Black Barbies Come Out – What do you think?

Grace, Kara and Trichelle were created to fill a void for young black girls who for so long have been playing with dolls that don't look like them.

Stacy McBride-Irby, creator of the new Barbie, poses with the dolls.

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The new black Barbies released by Mattel have fuller lips, curlier hair and other features that the company says more accurately represent African-American women.

Some have cheered the new dolls. Others jeered them, saying they're not black enough.

"I love the black Barbie. It's about time," Jua Simpson said on CNN's iReport, a user-generated news community. "But the hair is still a step backwards, since most of our hair is not straight and light brown."

Others disagree with critics who say the dolls should have had more natural black hairstyles, such as afros or braids.

"Many people have criticized the dolls for either having hair that's too long or too straight, but I have long, straight hair that I straightened. But it's my hair and a part of me," said Tanisa Zoe Samuel, an African-American iReporter from the Turks and Caicos, in the Caribbean. "Black women come in all shades, shapes and varieties that there is just no way to capture everyone with three dolls." iReport.com: Samuel shares her thoughts on the new Barbie

The dolls were created by Stacy McBride-Irby, an African-American who watched her daughter play with dolls and wanted to create a doll that looked more like her.

 

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Dr Boyce Watkins: Did BET Step Over the Line with “Skank Robbers”?

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Your Black World

During the BET Awards, Martin Lawrence and Jamie Foxx did a skit called "Skank Robbers," which you can watch below. Some have argued that the video goes over the top, producing stereotypical images of black women to the point of being offensive. Referring to them as "skanks" was enough to draw the ire of many African Americans, but there was also a point in the video in which the narrator says, "From the producers of 'Planet of the Apes'."

This video leads to the following questions as it pertains to BET:1) Who's making the decisions? I'd love to see what thought process goes into deciding to make R. Kelly your keynote performer right after he is accused of creating child pornography, or having Lil Wayne sing about wanting to have sex with every girl in the world while underage girls are dancing on stage. I don't hate BET, and I've done a great deal of work with them in the past, but I would like very much for them to explain to the public exactly how they operate.

 

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Nicole Spence on Love: What You Think about a Lil Swingin?

by Nicole Spence , Your Black World 

So I was on the way to school talking on the phone with one of my girlfriends. I brought up a previous conversation that I had with my friend Jack. Just recently Jack invited me to go with him to check out this Sex club in Brooklyn. Jack knows damn well that I won’t be partaking in any of the reckless behavior, but we both figured it would be juicy material for me to write about, if I wasn’t such a damn fraidy cat, and I actually had the balls to enter such a place. 
The crazy shit is nasty people are everywhere, as I’m walking and chit chatting to my surprise this clean cut black guy over hears my conversation. As I attempt to cross the street he stops me. Now I’m thinking “ Oh you want my number?” But No! He tells me “ I didn’t mean to over hear your conversation, but I did. My girlfriend and I are looking for a new Sex club, can you tell me the name of the one you were just speaking about?” Get the fuck outta here! You swing? He begins to ask if I’m apart of the “community” I say, "No" followed by a very loud weird laugh. Lol 

 

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Picking up Bad Habits from Our Frenemies: Black Girls Getting Eating Disorders too

That wasn't always the case. The cover of her new book, 'Not All Black Girls Know How to Eat,' tells it all. Jagged black scribbles cross out a childhood photo, which is set against the backdrop of a stark yellow cover. But the most striking image, also on the cover, is of two fingers-the index and middle fingers-both used to induce vomiting by sticking down the throat.

They symbolize bulimia, which is characterized by binge eating and purging either by throwing up, laxative abuse or over exercising. A compulsion, it is usually done to numb feelings of anxiety or pain, experts say.

"My childhood picture is crossed out because it's about my self-loathing phase,'' she says in a reflective voice in a telephone conversation from her home in Los Angeles. "The two fingers, well, they are about bulimia. It resonates for me.''

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Professional Black Women Can’t Find Husbands?

By Brian Alexander

msnbc.com contributor

updated 8:31 a.m. ET, Thurs., Aug 13, 2009

Brian Alexander

Michelle Obama may have become an archetypal African-American female success story — law career, strong marriage, happy children — but the reality is often very different for other highly educated black women.

They face a series of challenges in navigating education, career, marriage and child-bearing, dilemmas that often leave them single and childless even when they’d prefer marriage and family, according to a research study recently presented at the American Sociological Society’s annual meeting in San Francisco.

Yale researchers Natalie Nitsche and Hannah Brueckner argued that “marriage chances for highly educated black women have declined over time relative to white women.” Women of both races with postgraduate educations “face particularly hard choices between career and motherhood,” they said, “but especially in the absence of a reliable partner.”

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The Queen is Rapping Again

 

The world sees plenty of Queen Latifah (real name Dana Owens) these days -- at movie theaters, on magazine covers, in CoverGirl ads -- but it rarely hears new music from her. Latifah's last two albums consisted entirely of jazz and soul standards.

"Trav'lin Light," released in 2007, sold 263,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan, and "The Dana Owens Album," which came out three years earlier, sold 730,000.

Recently, Latifah went back to rapping (and yes, singing) on everything from a Lady Gaga remix to a Rhymefest mix tape. "Persona," her first album of new material since 1997, is due August 22 on Flavor Unit Entertainment.

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Wendy Williams is Leaving Radio

It has been announced that Wendy Williams is leaving radio so that she can focus more on her television career.  Wendy currently  has a show that airs on Fox and BET five days a week, so from the look of things her television career is taking off.  Read the statement from her people below.

July 22, 2009 — Executives from WBLS and representatives for Wendy Williams today jointly announced Ms. Williams plans to leave her daily radio show at month’s end to dedicate herself full time to THE WENDY WILLIAMS SHOW, a nationally syndicated talker which launched July 13th. Ms. Williams, who has been a fixture on WBLS since 2002, has spent more than two decades on the air winning over fans and was recently nominated as a potential inductee to the National Radio Hall of Fame. Her radio show has consistently rated as one of the highest rated programs on the station.

“We are saddened to lose one of our most popular personalities,” noted Deon Levingston, Vice President and General Manager of WBLS. “But we understand what it requires to put a live show on television each and every day and wish Wendy all the best in this new venture.”

“I want to tell all of my fans that after July 31st, I will no longer be doing a show with WBLS,” Williams said. “I really was blessed to have a broadcast home in NY on radio for the past 7 years and I want to thank everyone who supported me. I have one of the best jobs in the world, making a difference in the lives of my fans made all the difference to me and I look forward to doing the same thing in my new role as a TV host. My hope is that you will do your best to find me on your remote so I can continue to entertain and inform you each and every day.”

Solange Takes it All Off

Seems that Solange is the newest celeb to shave off her locks, except she took an extra step and shaved it all off.  I am definitely loving this new “natural” fad and I think it is better than a head full of weave.

Whitney Houston’s Album Release Party

Whitney Houston had her album release party last night for her latest album “Look to You”.  This album is being considered her comeback album and features songs that were produced by R. Kelly, Alicia Keys, and Swizz Beatz.  Speaking of Alicia and Swizz Beatz, it is being said that they are no longer hiding their relationship considering they were basically booed up the entire night.  Anyways, good luck to Whitney with this album and I can’t wait to hear it.