I am so fed up with posters like Staci who does not know a thing about Mariah and had totally inaccurate sources trashing her “mixedness” at any given chance!

Alicia & Halle made it very clear in interviews that they chose to identify as black early on, whichi is fine. And Mariah also had stated that she identifies as a mixed-race human beings, which apparently offended some ppl in that they think every mixed person has to “choose a side”. I am saying my point yet once again that Mariah is always subjected to this kind of crticism only becuz of her skin color. If Alicia or Halle act or dress a certain way they would be praised either for their “downess” or “intelligent black woman representing”. But for Mariah, she is never black enough or white enough for some. And you wonder why she’s written those “sappy” lyrcis about being mixed?

I think that this post is a bit disingenuous.

There needs to be a distinction made between mixed-race people who don’t feel the need to “choose” and the reality that this country has a long history of rewarding assimilation. This goes beyond actual miscenegated people, to white ethnicities. This country dangles all the rewards of ‘whiteness’ in front of folks and many a group has taken advantage.

That statement is meant very objectively. It’s not intended as a judgement. But rather, it’s meant to remind people that there are benefits to being white or being considered less “non-white”. And while one doesn’t always consciously take advantage of said benefits, pretending as if they aren’t there, or that some do take advantage, or that this is “the American way” is really to be complicit with the system.

Mariah Carey doesn’t really pimp her blackness, not really. But she does pimp very complex ideas about light skinned black women. As such, this is a gender-shaded race argument. The tragic mulatto is a trope that few folks know about. In a nation where women like Halle, Alicia and Beyonce are the only black women to grace our nation’s most mainstream “beauty magazines”, we need to understand and admit that a diversity of black female beauty is still not widely celebrated. That is not to chastize Halle, Alicia and Beyonce for being light skinned or for gracing those covers, but it is about holding the larger population accountable for what they consume.

The hyper-sexual image of women like Beyonce and Mariah in today’s pop realm is not all that different from images of biracial women throughout the nation’s history.

My point is that I think you are somewhat unfair to the sociologist who makes a legitimate point about the ability to pass in this country for white or for white privilege. Acknowledging the ability of folks to pass is not the same as castigating them for doing it. And that’s important to relay to your readers.

There needs to be a distinction made between mixed-race people who don’t feel the need to “choose” and the reality that this country has a long history of rewarding assimilation. This goes beyond actual miscenegated people, to white ethnicities. This country dangles all the rewards of ‘whiteness’ in front of folks and many a group has taken advantage.

That statement is meant very objectively. It’s not intended as a judgement. But rather, it’s meant to remind people that there are benefits to being white or being considered less “non-white”. And while one doesn’t always consciously take advantage of said benefits, pretending as if they aren’t there, or that some do take advantage, or that this is “the American way” is really to be complicit with the system.

Mariah Carey doesn’t really pimp her blackness, not really. But she does pimp very complex ideas about light skinned black women. As such, this is a gender-shaded race argument. The tragic mulatto is a trope that few folks know about. In a nation where women like Halle, Alicia and Beyonce are the only black women to grace our nation’s most mainstream “beauty magazines”, we need to understand and admit that a diversity of black female beauty is still not widely celebrated. That is not to chastize Halle, Alicia and Beyonce for being light skinned or for gracing those covers, but it is about holding the larger population accountable for what they consume.

The hyper-sexual image of women like Beyonce and Mariah in today’s pop realm is not all that different from images of biracial women throughout the nation’s history.

My point is that I think you are somewhat unfair to the sociologist who makes a legitimate point about the ability to pass in this country for white or for white privilege. Acknowledging the ability of folks to pass is not the same as castigating them for doing it. And that’s important to relaty to your readers.