Saturday, June 24, 2006

Ethnic Ambiguity

Ethnic Ambiguity

OK, I'm sitting here, doing nothing. Really, I'm doing many things, too many to actually be doing any of them. Browsing my bloglines, scanning my email, doing a little light-weight research on a particular CHD for another parent, you know, just hanging out, in the kneeling position ;) drinking coffee, basically uncommitted to any one activity.

So here's the thing, I'm also sort of watching TV. There's this show on the Style channel, called Sexiest. No idea who put it on this channel, when, or why, but there it is. Sexiest is apparently a countdown/showcase of the hottest 25 supermodels. I've never watched the Style channel, and I probably couldn't name one supermodel.

However, if I were to choose my Dream Woman, she'd be of latino descent. I've always admitted that, and the model that was on was latino, Brazilian, her name is Ana Beatriz Barros and obviously, she's gorgeous (hullo SUPERmodel) so, yes, I was watching. Anyway they'd show a few bathing suit shots, a runway strut, and a bit of an interview with her, or with someone who seemed to be 'evaluating" her.

One of those people said, "Brazilian women are hot. There's an ethnic ambiguity, you can't tell if they're Latin American, Native American, you can't tell if they're Indian, Caucasian or if they're Black..." (or some such thing) and went on to entail how this "ethnic ambiguity" made this model so much more desireable in the modeling business. Pissed me right off. First off, I think Latino women have a very distinct look, guess that's just me. Second of all, why didn't she just come right out and say, "We like our women to fit into a faceless mold and be completely unidentifiable, except by their measurements."

5 comments:

  1. this idiot I mean man (idiot)was obviously speaking for himself (or the idiot club) and not caring about how others would receive his very narrow-minded comments.

    Latino women DO have a very distinct look. To me, each and every woman has a distinctness that could never be categorized as anything other than unique.

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  2. Woman. assumptions. strange.

    I suppose (with veru little sleep mind you) more accurate wording would have served her and her audience much better.

    But sense those distinctions ARE there, and DO consist of more than just sizes, perhaps this more accurate wording might be, relevant to this broad allure that the speaker feels Brazilian models posse, compared to models of other ethnic labels: Brazilian models seem to have a wide-range appeal, to people of many races, be them “black,” “white,” or any tone in-between.

    Oh, and just to be quite clear, I agree, they do indeed posses such an allure. But the problem here lie in the speaker’s presentation, she provided personal opinion or conviction, be it “right” or “wrong,” for what should have been an audience-sensitive and opinion-free statement.

    And this just my opinion. It is what it is.

    ~ James

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  3. The worst part is that it was a WOMAN that said it. And yes, she could have reworded it and been much less offensive...

    "broad allure" would have even been almost complimentary!

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  4. WTF do I know? I'm attracted to Bea Aurthur and Esther Rolle if the lighting is. . . . .justso!

    OMG!

    hugs E and Sir James!

    :-)

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  5. Here in Brazil we call the biotype, Vin Diesel (actor) and Ana Beatriz Barros (model) as black steel!

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