Connect with us

Art

My Superheroes Are Black, Burlesque Models

Published

on

I found these dope pics of Nichelle Nichols who most know as the first black woman on Star Trek but many aren’t aware of the modeling she used to do. And yes, I even found a Cicely Tyson modeling photos. I didn’t search the internet for the most iconic black Hollywood stars in an attempt to shame them, but there is a lot of the vintage, black burlesque history and images we don’t know about. If we leave it up to mainstream media, we would only think blonde bombshells like Marilyn Monroe were the only standards of beauty and desire. I wanted to find some famous and not so famous black women that did alternative modeling when the odds stood against them.

First of all, these photos prove that black women have always been fine. These vintage photos are timeless but it also leaves a void in the lack of history we have available to explain them. We need to explore how black femmes navigated adult work post-slavery and how they used their power and agency to build their brands as we know today. I believe it’s important for us to understand and respect the journeys of black women including their adult work. Just for the sake of argument, adult work isn’t just a paid courtesan but it also includes adult modeling, burlesque, and adult dancing.

The beauty of these women is unmatched and it will do us all a great justice to not understand the history of black adult work in America especially post-slavery. For some, adult work is about survival and for others, it is a mere choice, either way, both should be respected.

Maya Angelou was an adult worker as well and she was never ashamed of it. I think we should allow black women to control their bodies as they see fit without the prude judgment and conservative scale of morality.

I wrote about my experiences because I thought too many people tell young folks, “I never did anything wrong. Who, Moi? – never I. I have any skeletons in my closet. In fact, I have no closet.” They lie like that and then young people find themselves in situations and they think, “Damn I must be a pretty bad guy. My mom or dad never did anything wrong.” They can’t forgive themselves and go on with their lives. So I wrote the book Gather Together in My Name. -Maya Angelou

I enjoy seeing burlesque images of black iconic heroes. It humanizes them, plus it opens up a brand new world of possibilities and critical thinking on how the black body is perceived. I noticed a lot of these images and their descriptions used the word ‘shapely’ which I read like ‘curvy’. I have no doubt that their biggest clients were white men and affluent black men. But then I remembered what Queen Eartha Kitt said about affluent black men in Hollywood…

Well damn…

Here are some photos I found of some of the most beautiful black women you may or may not have heard of. They lived in their sex work unapologetically and they looked amazing doing it. Live your life.

Olya , model and cosplayer dressed as Esther Jones [aka Baby Esther] who was an African American singer and entertainer of the late 1920s

For the full gallery, visit here.

0 Users (0 votes)
Rate Here0
What people say... Leave your rating
Sort by:

Be the first to leave a review.

User Avatar
Verified
{{{ review.rating_title }}}
{{{review.rating_comment | nl2br}}}

Show more
{{ pageNumber+1 }}
Leave your rating

Your browser does not support images upload. Please choose a modern one

Continue Reading
1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. Domiana DeVoe

    September 30, 2018 at 2:58 PM

    I am so glad that I ran up on this website, and this article! It’s a shame that we are still tackling issues of women’s sexuality, and the conventional vs the unconventional. But I loved the way you broke down the fact that sex work isn’t just about prostitutes and pornos (I mean, God bless it all, but there is always more to a story than what is being told). I cannot wait to read more from you!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Art

Lost Children Of Andromeda

Jason Michael Primrose has launched his Kickstarter for his latest title Lost Children Of Andromeda. Find out more about his book now.

Published

on

You can support Lost Children Of Andromeda on Kickstarter now!

Kickstarter has been a source of allowing independent Black and POC creators the chance to publish and bring their projects to life. Some popular and successful Kickstart projects have included Wash Day, Noir Is The New Black! and Trill Leauge. Now, author Jason Michael Primrose has launched his latest project for Lost Children of Andromeda. 

 

 

About Jason Michael Primrose

Visionary, independent author Jason Michael Primrose launched a Kickstarter campaign in February to fund the production of the multimedia assets for the immersive experience which coincides with the newest installment of the LOST CHILDREN OF ANDROMEDA series, 205Z: Time and Salvation. A prequel to the previously released Zosma, 205Z: Time and Salvation will be released on May 6, 2021. Leading up to the official book release, Primrose will be producing not only a traditional, printed book, but also an accompanying audio podcast, an interactive website, a gorgeous, 45-minute thematic soundtrack composed by Tobi Weiss, and stunning concept artwork and character sketches by The CMD Studios. 

“Lost Children of Andromeda is meant to be immersive, inescapable,” shares Primrose.  “Sometimes it will feel real, like an injection into our world, sometimes it will feel distant and impossible. Things that happen inside the novel may come true, or already have, some we can only hope never come to pass. From music to art to prose, you will find yourself surrounded by the experience, believing, like myself, that 2052 feels too familiar to not be real.” -Jason Michael Primrose

Primrose is providing an attractive list of perks to Kickstarter donors. Among those perks are: limited edition hardcover copies of 205Z: Time and Salvation with bookmarks featuring the concept art at the $35; limited edition, signed hardcover copies of both LOST CHILDREN OF ANDROMEDA series,  205Z and Zosma with bookmarks for $50; signed hardcover books, bookmarks, and 8 limited edition, hi-res character prints by The CMD Studios at the $75 level; and at $1,000, donors get all the perks, as well as get their names listed in the acknowledgments, a limited edition205Z soundtrack by Tobi Weiss on vinyl, and to be written into the series as a character! His Kickstarter solves many challenges independent creators face; marketing costs, production costs, and distribution bottlenecks, like getting the content to an audience craving diversity versus waiting for gatekeepers to permit diversity to exist in these genres, one story at a time. As part of his initiative to reach audiences, for every novel pledged in the Kickstarter, one will go to the Brotherhood Crusade, a career and personal development program for underprivileged youth in South Los Angeles. 

The BIPOC author, who also identifies as LGBTQ+, created the LOST CHILDREN OF ANDROMEDA series as an allegorical outlet to express his trials and triumphs as an LGBTQ+ person of color and struggles with finding his voice, focus, and purpose as a multi-hyphenate creative. Primrose feels there is ample room for more representation in the Fantasy/Sci-Fi genre, from independent storytellers in particular, and set out to create a universally diverse experience in 205Z: Time and Salvation.

“Imagination is power, and words can be access to that power,” states Primrose. “There is a world that exists where the championship of diversity we see in music, sports, TV, also exists in fiction literature. Not always necessarily about our suffering, but about our greatness, our (afro) futures. With literature being one of the most pervasive forms of consumption, it is imperative, to me, that BIPOC individuals are supported as they navigate bringing stories to life. It is time they are told by us. It is time we are seen as the heroes we are. Science Fiction and Fantasy presents a beautiful opportunity for that.”

205Z: Time and Salvation is set 31 years in the future, 215 days before the apocalypse. Natural disasters have ravaged the Earth leaving nations devastated, food and resources limited, and civil unrest rising among a doomed population crammed into claustrophobic cities. 

Allister Adams, a young African-American man with traces of inhuman DNA and supernatural abilities, is swept out of hiding when he intervenes to stop a terror attack. He’s soon caught in a war for alien artifacts between two rival organizations: a government-organized task force of genetically advanced Evolutionaries like him, and a group of radical, stateless Evolutionaries orchestrating terror attacks worldwide for reasons no one yet understands. He will have to choose sides in a war that has been raging since before he was born and outmaneuver a cosmic darkness that has been plotting its return since before the current era.

Along with writing, Primrose has had a decade-long career in creative strategy, digital and experiential marketing, and influencer partnerships for key industries;  from beauty to tech, from fashion to entertainment. He is still called upon by agencies and brands alike to catapult products, messaging, and experiences to new-age consumers, championing diversity across all industries and campaigns. 

Support and follow the Kickstarter now!

0 Users (0 votes)
Rate Here0
What people say... Leave your rating
Sort by:

Be the first to leave a review.

User Avatar
Verified
{{{ review.rating_title }}}
{{{review.rating_comment | nl2br}}}

Show more
{{ pageNumber+1 }}
Leave your rating

Your browser does not support images upload. Please choose a modern one

Continue Reading

Art

Celebrating The Life Of Black Radical Feminist Patricia Robinson

Join Black Women Radicals, Dr. Robyn Spencer, Lupe Family and Fabulize to celebrate the life of Patricia Robinson.

Published

on

By

What started as a question and revelation turned into a journey or meeting brilliant Black women.

Join us on October. 15th at 5:30pm EST to celebrate the life of Patricia Robinson. Register here to secure your spot.

You’ve probably never heard of Patricia Robinson and that’s ok. Believe it or not, there are many Black women who have done much for the empowerment of Black women, community, education and politics that we’ve never heard of. We become acquainted with these heroines through their work and we study them and try to build from their foundation.

Now, many of us are opening our eyes and expanding our personal politics and we are discovering that we are embracing more radical ideologies and theories. With that being said, our curiosity is guiding us in discovering our ancestors and their work that has impacted even our generation.

I’m teaming up with Black Women Radicals, Dr. Robyn Spencer and filmmaker and activist Lupe Family to screen a short documentary on the life of activist, mother, psychologist and radical Black feminist, Patricia Robinson. We will celebrate her life and discuss how she influenced other Black feminists and activist from the 1970s and beyond.

Please join us in an educational, inspiring and celebratory tribute to a Black woman who focused on poor, Black mothers and advocated for Black queer people to adopt.

Register here to reserve your spot.

0 Users (0 votes)
Rate Here0
What people say... Leave your rating
Sort by:

Be the first to leave a review.

User Avatar
Verified
{{{ review.rating_title }}}
{{{review.rating_comment | nl2br}}}

Show more
{{ pageNumber+1 }}
Leave your rating

Your browser does not support images upload. Please choose a modern one

Continue Reading

Art

WAP Brings Out The Ashies

Men are being hypocritical as per usual when it comes to sex and hip hop.

Published

on

The internet had a collective meltdown this past weekend for some hoes in this house.  Cardi B’s newest single, featuring Megan Thee Stallion, aptly named WAP, dropped along with an savagely enticing video.

For my kink-friendly folks, you’ve got a new theme song. For the rest of the unwashed masses, WAP simply stands for Wet Ass Pussy. Good stuff right there.

The Blessings

We had golden nipple sprinklers. We had Normani throwing that thang in a circle. The Twerk Gods had both Cardi and Megan doing more splits than an ice cream shop. In other words, to quote the King of Fuck Boys, Life Is Good. Even without the red bottoms.

Nope. Just a peek.

Enter The Musty Marathon

However, in the Lord’s wet tissue paper of 2020, apparently seeing two female rappers with a sexy video is controversy. Hearing two women rap about their pussy, their sex game, and how much they enjoy sex was listed as a war crime. The complaints ranged from how this video brought women back 50 years to this type of music being why we have COVID right now. We had everyone from some random hobosexuals with no money to minor midwestern politicians too unattractive to have opinions weighing in. 

However, my true axe to grind falls solely on men. Because men are embarrassing. All the time. I wanted to lie and say sometimes, but no. It’s every fucking day.

Make It Make Sense

Look. I’m not picture perfect when it comes to this argument. I’ve been one of those “sexually repressed, think I know everything, how dare the world not be what I say it should be” type of men in the past. However, I’ve done this thing called WORK. Where you dig deep, ask questions, and then realize you simply have a perspective of the world, not ownership of it.

What does this mean? Simple. Mind your goddamn business. It’s a song. With a video. Which was visually AWESOME. The fact that on a sunny Saturday morning, you unkempt, morning breath dragons got up to complain about the state of femininity is HILARIOUS.

You think sticking a finger in someone’s ass is freaky. It’s not. That’s basic. You can’t even fathom the idea that women enjoy sex in all of its variations. Then you get on the internet and slut shame. Weird. You subscribe to three different OnlyFans accounts and still fix your fingers to state who gets to be a wife. 

Afterwards, you shift the blame to music and say this kind of track is too vulger. Interesting. You knew the entire chorus to Put It In Your Mouth when you were 11. You’ve sung Nate Dogg’s verse from Ain’t No Fun with your whole chest out. Didn’t you go from the window to the wall back in 2003? With the sweat dripping down on the balls? Do not lie. Weren’t you trying to be Nelly and credit card swipe some ass cheeks because of Tip Drill? You even created a GoFundMe to ressurect BET Uncut.

In Conclusion….Hoes Be Mad

Cardi herself even said there are rappers for the type of consciousness the complainers keep asking for. But they are never supported. She is right. If you’re not running to Jay-Z or Lil Baby to sound like Common or Earthgang, then why the hell do you think Cardi should make music like Noname? Everybody has their lane. We’ve been raised on drug dealing, smashing hoes music, yet deepthroating pussy popping bars are too much?

So this….THIS…is the death of music huh? I even saw a man talk about how far we’ve strayed from music from Lauryn Hill and Arethea Franklin. As if blatant songs about sex, cheating, and secret relationships is worse than coded songs about sex, cheating, and secret relationships. Mmmk.

I thought about putting screen shots for all these encounters then changed my mind. I don’t show off ashiness, I moisturize it to make it disappear.

I’ll say this once: you bitches are hateful. You have no joy. You are angry at EVERYTHING that doesn’t look like struggle. 

The song happened. The video happened. The reaction of women enjoying it happened. That’s life. Case closed. 

Hit up a therapist and quit using Beyonce’s internet bandwidth to kink shame. The rest of us over here will keep having a good ass time.

Because those that actually get WAP could never complain about WAP. 

There’s only one complaint about the whole video, and well, we got an instant fix.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CDsA1pTh6wJ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Also ladies, I don’t give out advice for free anymore, but if there’s one thing I’ll leave you with, it’s this:

Use it wisely.

5 Users (1 vote)
Rate Here5
What people say... Leave your rating
Sort by:

Be the first to leave a review.

User Avatar
Verified
{{{ review.rating_title }}}
{{{review.rating_comment | nl2br}}}

Show more
{{ pageNumber+1 }}
Leave your rating

Your browser does not support images upload. Please choose a modern one

Continue Reading

Art

Snowchild By The Weeknd Is A Black Anime Exclusive

The Weekend gets Japan’s first Black-owned anime studio to produce his new video.

Published

on

The Weeknd’s newest music video, Snowchild, is brought to you by the Japan’s first and only Black-owned animation studio.

D’art Shtajio is an American-created company in Tokyo, and founded by Arthell and Darnell Isom in 2016,. The studio prides itself with the ability to bridge the gap between Japanese animation and Western storytelling.

Arthell Isom

The name of the company is a great play on words. D’art is a combination of the two brothers/founders.  Shtajio consists the phrase Shtaji ga daiji (The Foundation Is Important) and Sutajio (studio).

While most are just learning about D’art Shatjio, their acclaim is not new.  Their handiwork can be seen in many famous anime like Overlord, One Piece, Gintama, Tokyo Ghoul:re , and more. They also are behind the animation for the Netflix-exclusive visual anime album from Sturgull Simpson, Sound & Fury.

You’ll see elements of that very foundation in Snowchild. It is a visual representation of the various stages of The Weeknd’s career. The video is oozing with creativity.  You’re even getting characters morphing into black panthers (an ode to his work on the Black Panther soundtrack). 

You wouldn’t be wrong if you caught a flashback of The Boondocks while watching, as the animation gives a similar vibe.

Check out the video below.

0 Users (0 votes)
Rate Here0
What people say... Leave your rating
Sort by:

Be the first to leave a review.

User Avatar
Verified
{{{ review.rating_title }}}
{{{review.rating_comment | nl2br}}}

Show more
{{ pageNumber+1 }}
Leave your rating

Your browser does not support images upload. Please choose a modern one

Continue Reading

Art

Watch: Artist and Choreographer Shamel Pitts New Short Film, Lake of RED

Guggenheim Fellowship Award Winner Shamel Pitts releases new, short film titled, “Lake of Red”.

Published

on

By

The 2020 Guggenheim Fellowship Award Winner in Choreography, Shamel Pitts unveiled his new short film, Lake of Red. This is the first visual art piece from his new Tribe arts collective.

There’s a new Brooklyn-based artist collective that’s bridging the spirit of James Baldwin with the aesthetic of afrofuturism together in one artistic expression called Tribe. Created by Shamel Pitts who won the latest Guggenheim Fellowship Award, has released his film which is combines visual and emotional expression through dance.


“As an African American artist, I feel compelled to share the power of art and dance as a leading example to humanity. I am constantly engaged with James Baldwin’s offering: “Art has to be some kind of confession…if you can face and examine your life, you can discover the terms in which you are connected to other lives, and they can discover them, too,” says Pitts. “This moment has shifted me inside out and then has flipped me upside down. I started off in quarantine, with the urgency of caution towards the danger of being outside, which drew me deeper inside of my “self,” focusing on solitude and the bridge between solitude, creativity, and solidarity,” Piits said in a release statement.

According to the official press release, the short film is described as the following: Lake Of RED takes place inside in a fragmented, boxed space, and is a poetic performance lens for projection, reflection and resonance of the artist with the viewer and with himself. Within the short film, Pitts deploys his unique style of choreography, inspired by GaGa and nightlife, whilst exploring a close dialogue with the lights that occupy (and transform) the space. Pitts orates with lyrical poetry as overcurrents dressing this audio-visual work. Lake of RED and its attributes simulate the fluidity of waves and the inability to connect with clear form in a multidimensional flow of eccentricity, passion and vigor. Through fragmentation and replication of the body, the frame, and the environment, Lake Of REDexamines Pitts’ sense of disturbed solitude & isolation, mixed with the internal monologue of mania through an emergence of movement.

Tribe is seeking to create a number of artistic projects that represents stories and the lives of artists who are of the African diaspora.


“With TRIBE, I continue my proposition to share the colorfulness within blackness through our art and platform,” says Pitts. “Being black is larger than the false nature of threats and violence and death inflicted upon us, due to the weaponization of our black bodies. And being black is bigger than hip hop. Each of us carries a multiplicity of self; of being.” The more we can allow ourselves to really self reflect and to practice self-love, the more we can see ourselves in each other. And we might discover the meeting of differences with compassion and camaraderie. Eventually.”

0 Users (0 votes)
Rate Here0
What people say... Leave your rating
Sort by:

Be the first to leave a review.

User Avatar
Verified
{{{ review.rating_title }}}
{{{review.rating_comment | nl2br}}}

Show more
{{ pageNumber+1 }}
Leave your rating

Your browser does not support images upload. Please choose a modern one

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2024 Fabulize Magazine by Fabulize Media LLC.