Living out Loud - The New Blaxploitation

In a Benadryl-induced haze, I wearily channel surfed my way into the hot mess of a show called Basketball Wives. Mind you, of the seven women, only one of them is married to a basketball player...but I digress.  I watched *cough* 3 episodes and I saw no one working toward the greater good, looking past their own perfectly powdered nose to make a contribution to society.  Oh wait, they have paid for boobs, hair, and gallons of lip gloss so I guess they are contributing, in their own way. The episodes were chock full of neck rolling, finger waving, drink tossing, and b*tch slapping.  Lights, camera, catfight! (cue the Isaac Hayes soundtrack!)  Like the Real Housewives of Atlanta, these women of "reality" TV are so busy living out loud that they can't hear our cries to "turn that sh*t off!" Their noise comes at a time when psychologists have written us off as unattractive, our hair and hues continue to be the subject of documentaries, and our wombs have been labeled weapons of mass destruction.

Juxtapose, if you will, those images with the press coverage of our first Black FLOTUS traveling the world, wowing royalties, dining with world presidents, and teaching young people how to take pride in themselves and become better global citizens - all this while rendering the fashion critics speechless! Not only is she stunningly attractive, she's also kick-ass smart, she's comfortable enough in her own hair and skin to shake a tail feather and break a sweat in the hot sun, and her womb has produced two very beautiful and well-rounded young ladies. This is the "reality" that I want my young sisters aspiring to. Oh and by the way, she IS married, to the President of the United States.