So by now, I’m sure many of you have seen Erykah Badu’s new bad ass video where she gets butt-ass naked! BUCK YEA! There’s a lot of interpretative symbolism floating around the blogosphere—primarily the idea of stripping down to fearlessly bare one’s individualism against all societal norms. I was having a conversation with one of my girls last night about baring your body and she said something like, “Yea, but not YOU Miss Feminist!” Oh contraire, I must dispel the myth that “feminists” are against flaunting sexuality. If anything, I am all for sexual liberation. It just sucks sometimes that a woman’s sexual liberation is oftentimes filtered through the patriarchal framework that can then turn sexual expression into “whoring” or “slutty”. I recognize the dangers of our society’s superficiality. As an artist and an intellectual, it’s important for me to legitimize myself through my creative talents, work and words before stripping down. Brains and beauty before body. The last thing I want to hear is some bullshit from haters trying to discredit like, “Oh she only got there because of how she looks” or “Oh, it’s because she got that PHOTO up.” Please. I know I can’t control what people think, but I can control what I put out there in this world. And I will make sure I always produce substantiating work. Also in recognizing our society’s superficiality, I know how easy it would be for me to claim notoriety through sex and body. I can wear less clothes, I can smile for the camera. Easy. But this was never my mission to begin with. Look at Tila Tequila. She made a name for herself by exploiting her own body and sexuality, and now she can’t escape this. Tila wants to make music and make art and even find love—but no one takes her seriously in these industries. I refuse to fall into that trap. I want to be influential with my brains not (just) my body. This is the route I’ve chosen for myself. Others may choose differently. All power to them and the pursuit of happiness.
Erykah Badu is a bad ass female. She got naked and it totally flipped the script—even in a patriarchal society. She’s also well established as an artist and incredibly respected as a strong woman. You don’t gota question her motives in taking off her clothes in this situation. So trust me when I say, “I wana get butt naked, too! I do!” And I absolutely plan on doing so one day. FOR ALL OF YOU. That is a quasi promise. Watch out now.
Bengali—a TEA BAG?!
Haitian—where are all the HAITIAN people at??? Hmmm…
Hindi—another TEA BAG?! They recycled the Bengali poster here…
Hmong—Eggrolls?!?! Damn, son. They couldn’t at least show a picture of Hmong people eating or making eggrolls?
Khmer—Tea time baby.
Korean—Tea time baby. I liked how they chose a different tea set.
Laotian—Doing what they do best…serve food?
Puerto Rico—Are these REAL Puerto Rican hands? (Also, is it just me or does that boxing glove look like a lobster claw?)
Thai—I don’t care what any of y’all say…TOM YUM SOUP is da best!!
Urdu—You look kind of familiar…
Vietnamese—Oh, my peoples! I like the decorations on the tea pot.
