Blackface Ain't Cool Or 'Fashion Forward', It's Offensive

As you long time readers know Jasmyne Cannick, yours truly and a long list of people inside and outside the TBLG community have long been pissed about a certain gay white man that does a New Millennium minstrel show that gay white folks think is 'humorous'.

Because of its long hundred plus year history of being used to denigrate and demean Black people, we not only are offended by any manifestations of it, we have zero tolerance for blackface imagery .

Lately we've had this irritating trend of white models being made up to look like Black women in high fashion photo shoots when there are thousands of Black models looking for work.  .

We ain't down with that high fashion form of blackface either.  

I'm on the rant about this because I stumbled across the Mike Ruiz photo shoot in which he had trans actress Candis Cayne not only made up look like Diana Ross, but in his Transformations series made her up to look like the late 70's Blaxplotation film icon Tamara Dobson. .

Um, Mike, what the hell were you thinking?  I'm not giving your behind a pass on this bull feces either because you're Latino.  You should know fracking better.

If you were going to do a photoshoot and wanted a transperson to recreate Diana Ross, I do believe in the New York metropolitan area there are two of my trans sisters in Isis King or Laverne Cox who could have easily done so.

Miss Continental 2000 Tommie Ross has built a career with her Diana Ross illusion.

All three would have been nice starting points in terms of models who would have been better choices to pull that off .

I love me some Candis Cayne, but using her in this photoshoot was problematic on a lot of levels.

There are Black female illusionists of my generation and beyond to whom Diana Ross is their beauty icon and role model.

Then there's the blackface element of this.   Whether it's done maliciously, as a misguided attempt at humor or alleged high fashion, it is still seen as a insult by many African descended people for whites to slater on dark makeup to mimic Black people..

It sends a troubling unspoken message that the only acceptable beautiful Black woman is one that has 'white' features.  It plays into buttressing the centuries old 'unwoman' meme that has been used to attack the beauty and images of African descended women.  

By using Candis, you also added another ingredient to this failure stew by erasing Black transwomen. 


Are Black transwomen not beautiful enough to recreate the images of iconic and beautiful cis women of our race and culture?

I know we are, but Mike Ruiz, whether you intended it or not, the message you sent with this photo shoot to the African descended trans community, our African American family, our cis supporters and to the world was no we aren't.

That was the message you sent and that was received by my community when you used a white Hawaiian born transwoman in a photo shoot designed to recreate two iconic African descended beauties. 

I don't know how many times those of us in the Afrosphere have to say this until y'all get it through your thick fauxgressive heads.  Blackface is not humorous, cool, fashion forward or edgy,  it's offensive.

The Trans No Makeup Zone

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There's an interesting discussion going on at Womanist Musings about makeup in reaction to the No Makeup Zone Today show episode. I'm going to toss in another angle of this makeup debate, from a transwoman's point of view.

One o the things we are constantly dealing with in addition to the usual baggage women deal with in terms of the beauty standard is also our insecurities about whether were accepted as women, period.

Those concerns are elevated or depressed based on whether or not you've had GRS, race, class and how long you've been living in the feminine gender role.

And that's even before we start talking about makeup issues.

My sisters fall along the makeup continuum from being either militantly anti-makeup to embracing it.

While we know that makeup is only a tool we use to enhance our femininity and our overall feminine presentation, it takes on a heightened importance for a transwoman. The more feminine we look to the average person, the better because it draws less attention to us.

That's a major concern when it's in the back of your mind that a transwoman is killed somewhere on this planet every three to four days. .

We know how to expertly put on that other face to the point where ciswomen are asking us for makeup tips.

Personally, I'm in the 'I like wearing it' camp. I own makeup books by Emmy Award winning makeup artist Reggie Wells and Sam Fine. I'm always experimenting with new ways of perfecting and polishing my look and use a mix of budget and Fashion Fair products that I discovered through trial and error work for me.

I'm also aware of the fact that I'm considered a role model for the African descended trans community. My appearance has to be on point when I do presentations and speeches. I never know when I step into a room whether this might be a person's first encounter with a professional African-American transperson and I want that interaction to be a positive one. So looking my gender best includes putting my other face on.

So do I feel different in my bareface than I do when I'm 'in face'? Yep.

I'm fortunate that in addition to having a tall and thin body build, I have a relatively androgynous face with high cheekbones and naturally long eyelashes.

Makeup enhances what I have. But some of my transsisters aren't so lucky.

I like the way I look when it's done, I feel more confident when I walk out the door and that translates into me being more confident in my ability to blend in with other ciswomen and society.

As to being more comfortable with going without it? That's an ongoing process.

When Is Someone Going To Tell Black Transwomen We're Prettty?

This picture and the caption beneath it triggered the musings of this post.

Black women for centuries have had their beauty, denied, denigrated, and disrespected because the societal beauty standard doesn't compute for us.

If we African descended transwomen thought we were going to escape that negativity directed at African descended womanhood by society, guess again.

One of the things I continue to notice is that when the beauty of transwomen is discussed, the conversation disproportionately involves white transwomen, with a few Asian and Latina transwomen thrown into the mix in order to appear more diverse.

But Black transwomen being considered pretty? Nope. We get the same shade thrown at us as our cis African descended sisters.

Ugly. Masculine-looking. You get the drift...

I chuckled when Kerry Washington talked about how she almost didn't get the role of Marybeth in the movie 'Life is Hot in Cracktown' playing a transwoman because the director initially considered her 'too beautiful' to play a convincing transwoman.

It's interesting that these 'unwoman' beauty myths persist despite the long list of African-American winners in the Miss Continental pageant system and other trans themed pageants and the first open transgender contestant on America's Next Top Model is a proud African-American.

But to ask the question that's in the title of this post: when is someone going to tell Black transwomen we're pretty?

Well, Kerry Washington did.

And the reality is a lot of these girls are gorgeous. That’s just the truth of it. Transwomen are women. There are many of them that you would never know… ever, ever, ever.

If no one else will do so, then we need to do it our damned selves.

My trans sisters, you are pretty, you are intelligent, and you are beautiful inside and out. It's just a matter of time before the rest of the world sees that.

Can A Media Sistah Do Her Job Without Being Labeled Trans, Ugly Or An Affirmative Action Hire?

When I'm writing sometimes I'll flip on the TV and tune it to the Weather Channel. I love the two sister on-air weather presenters Betty Davis and Vivian Brown. Betty is usually doing the weekend on-air weather reports from 7 AM-11 AM EST while Vivian is on-air during the workweek.

I also like checking out their fashion styles as well as I'm finding out what the weather's going to be like here in Da Ville and the surrounding region.

So being the curious person I am, while pondering the backgrounds of my fave sistah weather casters, I Googled their names to see what would come up.

I was not surprised to discover that these ladies both have it going on.

In Betty's case she's a native Georgian and mother of two children who graduated magna cum laude from Spelman with an English degree. She has a BS in meteorology from Mississippi State and her seals of approval from the American Meteorological Society and National Weather Association.

Vivian is a Jackson, MS native who was a world class track athlete during her time at Jackson State University, where she earned her BS in Meteorology.

She's also a mother of two, has her seals of approval from the American Meteorological Society and National Weather Association, is the Weather Channel expert on tropical weather, a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc,, an entrepreneur who started a maternity clothing store in the ATL that features professional attire, a tennis buff and is a member of the Jackson State University Sports Hall of Fame.

I also ran across as I Googled both ladies transphobic, racist and sexist comments as well in this 2005 airliners.net thread and here about Ms. Davis and this one in my Hattiesburg.com about Ms. Brown.

Once again, this is an example of the ongoing centuries old attacks on the beauty and images of African descended women. You also have factored into this situation news and media outlets using young blonde weathercasters to add sex appeal to their newscast and draw viewers.

Some Weather Channel viewers drool over people like Alexandra Steele and have constant debates over who is the most beautiful woman on the channel. Give you two guesses whose names don't enter in that conversation.

Betty Davis and Vivian Brown are two accomplished, intelligent, and talented sisters who stylishly present the weather information we need to get through our days and work weeks. It's obvious they have the talent to do so and The Weather Channel is happy and lucky to have them. CNN hired away the other sister who used to work at the channel in Eboni Deon.

I'd damned sure be happy to stand in these two beautiful ladies pumps, and you folks who are insulting these ladies need to buy a vowel and get a clue about gender identity issues.

You also need to deal with the reality that beautiful women come in a wider variety of shades, ethnic backgrounds, body builds and skin tones besides petite, blonde, thin and white.

Choi Han Bit-Korean Supermodel

Those of us with longer memories would probably dispute that title by pointing out Harisu was the first Korean transwoman to garner international attention.. But 23 year old Choi Han Bit has done something that even trailblazing transwoman Harisu hasn't.

In Korea there is a television show called Open Hall in which beautiful women compete for a chance to become a supermodel. Out of the 1,200 applicants they received for this show, Choi Han Bit was one of the 160 initial contestants selected.

Over the 20 days of competition Choi has continued to impress and advance. She got through the first preliminary round which whittled those 160 contestants down to 50, and then made it through the July 28 second round which cut the remaining ladies down to 32 competitors.






Making the September 25 finals virtually guarantees her 'supermodel status' regardless of whether or not she actually wins

During her speech, according to AllKpop she had lots to say and many people to thank, including her parents.

"Looking back, the situation I'm in would have seemed impossible to me as a child. I'm just so happy to be here right now and I want to become a dignified supermodel as well as a great role model. I would like to thank my parents for actively supporting me through the surgery and the pursuit of my dreams."

When asked if she would like to be a celebrity, she said that she did not want to use her transgender status to become a celebrity, but would rather become a celebrity through her hard work and passion.

At the conclusion of her speech, Choi said, "I would like to send a message to any other transgenders. Be dignified and proud of who you are."

Amen sis. Your transsisters around the world are definitely proud of you.

I'll have to do some searching to find out if she ultimately won the contest. Here's hoping she did.

Model Diandra Forrest Helps Raise Awareness About Albinism

The hottest model on the international catwalks these days is 19 year old New York native Diandra Forrest.

She's a 5'11" tall, African American with blonde hair, high cheekbones, hazel eyes and full lips.

Diandra is also an African American with albinism. It's a hereditary condition that occurs in one of of every 17,000 births in which the skin, hair and eyes produce little or no melanin, resulting in a lack of pigmentation.

ABC's 20/20 is doing a story later tonight at 10 PM EDT on people that have this condition. In Tanzania people with albinism are being attacked, killed or mutilated by witch doctors who believe that their organs or potions made from them can bring luck or cure disease.

In Zimbabwe people with albinism are reportedly being raped by those who believe that sexual intercourse with them can cure HIV/AIDS.

Those atrocities and the persistent discrimination have galvanized people around the world with albinism to organize and become more active and vocal in combating the discrimination and negative stereotyping they face.

Diandra Forrest knows all too well about that. She was teased, taunted and had her ethnic background questioned while growing up in the Bronx.

Thanks to Melissa Reed, her sixth-grade teacher who was also an African-American with albinism, the future model began to undergo a transformation from a shy, quiet child too afraid to speak up to an outgoing young woman unafraid to speak her mind and pursue her dreams.

Diandra's career is starting to take off. She's signed with the prestigious Ford Models in Paris after initially starting her career with Elite.

She just took her first trip outside the United States to France in order to walk the runways during Paris fashion week and fulfill a lifetime dream.

"I'm a model, but I'm not a model just because I'm albino," she said. "I have the look, the body and it's just something that I've strived for, that I've always wanted to do."

She's also expanding our definition of beauty at the same time as well.

EBONY Fashion Fair Fall 2009 Season Cancelled

The EBONY Fashion Fair for fifty years has been an iconic slice of African-American culture. It was responsible for opening the eyes of the fashion industry to the fact that Black people not only like high fashion clothes, we have money to spend on it and Black women look good in them.

In addition, the EBONY Fashion Fair laid the groundwork for African descended people to consider and have careers in the fashion industry in addition to showcasing the work of Black designers.

The show also paved the way for Black people to enter modeling and other professions. A 15 year old Pat Cleveland strutted down the EBONY Fashion Fair runways before she moved up to the runways of Paris and supermodel status. Richard Roundtree was also an alum along with newscaster Sue Simmons and Janet Langhart Cohen.

So it was with shock and sadness that I heard the news that the Fall 2009 edition of the EBONY Fashion Fair will not take place.

"In light of the overall economic challenges that are affecting many, including our potential corporate sponsors, we have arrived at a most difficult decision to cancel Ebony Fashion Fair's fall 2009 season," Johnson Publishing Co. Chief Executive Officer Linda Johnson Rice said in a statement. "In the coming months, we will develop a new business model to ensure that the show is a mutually beneficial endeavor."

The EBONY Fashion Fair in addition to being a much anticipated event is one that also acts a a primary fund raising activity for sororities, churches and other civil groups. It is estimated that over the life of the show, it has raised an estimated $55 million in support of local charities.

It's also acted as a rite of passage activity for many African descended mothers and daughters, and a fun family night out activity as well.

Here's hoping that whatever fiscal problems prevented Johnson Publishing Company from putting on this fall's show are quickly rectified.

We need the EBONY Fashion Fair to bounce back, bigger, better and badder than ever.

2009 Amazing Philippine Beauties Promo Video

One of the transgender beauty pageants that has quickly garnered international attention in just six short years is about to crank up its 2009 edition.

The Amazing Philippine Beauties Pageant has lived up to its name in terms of the amazing way it has grown and captured the imagination and attention of the world.



It has grown from an event just looking for beautiful transpinays for its Amazing Philippines Cabaret Show to an international media attention grabbing pageant in its own right.

It's going to interesting to find out what lucky transpinay gets crowned by 2008 queen Angelika Santillan as her successor.

Reclaiming My Inner Diva

Many times we women become so wrapped up in doing things for others that we sometimes forget to take time out to do something for ourselves.

One of the things I love to do is hit my local nail shop for a manicure and pedicure at least once a month.

Because of the recession and hour cutbacks at work it was one of the first things I did to cut the fat out of my personal budget.

But what I failed to realize in doing so was that the nail and hair salon trips were a little noticed but important part of the psychological maintenance of my femininity.

When I step out of that nail shop (and the beauty shop), it's a piece of the myriad things I do as part of projecting my feminine image to the world and a part of maintaining healthy self esteem.

Granted after 15 years of toil and struggle and having the slings and arrows of numerous haters hurled at me, you have to have a diva's attitude and serious intestinal fortitude just to survive transition and operating in the world as a transperson.

But cultivating your inner diva is an important part of maintaining your femininity in a marginalized body.

In a world in which whiteness thrives and the beauty ideal for women is a petite, thin, hourglass waisted, blonde-haired, blue-eyed, slim buttocked and narrow hipped body, women of color, and especially Black women are constantly positioned as the unwomen.

You see it when Black female athletes who dominate their sports such as the late Florence Griffith-Joyner and the Williams sisters have their femininity questioned at international events or are challenged to take gender tests to 'prove' their femininity.

Sometimes the shade is cattily thrown by other women who lost because of their own piss poor sporting performances or failures to work as hard as the person who defeated them.

If they are tall and excel in their sport, they have 'that's a man' shade derisively spat at them.

In many cases as a Black woman, you don't even have to be an athlete or an entertainer to have your gender identity questioned.

If you are a Black transwoman, you get even more negativity hurled at you by society as well both inside and outside the race. That negativity can make it challenging at times to have a positive attitude about being the best person you can be.


So because of that heightened negativity, it's important for me as a transwoman of African descent to remind myself at regular intervals that I love me some Monica, I'm a Phenomenal Woman, a proud Transwoman and I'm a beautiful, spiritual person both inside and out.

When I apply my makeup, do my hair, put on my clothes, slip on my heels, and after checking myself out in my full length mirror, I have to feel and believe that I'm the sexiest woman alive.

I have to have the attitude as I interact with the world at large that I can hang with the best supermodels in the world and blow them off the catwalk.

I have to develop and have the self confidence to believe that I could walk onto a Miss Universe pageant stage and walk away with the crown.

Yes, there are times like any woman I feel 'unpretty'. But as long I as do the hard solid thinking about the type of woman I want to project to the word, pray about it, spend the time and effort into reclaiming my inner diva and making it happen, those unpretty days don't seem to last long.

Feminine Presentation For Trans Women Is A Life Or Death Issue

TransGriot Note: My latest piece for Global Comment

My cisgender girlfriends tease me sometimes about the amount of time I spend perfecting my feminine presentation. They will also needle me about the lengths I will go to ensure it is as flawless as I can humanly make it.

But if they walked in my pumps for a minute, they would look at it in a fundamentally different way and understand why I and other transwomen place so much importance on a flawless as possible feminine presentation.

I know how to apply my makeup to compliment my face and own a set of makeup brushes to do so. I experiment with new ways and various color combinations to create my various looks. I own three makeup books for African American women that I refer to on a regular basis. One is written by Oprah's Emmy winning makeup artist Reggie Wells, another is by makeup artist Sam Fine, and my third is one authored by Patricia Hinds for ESSENCE magazine.

I go to the nail shop twice a month to have manicures and pedicures done and keep a few bottles of my favorite nail polish shades at home to touch nit up between visits. I keep my eyebrows plucked, waxed and arched and do relentless maintenance on it. I ensure that any body hair that shows up on my legs, arms and underarms is expeditiously removed.

One of the first things I did when I started transition in 1994 was spend countless hours and cash in my electrologist's chair getting my face zapped. I'm planning to get laser done to hit the areas that stubbornly will not die when my cash flow improves.

In addition to stuffing myself in foundation garments, every now and then I indulge myself and get some of my bras and panties at Victoria's Secret on sale. (My inner Taurus still refuses to pay full price for them.)

I get my hair done and in between trips to the beauty shop I have a wig collection that is approaching Regine Hunter levels. My shoe collection is constantly evolving and expanding, and I can comfortably walk and stand in heels up to 3 inches in height. I do it so well that I once had a cisgender female co-worker ask me if I could teach her how to walk in heels.

I'm always on the lookout for fashionable clothes and accessories to go with them at reasonable prices.

And yes, I shop for pantyhose in various shades and styles to complement and complete my look.

Even though I'm 15 years into my transition, I make sure my feminine deportment and gestures are on point, I'm speaking using a feminine speech pattern and maintaining a feminine pitch level.

Much of the rationale behind me doing this is because of my speaking engagements, Trans 101 presentations and lobbying. I'm also considered a role model in the trans community as well and the image I project to others is important to me and the community I represent.

Another reason is I simply wanted to be the best woman I can be and I enjoy reveling in my divatude. When you grow up in the wrong body, you tend to appreciate that suppressed femininity more when you finally get the chance to openly express it and live your life.

But one of the other reasons I'm so diligent about it is because in the back of mind, even though I'm consciously making the choice of projecting my evolving femininity in this way, I'm cognizant that performing my feminine gender presentation as flawlessly as possible impacts my life.

Read the rest here

Naomi Sims Passes Away

I was saddened to hear the news that pioneering African-American supermodel Naomi Sims passed away in Newark, NJ at age 61 after a battle with breast cancer.

Mississippi born Naomi broke into the modeling business in the 1960's and paved the way for other supermodels to follow in her footsteps such as Beverly Johnson, Pat Cleveland and countless others.

In November 1968 she became the first Black model to grace the cover of Ladies Home Journal. She was also among the first to be represented by the Wilhelmina agency and went on to model for designers such as Halston during her career.

In addition, two photographs of her are featured in the The Model As Muse exhibit currently on display at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Her photos also graced the covers of Life and ESSENCE magazines as she became an icon of the 'Black Is Beautiful' movement.

Naomi was also a successful and savvy businesswoman. After leaving the modeling business in 1973, she published five beauty books and in 1976 launched a multi-million dollar wig line aimed at African-American women bearing her name. A decade later she launched a successful cosmetics line.

She opened doors for future models of color, and her family, the fashion industry and others will definitely miss her.

Contestant No. 2

You know I love pageants and have documented on TransGriot the various transgender ones around the world that happen.

We've had some fierce debates about the relevance of them and will have them again. I still line up on the side of people who see pageants as a stepping stone to a better life or for who winning them is their dream.

So with that being said, I was intrigued by an episode of PBS Wide Angle documentary series called 'Contestant No 2' which began running on PBS July 29.

It documents the story of Duah Feres, a young Arab-Israeli Druze woman who dreams of a life beyond her Galilee village. Her decision to enter the Miss Israel pageant triggers a chain of events that impact Duah, her family and her village.

It also leads us to ask the question how far can an idealistic youth trying to live her life and achieve her dreams go to challenge the conservative mores and attitudes of her people? How far will the older generation go to enforce their will and their values on her?

It was a fascinating documentary to watch. You feel for Duah, who literally put her life on the line to do it. It was filmed in 2006, so I'm wondering what Duah's life is like now.

But I don't want to spoil the Wide Angle episode for you, so I'll let y'all watch it for yourselves and comment below.

EBONY Magazine's It Factor Issue

You knew that EBONY was going to have to drop an issue celebrating the sistahs after their 25 Coolest Brothers issue generated much buzz, conversation in the blogosphere and arguments in beauty and barbershops across America last year.

The July/August 2009 issue of EBONY features 4 separate covers featuring Alicia Keys (the one I currently own) First Lady Michelle Obama, Tina Turner, and Halle Berry.

Of course I'm going to post the list of 25 women who as EBONY put it, made us sit up and take notice.

Alicia Keys
Michelle Obama
Tina Turner
Halle Berry
Naomi Campbell

Jennifer Hudson
Aretha Franklin
Serena Williams
Condoleezza Rice
Oprah Winfrey

Tyra Banks
Angela Davis
Erykah Badu
Jill Scott
Lil' Kim

Whoopi Goldberg
Diahann Carroll
Pam Grier
Patti LaBelle
Mo'Nique

Diana Ross
Rihanna
Grace Jones
Mary J. Blige
Beyonce

Okay, I already have problems with this list. No Lena Horne? No Dorothy Dandridge? No Phyllis Hyman? And you put Lil' Kim and Condoleezza Rice on it? I don't think so.

But let the discussion and cussin' begin.

Dissing Of Sonia Williams On Semi-Homemaker Blog

One of the things I gripe about on TransGriot is how the beauty of African-American women, be they trans or cisgender is disrespected.

It's also interesting to note how quickly African descended women are labeled as 'unfeminine' vis-a-vis the model of vanilla femininity that all are supposed to bow down and aspire to.

It happens far too often to the Williams sisters, and they aren't alone in that regard either.

Thanks to reader Lurlean I was advised of a thread occurring on the Food Network Humor Blog that illustrated this perfectly.

As usual, the folks that called out the disrespect of Sonia Williams were slammed as 'lacking a sense of humor' or 'overly sensitive'.

Ain't nothing humorous about a Black woman being disrespected. It's also playing into and perpetuating the 'Black women are unfeminine' stereotype that dates back to slavery.

Since it escaped these peeps in science class, or they graduated from 'Christian' private schools that teach Flintstones science, let me school y'all on something.

You get half your genetic material from mommy and half from daddy, and we are all blends of features from our parents.

Just as there are plenty of cisgender women who have 'masculine' body builds or combinations of features considered 'masculine', there are also cisgender men who have body builds and combinations of features that are considered 'feminine'.

Just an FYI, unless a person declares themselves to be trans, they ain't. Nor is it our business if they are.

TransGriot Note: Seems like in the last few hours, the Food Network Humor blog where that crappy post was housed is down for maintenance. Interesting.