AFP via Yahoo:
US First Lady Michelle Obama is not a "great beauty," but will "just get better with age," Iman, one of the first black supermodels, says in a magazine interview.
"Mrs Obama is not a great beauty," the Somali-born model and wife of rocker David Bowie tells Parade magazine's Sunday issue, reflecting on the first black US first lady, who is a lawyer by training and a former executive.
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I'm LMAO at the "did you read the article" crowd.
A. yes we've read the article
B. we think Iman's comments were undiplomatic at best
Why are some of you so amazed that other people hold opinions that differ from yours?
probably the same reason you are amazed at our opinions. I think what we're amazed at is your refusal or your inability to understand english.
Iman has absolutely nothing on Michelle Obama, who is she kidding.
She looks like a transvestite for crying out loud. lol
I was thinking the same thing about Iman.
happy secure people dont write such things
Why can't we all just get along.
That said, Iman sucks!
Has Iman looked in a mirror lately? She's no prettier than MO. And she must be pretty shallow to even say such a thing.
No she has not looked in a mirror lately, Iman owes the First Lady an apology and she needs to stop being so mean spirited.
your post is mean spirited so no wonder you see it in others,
Well, just like you have your opinion on her looks, Iman has her opinion on Michelle's looks. I think Iman is gorgeous, so your opinion on MO's beauty and Iman's ugliness are not necessarily fact. It is subjective.
If i were a man, I would marry a strong, intelligent, gracious and supportive woman not one who thinks her looks define her...beca
Some pple r fortunate to have both.
yes. Sophia Loren is a great example.
IMAN LOOKS LIKE ONE OF THOSE SOMALIAN PIRATES. She needs to lotion her knees.
bwah
This is so funny. I think FLOTUS is a GREAT BEAUTY so it makes sense why I am in the FLOTUS' beauty section. But for those of you who think FLOTUS is not a great beauty, why spend so much energy looking at her, blogging about her, thinking about her. You know why? B/c you r drawn to her style and beauty just like the rest of us koolaid drinkers. I don't think Britney Spears is beautiful and that's why I'm not on a Britney Spears website. If you didn't think FLOTUS was beautiful you wouldn't be blogging about her.
I"m drawn to MO bc I love her style and I love her personality. You don't speak for me thinking she's a great beauty. I don't. I think she's beautiful in terms of the whole package, and has an elegance and radiance, but that doesn't mean I think her face is all that on its own(which is Iman's point). I can't believe your nerve thinking you speak for us. Also, MO isn't the person feat on Style section, so you make no sense. It doesnt' mean we all go the MO stories, we go to other stories on the Style section as well, some of the time never opening the MO stories, You need to talk about Huff P always \writing about her, not us "always reading about her" like you can read our minds and see all we do from behind your PC./
Sorry, but Iman has been around for years. Long enough to understand, that if you refuse to say certain things...y
Her faux pas could have been avoided ,and I think I can assure her, the President probably thinks his wife is a great beauty. Thought Iman was smarter than this...She got careless and realized that she had to clean that statement up quickly.
I think most of us understands what she said and meant. By the way, Iman has said time and again, that she herself is not a great beauty. She herself has said that in Somalia, she is regarded as average and that people were back home were amused that she was being paid 'for being average'. Yep beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder but please understand what she meant. Also recognise 'le sca ndale' that the mag is trying to create. Gotta sell those magazines people!
Iman put her foot in her mouth b/c she's jealous and not relevant. All Great Beauties have their batch of worshippers and haters. And looking at this blog, FLOTUS has enough of both. If FLOTUS wasn't so beautiful, the haters wouldn't waste time trying to prove it.
she was being interviewed and there are 800 comments and counting about her here...so somebody thinks she is relevant.
LOL. So, everyone with a diff opinion has it because they are JEALOUS. No other reason to think differently with you than that? Right?
I am completely befuddled by the negative reactions to Iman's observations. I think a lot people easily fall victim of headlines or leading lines in news stories. Journalist exploit this gullibility in crafting the headlines or leading lines either to attract readers or sway readers to the journalists' points of view.
In READING the story, here is the GIST I got from Iman. Iman
1. does not like Michelle Obama being looked upon as a "beauty" but as an intellectual, that looking at her as a beauty detracts from the intellect and talent Michelle truly represents;
2. thinks that, once set up as "beauty" as a person's primary asset, that person's stock would invariably decline as age inevitably sets (downhill), but if a person's primary asset is intelligence that person gets better with age.
3. insinuates what she thinks as the wrong perception of what Michelle's primary is (beauty or superficial as opposed to intellect or substantive) is due to ways many White people have generally been accustomed to assessing the qualities of Black people.
With this said, I personally just happen not to see Michelle as incredibly beautiful or physically attractive (yes, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder)-
The thing you don't understand is that you don't have to see FLOTUS as a great beauty. But it doesn't change the fact that she is. It doesn't matter what you see. It doesn't matter what Iman see, nor what I see. The fact is that she is beautiful, and that scares you. B/c all of the lies and stereotyes that you've bought into are being challenged just by FLOTUS' beauty challenging your superficial notion of beauty. Ms. California, a plastic, manufactured, blond, topless beauty contestant is all your small world knows of beauty. And people like you or Iman sees real beauty. Beauty that is timeless. Beauty that is striking. Beauty that is the direct opposite of everything you've been taught that scares you. This is why you try to explain it away. It's ok. We're all here to grow. FLOTUS is beautiful, and the reality is that you know it.
First lady is a hardworking woman with a great family. But to claim she is a great beauty is unfair to all the Plain Jane's of the world. Women can tell you they will not give up their makeup because without it they are your average person. I think FLOTUS is doing an excellent job, it is people who keep REPEATING she's a great beauty that does a disservice to her work.
Mrs. Obama is a Plain Jane. http://hil
She like many of us look better as we age, and some of us simply look plain throughout our lives if we can't afford the great facials and makeup artist. Granted Mrs. Obama is looking great, but so would many Plain Jane's if they had a major makeover.
I don't know why you are so riled up with this thing that somebody emphasized Michelle Obama's intellect over her "beauty."
Ok, now I understand. You are surfing and blogging in the "Style" section, as you not below. What you do not seem to know is that not everybody reading this article visited the "Style" section on purpose. I for one saw it on the main page, and I don't surf the "Style" section and you do. Clearly, your interests and values differ from mine in a way that has direct bearing upon this discussion.
You should just understand that, and if you differ with my intervention, you need not do it in such a personal way.
Here you are again, telling ppl what they truly see. Wow.
I am offended and appalled by Iman's recent ignorant comment about First Lady Michelle Obama. Iman of all people should understand the magnitude of the position First Lady Obama is in and image is very important. Michelle Obama is First Lady of the USA and that is not an easy position. Also, First Lady Obama is a reflection of EVERY woman and Black woman on planet Earth. If you don’t support her; at the very least, respect her.
In the 1970s, Iman was thrust into a similar position when she broke barriers as a model. In Parade, Iman said she represented a "whole race" and members of that same race said she wasn’t "our ideal of beauty.” Now Iman perpetuates that same type of ignorance by saying First Lady Obama and YOUNG GIRLS who look like her is not beautiful.
Iman has two daughters; one is full Black. Is she saying that her own daughter and other beautiful Black women worldwide - supermodels Naomi Campbell, Oluchi and Alek Wek included - who do not have features like hers are not beautiful?
Furthermore, Iman never said anything PERSONAL PUBLICLY about First Lady Laura Bush. In Somalia, she would be stoned for publicly denouncing her people. As a public figure, if you can't say anything positive publicly, don't say anything at all. We don’t want our little girls and boys developing low self-esteem and poor self-images listening to your ignorance.
It is unacceptable and won't be tolerated.
Didn't you even bother reading the entire article? What's the matter with you? This is how this site hooks people like you, with the misleading headlines. Get ahold of yourself.
THANK YOU!
Monica, I think you are race issues. This is rather tried.
It's best that you deal with your piracy issues, and let the civilized people have the civilized conversations.
My bad, I thought you had said something else. I apologize. That was wrong and I'm sorry.
*have
again, where did Iman say that MO is not beautiful because she has black features? There are women with dark skin, full mouth, and big booty that are WAY PRETTIER than MO!!! If Iman thinks MO is not pretty, it doesnt' have to be bc of "black features".
oh, and Laura Bush wasn't called beautiful left and right. That's probably why she never came up with Iman.
From the comments one can tell the average reader does not read. You guys swallow headlines and go from there. Most of "You people" should be embarassed.
The article will be in the Parade section carried by most Sunday papers tomorrow. I won't receive it because my paper is owned by Gannett which uses USA Weekend instead of Parade. Those of you who receive Parade tomorrow, do us a favor and read the article and let us know how it goes. The item on the Parade website is short and can't be the entire article.
Better looking than Governor P*l*n
Don't be so thin skinned. The gist of Iman's interview was that beauty is skin deep, and will fade, whereas Michelle has qualities that won't fade with age, but will instead become even more profound. If you still need a translation, Iman was complementing Michelle and expressing envy.
You are so right. I have no doubt that she and her husband are big supporters of the President and his wife.
people just want to say nasty things to vent - I doubt many here even care what the article said - just an excuse to blow off steam. But sad that it was set-up this way. Both women are pretty cool and should be respected. But hey, as long as there are clicks...
"Mrs Obama is not a great beauty,"
man you can say that again!!!!!!
Your ignorance is showing, again.
I believe the appropriate response is, "man you can say that again!!!!!!"
Even if Michelle was fat, frumpy and down right ugly, she would still be a gracious, intelligent, kind and caring person. So why are we discussing her appearence? We will never agree on it, in any case. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, remember.
Maybe because everyone keeps talking about how beautiful she is instead of just being a great person (which only her real friends know for sure)? People, especially her fans need to stop putting her in a beauty category as if only beaufiful people do great things. How about supporting plain Jane's? I wrote about this but I was refused posting. Michelle is probably a great person. I don't know nor any of you people either. Her recent public fame should not be hampered by fans going nuts over superficial comments by putting her in a beauty category. She's not a beauty but she sure's been looking great. Fans stop it with the she's beautiful, she's gorgeous..
I agree with most of what you said. Especially the first half. I think alot of Americans do make the mistake that, because they really like someone and that someone is famous, then that person must also be gorgeous!! I mean, I still find it amazing that Jennifer Aniston is considered a beauty. I think Michelle has her gorgeous moments, but her fans do exaggerate. The reason she's intelligent and likeable isn't bc she's gorgeous, its that the reason she's gorgeous is bc she's intelligent and likeable. The inner beauty is what she has. It is not that only superficially gorgeous ppl can have innner beauty, but also superficially plain ppl can have inner beauty too. When I think of all the ppl who are shocked at how well Susan Boyle sings, just cause she's plain,, it makes ZERO sense to me!!! Ppl think only beauties can achieve great things, and therefore Michelle must be gorgeous or Princess Di must be gorgeous, but it isn't necessarily true. Sandra Bulloc k, made alot of $ and ppl assumed it must be cause she looks good,but they forgot to LOOK at her. She wasn't beautiful. That's life. Looks and inner beauty are mutually exclusive.
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Posted: 05-15-09 02:22 PM