Where all the black men are

The male-female ratio is causing social havoc and is responsible for how you dress, how you act, what car you drive, and even, how you view yourself, according to Tim Harford, a British economist and author of a book called “The Logic of Life”.
The Economist shines a light on what black women -- actually all women who want a black man -- have to go through in a startling piece.
It's no secret that incarceration rates are affecting family and communities, but the overall effect on something as simple and sacred as love -- LOVE -- remains understudied and underestimated. While there is ample evidence about this subject, Harford has a way of showing the economic side of this travesty, underlining the lost dollars that a household does without due to a jailed husband or father.
A not-too-mentioned side effect of the lack of available, eligible, educated and gainfully employed men of color is that numerous black women are -- whether they like it or not -- forced to compete for the few that are out there.
Sexual urges being what they are in society, competition is not inherently fair.
And that does something, self-esteem-wise, I think. I may not be exactly sure what it does. But the effects are pretty obvious.
What's a single black female to do?




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Transformers: More than meets the eye

And no, we're not saying that Aunt Viv is a transformer. But some have (not us though). No way.

We've all seen them: Men who dress like women. Not the Madeas of the world, either. We're talking about shapely, breasts-and-everything man. Trannies, or as they're known on the street: Decepticons.
The only thing about these transformers is that, while they are "more than meets the eye," it is getting increasingly hard to tell who's who and what's what these days.
A cursory glance in a nightclub can result in a totally Berserko night these days, and that's even without the assist that alcohol gives to the event. I mean, even Galvatron himself would have a hard time telling who's a woman and who's a wo-man, ya know?
Put simply, we just don't know what team anybody's on anymore. And that's scary. So, I think people should clearly and abruptly "declare" themselves before engaging in intimate conversations. It would spare alot of heartache, pain, and let's face it, money.


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Just Sayin': Inquiring Minds Be Wanting to Know

Black Comics in Drag: A Trend?

Take a black male comedian, give him a show or movie ... and sooner or later the lipstick and wig comes out.
Is it coincidence or do black male comics all have the same schtick? What schtick? The schtick of mimicking women, complete with heels, stockings and in some cases, a girdle?
With the upcoming release of the full-feature length "Madea Goes to Jail" by the wunderkind Tyler Perry the debate will no doubt stir again. Perhaps more comics will see this as a way to enter the business.
Reminded I am when Spike Lee made a thinly veiled plea to Perry to take on an MLK biopic, I wonder what the fascination is with Hollywood seeing black men in drag.
Of course, there are PLENTY of This textothers (sidenote: Remember that movie, HavPlenty? WTF now?) who have donned the makeup, including A-listers such as Tom Hanks, who got his renown from a little sitcom where he performed in drag. Don't get me wrong, I get it. It's funny, at times. But does it seem that Hollywood has enabled black comics to put on that dress a little too eagerly? Perry's Madea blows them all away because her character is central to almost all of his other plays. But some say that the portrayals feed into the line of thinking that "If a black comic wants a blank check from Hollywood, he has to put on a dress." I don't know. What do you think?