Last year I had a successful post entitled “Woman Shine“. Mostly it was successful because Akilah, aka Execumama who inspired me, linked to it plus I really enjoyed writing it and taking pictures of myself. There was talk of creating a meme or somehow making this kind of post recurring because we all found it to be cathartic and empowering. I need to feel that again, consistently. I am pretty sure that if I need to feel it that there are other’s out there who are in need as well.

Presenting the monthly WOMAN SHINE Meme! Once a month I invite you (all of you, even the fellows) to write a post about how and why you SHINE! Have you penned a special poem, taken the perfect photograph, managed to increase your family’s net worth, organized and maintained the play room, learned to swing on the pole, got a raise or a promotion? I’d like to hear about it and am offering you a platform to toot your own horn once a month!

Here are the rules, you can post a word, a sentence or a book worth of detail of why you shine. The only requirement is a photograph of YOU! Not the kids, not the hubby, or the family pet, YOU! Fellas you too are invited to share successful moments of your SHINEDOM, but please share with us how you got in touch with your feminine side.

Go forth ad SHINE each and every FIRST FRIDAY of each month please use the Mr. Linky below so I can keep track of each of your posts. Thanks and I really do look forward to reading each of the ways you all shine on FRIDAY.

I don’t have cable TV, I only read news papers occasionally, and generally speak to four people daily; my daughters Alana and Asherah, my man and my mom. I live in a bubble of sorts.  When something anything really permeates, especially if it is really cool, I want to share so I can appear cool in my own mind. This is why I have a blog. It is my little corner of “reality” where I get to show off how freakin’ cool I am (humor me goddamn it!). One of my big sources for finding cool content to share with the rest of you all is Facebook (if you haven’t already please become a FAN!). A sister of a wonderful friend of mine posted about Live From Daryl’s House.

The site boast 22 episodes of Daryl Hall from Hall & Oates. Each episode is sinfully simple, he invites an artists to come to his rural home for dinner, conversation and a jam session. The result is incredible. I am slowly combing the site and so far my absolute favorite one of my favorites is the episode with Smokey Robinson! He is such a handsome man and the Motown sound is in my heart forever. Hall & Oates perform Backstabbers (great song) and I really like their cover. Enjoy the video, by the way, the Youtube version is poor in quality the website is much better…..

Apparently I am not the only one on the planet with a sick sense of humor. This video has 3.3 million views and climbing fast. Enjoy! I am still giggling….shhh don’t tell!

I love this song and her voice.

What are the American standards of beauty? As an African American can we ever fit that standard? Can we? Do you want to? What does that mean to you?

American Beauty – Alan Ball 1999

A friend of mine asked these questions on Facebook and I have been thinking about them ever since. As a mother of two little girls who have different fathers and looks, I am always aware that they will be compared. Hopefully the comparison will be, “Hey, you are just a funny, beautiful and intelligent as your sister.” Alas, I live in Brooklyn, and know first handed just how ignorant people can be, so I have to devise a way to prepare my girls (without jading them), to deal with other people’s “stuff.”

The American standard of beauty is ever changing but does not now, nor has it ever included African Americans, who along with other non-white racial groups, are always on the periphery of beauty. I would like for my children to see themselves as included in a diversity of beauty. I am not sure that I want to be the American standard of beauty.  However, I would like to see all version of African diaspora beauty represented in the media, especially, African-American media.

I believe it is my people’s responsibility to promote to and for themselves every version of our beauty possible. Our media (do we have one that hasn’t been co-opted by self-hate) should be pioneers in offering to the world the best of our image. But that doesn’t happen so much of the time. Essence and Ebony do a good job of representing the various skin colors we descendants of the African diaspora come in, but there is always room for improvement. Especially, when it comes to the premier Black television station, Black Entertainment Television. Maybe it has something to do with the name. Maybe they would have been better of calling themselves Diaspora Entertainment Television. As such since the “media” hasn’t consistently taken up the cause of  normalizing “African” beauty, parents are left to fend for themselves in providing a wealth of positive experiences when concerning beauty.

Relaying to my children that we are African American and just as beautiful as any other ethnic/racial group is of the utmost importance.  It means being able to turn on the T.V. and see positive images that resemble them/us. I do not mean the neck gyrating, slick talking, relaxed hair version of black femininity so often touted as “Black Beauty.” I am talking about the natural, feminine, beautiful, intelligent version of blackness that doesn’t have to yell to be noticed, nor does it have to undress to be seen. That is not possible right now today, so we don’t pay to watch cable T.V. I am very careful of what my daughters visually consume because the image is a powerful tool. We watch a lot of reruns on Netflix and we also watch lots of movies. I put extra effort into finding books with African American/Diaspora heroines and I always make sure that they are exposed to the African presence in the arts and sciences. This can be a tough job at times. It underscores the inherent inequities of our society. At the end of the day though, regardless of the inequities, my desire is for my girls to think they are MAINSTREAM even if it isn’t true.

What say you on this topic? How would you answer these questions?

I am enthused that finally, Mr. Tyson is finding joy.

His light appearance on this show illustrates his willingness to be whole and happy.

Amazing. I never tire of hearing or seeing this.

I am the hope and the dream of the slave……the FUTURE IS NOW!