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Salon.com:
What a bonus! From the ocean of nastiness and confusion that defined this campaign from the beginning, Michelle rose up like Venus on the waves, keeping her coif above water and cruising the coattails of history to present us with a brand-new beauty norm before we knew it was even happening.
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I didn't think the article was offensive at all. As a 49 year old African American and theatre costume designer, the article is just touching on a little fashion history. I was made to wear a girdle since I was about 9 years old because my grandmother and mother said my behind was starting to shake when I walked. Back then it was not proper for a young lady's behind to shake. It meant you were loose and bought attention to your business. Working in the costume shop, a lot the clothes come from wealthy donor. When doing period plays like the 40's or 50's, many of the women (specifically white women)back then wore size 2 to 5. When I had to do "A Raisin in the Sun" (1950's), the character Lena played by an actress today costume had to be made because the dresses we had for that period was too small or too tight around the rear end. So the article is a matter of historical fact. Even today, the model who walk down the runways does not reflect the average female measurements black or white. So, no the article was not offensive.
They don't get it because they've never BJWB - bought jeans while Black.
This is ridiculous.
Is Bush copping a feel?
This article is stupid.
It was savaged on Salon. The only reason it saw the light of day is because some stupid white feminist, in an effort to express her displeasure at the election of our 44th president, decided to give some stupid, insecure, and untalented black feminist a forum to lay bare her self-image and body issues.
Mrs. Obama deserves better.
Agreed, Stupid article. Not insulting just stupid. White women have butts too. We aren't all Hilton Anniston wannabees though are also expected to look that. We are athletes with brains too. Sports give us butts and thighs, as does our heritage if we chose not to starve ourselves.
Why not write an article about how awesome and smart she is and use that as motivation rather than her rear end?
To uheardme and justdoodling,
The article was not stupid at all. Why does it always have to be about you? Justdoodling says "White women have butts too. We aren't all Hilton, etc." So what? The author of the article isn't writing about you. She wrote about us, Black women who have been made to feel ashamed of our asses, and no you can't relate to it because you are not being stigmatize and compared to animals as Black women have been. The article quotes a blogger who called Michelle "King Kong's sister." When is the last time someone blogged about your ass and called you names?
Sometimes I can be walking down a crowded street and some nasty White man will get close enough to impart some insult close to my ear, as he passes by. I'm not the only Black woman this happens too.
The both of you don't know what you're talking about. Neither race can relate to every single thing the other may have gone through at one time or the other, so I couldn't agree with the author more.
Michelle Obama has a semi-big, shapely butt and thank God she doesn't cover it up. The next time someone says some thing nasty about Michelle's butt, I hope they get a visit from the Secret Service.
I have to say that there is a difference between white women's butts, and women of colors's butts. There just is. Equal doesn't mean we're the same. Just like hair texture and skin color, there are other differences. Black women's big butts tend to stick high up, there's a distinct curve between the back and butt area when we turn sideways. I know, mine definitely stands out. A white woman's big butt tends to be more about how "wide" it is. A flat butt could be wide, but its not what women of colour talk about when they say "big butt". I could be stepping into controversy here, but I'm bein honest.
White women have butts too - really?
Now that's funny. The reason you don't get the post is that for centuries Black women have been derided for their body type. In fact during slavery people were forced to breed due to being a stout pair - there fore producing stout children. Our body type was said to indicate that we were highly sexual and loose women.
All the author is saying that it is nice to have that which was criticized celebrated.
You don't get it because you're not Black.
Next you'll be saying white women have thick lips and kinky hair too.
I liked this article. It was not offensive in the least. She makes black women with big butts feel good about themselves, and that's positive.
Oh please
Lawd, please stop this s^^t before it begins....a big butt and a smile is nothing new.
Unfortunately for women, the first impression a woman leaves is based on her looks and body. Yes, it is sexist, but that is our culture. There are examples everywhere. People talking aobut Sarah Palin's beauty and not her lack of intelligence or, people talking about Hillary's ugly pantsuits and not her accomplishments. It is something we women just have to accept.
Michelle is an extremely intelligent and accomplished woman with good taste in men. She also seems to be a good person and a great mother. In time people will focus on those aspects of her and not what she wears or looks like.
This is really stupid.All women have struggled collectively and individually against being defined by our body parts....and to focus this much effort and energy on the first AA First Lady's derriere is offesive.
Yes the Obama's are a novelty but they are not Brangelina...let's be more respectful.
This article is DISRESPECTFUL.
In fairness, Salon and Huffington Post should post an article about Laura Bush's breasts.
For future reference, please DO NOT POST any articles about the First Family's anatomy.
I got a big ass too. Worship me!
What a ridiculous article. Michelle Obama is an educated woman who leads a life of the mind, as normally people with Ivy League educations aspire to do, and I am appalled that someone would be so tasteless as to discuss her rear end.
People who lead a life of the mind have risen above petty considerations such as what their rear ends look like. Instead, they think about what people know, what they are doing that is interesting, what skills they have acquired, what they have produced, where they are traveling, or what they are reading or learning.
It is only our cesspool of a consumer and misogynistic culture that this writer is contributing to and that causes women to put all of their mental and monetary resources into constantly worrying about what they look like. We need to rise above the kind of thinking that is designed merely to get us to spend money or designed merely to objectify women.
Spot ON! The African rear end has been a delightful curse for me all my life! From the time I was a child, my uptight upper middle class Creole family did everything they could to obscure my beautiful behind, thinking I could never truly be a lady with a "Black girl butt". Well Grandmere, the most classy Black woman I've ever seen is now First Lady, and butts are BACK! I'm going to the grocery store in my Pilates gear (betcha I get more stares from 50+ White guys than anyone else...can you say "Strom Thurmond?")
WTH?
Seek therapy. Seriously.
Haha. You make a good point.
I want to be a FoMO (Friends of Michelle Obama)
Cannot wait to have this brilliant woman as First Lady!
A message to huffingtonpost:
I posted this comment previously using the word "k!lls". If you are going to filter my comments based on flagged terms such as "r@cists", why don't you start flagging those who post the words "r@ce" and "c@rd" in that sequential order of their posts whose only intent is to stir up anger and controversy for attention?
A sensitive topic that many people don't want to talk about or even admit to. Let's be honest, some people just h8te to see Michelle Obama as the first lady more so than they h8te to see Barack Obama as the president.
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First Posted: 11-18-08 11:08 AM | Updated: 12-19-08 05:12 AM