kimbella on Love & Hip-Hop. She is currently with Juelz Santana. Before him, she had relations with Fabolous. Before him…. Who knows? On the show, Kimbella looks like someone who was working in the industry as a model/whatever, and was going from person to person until she landed one, which happened to be Juelz. Does this make Kimbella a hoe? She is from a world where rich and powerful men will do whatever for a pretty face. She doesn’t even necessarily have to do anything special, but she is in VIP, has free bottle service and free admission to all of the hottest clubs. Who wouldn’t want to take advantage of that? If they are giving it out, what’s wrong with taking it? Now I am sure that there are women who return the favor, but there are others who just enjoy the commodities that come with being beautiful. Do we blame them and call them names for accepting the silver platter? Of course we want to promote the image of the strong female, working hard for hers and not taking any shortcuts. But sometimes if you are in the right place at the right time, it would be a crime not to indulge yourself.

Rachel Louissaint is a graduate student and a blogger. Follow her on twitter at @rlovely_1.

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By Selam Aster

It may be a bad economy for most folks but one thing’s for sure, hoes be winning these days. From Kim Kardashian to Amber Rose to Evelyn Lozada, women with sex tapes and high-profile affairs under their belts have given hope to a new class of social climbers thanks to reality television. Sadly enough, many young girls and women no longer have to aspire to achieving success via education or traditional entrepreneurship.

It was funny at first, seeing these basketball mistresses, strippers turned Flavor of Love contestants, video groupies and sex-tape having, publicity hounds with last names that start with K get some shine on TV. But now, it’s obvious that reality television has degraded society’s standards.

Watching Draya, the resident ex-stripper/groupie, on the Basketball Wives LA show on Vh1, talk about being a career woman dedicated to taking care of her son and her mother as a single mother herself on last night’s reunion special, I couldn’t help but laugh at how she made such a show about “working hard.” I guess this is the new image of working hard; getting a boob job, posing naked for men’s magazines, leaking a sex tape, and having the luck of landing a reality show documenting one’s trivial squabbles with frenemies. Yes, we’re officially in the Kardashian era.

I can’t hate on these women for making their money. No sirree. By all means, do what you gotta do. What I can’t appreciate, however, is how these women, many of which have married into money or capitalized from exposing their assets, praise themselves for “working hard.” The media is no better in terms of feeding into the idea that gold-digging is a sport.

The only message that comes through in the stardom of these women is that with a bit of plastic surgery and a dash of luck, you too may be able to just ditzily stumble onto millions. I’m not a staunch feminist, but I do know that everyone who has ever capitalized off a sex tape or who has invested in marrying a baller cannot be credited with setting a good example.
Since the barrier to entry for the next Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian, Draya or Superhead is so low, we now have more and more young girls abandoning the idea of education in hopes that they can hit it big with reality television, where the raunchier your past, the better your future seems to be for a potentially short-lived yet lucrative shot at celebrity.

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Poor Draya; she just can’t get a break. From the psychos on “Basketball Wives LA,” to Wendy Williams, everybody just keeps putting the poor girl and her sexual business out there.

The reality star appeared on “Wendy Williams” today and when Wendy questioned her about a rumor that she was with three basketball players in one night, she simply replied: “I haven’t been with three basketball players in the same month, let alone day. I space them out a little bit.”

Then Wendy hits her with the jab: “Do you ever feel like no reasonable man would ever want to marry you, that all you would be is a trick?”

Dang Wendy.

I heart Draya, but I have to say the way she answers questions just doesn’t help her rep. Do you think she’s really the wild child that the cameras make her out to be? Or just a little naive about how she handles herself? Watch the clip and comment below.

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

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Last week Chris Brown’s ex-lover, model Draya, posted a blog about her relationship with the singer.

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