"Ladies is pimps too; go and brush your shoulders off."

The quote above is by entrepreneur and rapper, Jay-Z. Recently, watching a video on the objectification of women in the music industry, the discussion brought up mixed feelings on the subject. Many believe that you can not mix those grimy hip-hop lyrics and chivalrous behavior; however, I believe that a woman can enjoy Lil Wayne and still not share his beliefs on women and life. 

Yes, Lil Wayne loves to call women bitches, and wants to only date red bones and yellow women. He loves to objectify women. I've been to five Lil Wayne concerts, since I was twelve, and I don't consider myself a bitch. I also do not only date light-skinned boys. I can rap every lyric of his, but I do not believe in what he says. Lil Wayne is an entertainer--his job is to entertain others. He is not an educator. While music can influence what you think, America is becoming too sensitive. Every time a video is directed, a song produced, or something is shown on television, someone wants to come out and say how inappropriate it is for their children or how it is brainwashing future generations. We have to leave some blame to the parent.

Parents should censor what their children watch if they care that much about the lyrics and videos. If you’re son or daughter begins to believe they are a hustler, bitch, hoe, etc., then you have failed as a parent. Don’t blame Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, or any other rapper; blame yourself. As a society, we are too quick to blame someone else for our issues, especially the media. There have been thousands of debates on the influence of media, and the “winning” argument remains the same: Media is a bad influence on kids. WRONG! Parents who don’t monitor their children and try to instill the right values in them are bad influences on children.

Then, there is the old argument about the representation of females in the media. Females are objectified in all genres of music, including rock and hip-hop. Turn to any music video channel, and 75% of the time, women are half-naked, lusting after some guy with a lot of money who boasts their great sex skills and stacks of cash. But there are women in the media who objectify men. Lil Kim, Missy Elliot, and Remy Ma are the perfect example. They constantly objectify men in their music, using them as sexual objects and flaunting their cash. Songs include, One Minute Man (Missy Elliot), almost any song from The Notorious K.I.M. (Lil Kim), and Conceited (Remy Ma).

As a woman, I understand where other women are coming from with the whole objectification idea, but I can’t agree. Women should begin to seek more positive role models, such as Hillary Clinton and Oprah Winfrey. Americans are being too sensitive. Every little remark is the objectification of women or inappropriate. Entertainers main goals are to entertain and they are going to do whatever to make money—no matter what it is. Women should learn to separate what they believe is right for them and what they believe is wrong.

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"The Black Sheep"

While many Black kids encounter prejudice and racism at a young age, I was not one of those kids. After reading an incident on racism in schools, I was asked did I ever encounter racist acts such as being followed in a store or someone undermining my intelligence because of my race. Honestly, I haven't and why? Because I have the privilege of being light-skinned.

The privilege of being light-skinned? What does that mean? People don't discriminate against me because I'm of a lighter complexion.

I am superior within my race because I resemble White, which is perfection in society's eyes. While I wish this whole idea of dark skinned vs. light skinned discrimination wasn't true, I have to be honest with myself and it is true.

This idea is not a new concept. Light-skinned privilege dates back to slavery. Darker complexion slaves were forced to do strenuous, field work, while the lighter complexion slaves were more favorable, and subjected to house duties. Even today, society tells us that "Black is beautiful", with a photo of Beyonce. The underlying meaning is that, "Black is beautiful...but too much Black is ugly." When I turn on my television, light-skinned models are plastered all over commercials, television shows, and music videos. Even living in DC, I hear boys say, "A girl needs to pass the brown paper bag test if she wants to be with me." Blacks are already discriminated against enough, and society chooses to segregate Blacks even more by this idea of light-skinned privilege.

However, while it seems a privilege to some, I hated being light-skinned growing up. I stood out around my dark-skinned family. I was constantly being called Wonder Bread, white girl, and cracker by my cousins and siblings. When I went to school, I was the "white girl" out of my group of friends. I remember freshman year of high school, a white girl in my class got a slight tan, and everyone told her, "Wow, now you're more Black than Nichelle! You're darker than her! Nichelle you are White! “More Black? Me being White? It was definitely a weird experience for me, being called White by my Black AND White peers. For Christmas, a family member of mine gave me tanning oils so I could become darker. I am the Black sheep of my family and friends—no pun intended.

The question I constantly ask myself, "Is where do I fit in?" I'm not light enough to be White, but I'm not dark enough to be Black. The solution to this question is simple: If America looked past complexion and race, then society would be better. People should learn to not judge others by what they look like, but what they do and who they are. Even though Martin Luther King quotes are overused, one quote is true: "You should judge others not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." Although I know America is a long way from ending internal racism and racism overall, the first step is acceptance of others despite the way they look.