Today’s post comes from Jame, the guest poster who showed us a great bust-friendly dress from Target last August, and a synopsis of the Me-Ality Body Scanner last year. (Look for Mia’s post tomorrow, after the Halloween craziness ends.) It was a fun surprise to receive Jame’s tweet earlier this week saying that she has something to say on the Redefining Sexy theme. Keep reading for a thought-provoking treat.
I am a little late to the party on the “Redefining Sexy†theme of October, as I am weeks behind in catching up on Feedly. I was looking at the posts from other busty women and wanting to be able to claim their cleavage with no judgement.
Being busty can mean you are automatically perceived as sexy. Â No matter how covered (or not covered) up you are. Â I think this is compounded even more if you are busty and black.
Ever since I was little, I have always loved the classic looks of the “Hitchcock blondes.†Or Grace Kelly.  Or more recently Michelle Obama and Kate Middleton.  I probably have really old taste–I’ve been coveting a Kelly bag since I was a preteen (I am in my 30s).  😀
Quick: what’s your mental image of a “sexy black woman?â€
I am sure many of you saw Rihanna, or Beyonce, or maybe a King magazine model.  In many ways, being a black woman, I am supposed to be “sexy,†in a “wild†or “exotic†way.  Or maybe it is really just in a Jezebel way.  Or completely asexual, since I am the funny friend (just look at the controversy around Gabby Sidibe this week based on the recent episode of American Horror Show).  There isn’t any middle ground.
How many of you saw something like this:
image source: http://fashionbombdaily.com/2010/10/20/snapshot-nia-long-as-dorothy-dandridge-for-ebony-magazines-65th-anniversary-issue/%5B/caption%5D
For me, I have always found the pinup look or the sexy secretary look with a pencil skirt/blouse/pointy pumps one of my favorite expressions of sexy.  But I rarely see women who look like me depicted as sexy in this way.  Especially when you look what’s current these days. We don’t often see images of the “sexy black girl next door.†Unless she looks like one of those video vixens.
Back in the 90s, there was a wide range of “sexy†black women in pop culture.  We had everyone from the ladies on Living Single, Girlfriends, Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Different World, Cosby Show, En Vogue, Salt n’ Pepa, TLC, and of course the video vixens to represent sexy.  But somehow, with the passing of time, all we get are now are the Housewives, Love and Hip Hop ladies and King models.
I guess for me, sexy is having the freedom to choose your own definition of sexy, whether you chose to imitate Rihanna, Beyonce, Dorothy Dandridge, Janelle Monae or Michelle Obama.
I certainly can relate to what you’re saying. Being a black busty girl has its own unique challenges. I always wanted to trade in some of what’s in my cups for at least a little bit more on the booty. It’s hard being so proud if my blackness but being told I have the body of a white woman. I don’t have the body of a white woman because I’m not white. As I’ve gotten older, like you, my idea if sexy has turned into more of a pinup type of style and because u don’t see us represented in a way I consider sexy, I am pushing myself to put it out there to be seen.
I missed the boat on junk in the trunk. I ended up being a merge of the body shapes of the women on my dad’s side (busty apples) and my mom’s side (hippy pears).
I got the boobs and hips but skipped the butt. :P. I am trying to rectify this with dead lifts! Hahaha.
But on a more serious note, I’d be really happy if there was a wider range of black portrayed in the media. On the up not, Black Girls Rock is on BET this Sunday.
On your question on “what’s your mental image of a “sexy black woman?†My thoughts went to Janelle Monae, Jennifer Hudson, Naomi Campbell and Kelly Rowland. I find classy sexy as something that appeals to me and they all look super classy and sexy at the same time.