Roboho? Streetwalker chic?

Last week there was a lot of controversy regarding TMZ's comment describing Beyonce's outfit for her performance at the BET awards, as "roboho". TMZ posted the following comments:

"...From Beyonce's roboho performance getup to Eve's streetwalker chic, check out why it's time these artists hired new stylists and put the hip back into hip-hop!...

And since then blogger, Jasmyn Cannick has voiced her disapproval to anyone regarding women as "ho's" and I agree.

Although my ignorance tends to get the best of me at times, I honestly don't feel any woman should be called a “ho”, whether anyone feels justified or not. And with that said I'm going to work harder to stop using that word. But when you hear people getting referred as such when they have done nothing to deserve it, it gets me upset, White or Black. Obviously I'm going to be susceptible when it comes to black women being labeled as "ho’s” because this is just another demeaning attribute to add to the heaps that we have been subjected to and forced to endure.

I had this discussion with a best friend of mine and she felt that this particular situation wasn't worthy enough to raise hell over, as opposed to the Imus situation, only because TMZ is a gossip site and they can say what they want. It's convenient to look at this with a black and white perspective and just brush this off as a columnist doing what they do but we, specifically black women, can't always sit back and ignore the bigger picture. I feel that this should be addressed just as aggressively as the Imus situation only because I am looking at the long-term damages labeling has done to us over the years and there comes a point in time where we need to voice our displeasures and demand change. Why shouldn't this receive the same attention? The indemnities that it can cause are just the same, especially to their readers that are at a precarious age. They read this article and see two women that that they admire and making positive strides in the industry being referred to as "ho's" and "streetwalkers"...although TMZ referred to their attire as such, what does it say about the woman wearing it? The implications are there regardless...they may start to think that when they grow up to become respectable young women, it won't matter, they’ll still be “ho’s”, so why bother?

Just take a look at what an article like this elicited from its readers:

"Black people are idiots Black people can't dress A few of them are hot (ie. Rhianna) Most are not (ie. HIV-infected Bayonce) Black people: understand this: The more you complain about whites hating blacks, the less you will amount to in your lives. Can you honestly find ANY successful black people in the world? I can't. Why? They all complain. The Japanese were slaves too at once point. Want to know why they are some of the richest people in the world? They don't dwell on the past. So listen up you little oil rags: SHUT UP."---JEFF

"YOU "AFRICAN AMERICANS" CAN JUDGE WHITE PEOPLE BUT WE CANNOT EVEN SAY A WORD ABOUT YOU. YOUR REPRESENTING REVERSE RACISM AND THATS PATHETIC. DON'T TALK ABOUT THIS SLAVERY !@?#$ EITHER BECAUSE YOUR MOTHERLAND SOLD YOUR PEOPLE TO US. YOUR IN A FREE COUNTRY THAT WAS FOUNDED BY WHITE PEOPLE...YOUR LUCKY TO BE IN THIS COUNTRY BECAUSE YOU COULD BE LIVING BACK IN ETHIOPIA. NOT ONLY THAT BUT THE MAJORITY PEOPLE SUCKING THE WELFARE, MEDICAID AND ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS IN THIS COUNTRY SUCH AS FOOD STAMPS ARE AFRICAN AMERICANS!!! AT LEAST THE WET BACKS THAT COME FROM MEXICO KNOW HOW TO WORK THEIR ASS OF FOR THE FREEDOM THEY'RE STARVING FOR. ALL YOU PEOPLE KNOW HOW TO DO (FOR THE MOST PART) IS BITCH, WHINE, POP OUT KIDS AND SHOOT EACH OTHER. YEA....I PLAYED THE RACISM ROLE, BECAUSE YOUR DOING THE SAME F**KING THING. SO KISS MY WHITE #$!@?" ---WHITEGIRL

I'm not even going to comment on this ignorance but can you see what I'm saying? These are just examples of the damages an article such as this can (will) cause. And although TMZ does have a right to say what they want we have a right to react and disapprove.