Englishman in New York

I do love this song.

Newspapers

Nine to five commutes are swamped with free newspapers, but I prefer to be uninformed than misinformed.

Chemically 'Corrected'

Farewell to my chemically ‘corrected’ hair

My peer respected and socially accepted hair

Natively neglected and African rejected hair

No more harsh chemicals and over heated pressers

Spending every 4-6 weeks at the hairdressers

Imitating the hair of my ancestral oppressors

Using products that are far from kind

So my coarse undefined tresses can become fine and gain pretentious silk & shine

My thick strands of curls & coils

Regularly bathed in natural oils and treated like royals

My glorious crown of kinks
I'm leaving it to flourish in its natural state regardless of what anyone else thinks
Not easily swayed by the wind, my hair is now wild with no reason to be tamed

I'm so in love and no longer ashamed of my God given precious mane.

                                                                                                                 - eileen carmel

© Copyright 2012

You don't look African...

He: 'So what country do you come from?'

Me: 'I come from Ghana'

He: 'Oh you're African, you don't look African.'

Me: 'Oh my bad, I left my spear and tribal marks at home today.'

My Hairspiration

It's been almost a year of growing out my permed hair - yay! My mum is still begging me to get a perm though but I've been firm in my decision to be 100% natural and I'm doing well guys. Esperanza Spalding has been my 'hairspiration' throughout my hair journey; it's so refreshing to see someone in the spotlight with hair that looks...just like mine! I love her hair and I've finally learnt to love mine (:

Nicholas Brothers

This is what you call talent!

Ain't I A Woman?

Death Poem

Love this.

Freak Shows

Exhibited in London Piccadilly Circus as a ‘freak show’ by Europeans who were highly intrigued with her voluptuous figure, I was deeply saddened by the story of Sara Baartman, an enslaved South African woman. Fascinated with her breasts, hips, arse and lips, which were gigantic by Eurocentric standards, she was ridiculed and paraded as a ‘freak’ and commanded to gyrate like a wild beast. Given the stage name ‘Hottentot Venus’, she was placed on a stage, naked and bare, where the Europeans paid to stare. She soon died at a youthful age of 25.

As I read her story, I was not only frustrated by the way the body of an African woman was degraded, but also because this happened in the early 1800s and two centuries later I fail to see any change. Black women in the entertainment industry receive more recognition for their larger than life curves rather than their talent; there is this senseless fascination with the big booty. The media sexually objectifies women in general but I feel as though for black women there is a lack of balance; there are more oversexed half naked type images of black women shoved in our faces in comparison to Oprah type images. Without the balance, it’s very easy for black women to fall into the trap of basing their desirability on the size of their behinds instead of what’s inside their minds. It’s as though our ‘ass’ has become our biggest asset. We stage name ourselves now with so-called ‘alter egos’ and proudly gyrate in music videos. I can’t even go onto Instagram without seeing freak shows on my news feed, young women exhibiting their own bodies. I wish more black men and women knew and empathized with the story of Sara Baartman, an enslaved young African woman who was sexually exploited in a ‘human zoo’ for fortune and fame because the only thing that has changed is that we now happily sexually exploit ourselves.



"All I want for my birthday is a big booty hoe" - 2Chainz


“Most often attention was not focused on the complete black female on display…They are to not look at her as a whole human being. They are to notice only certain parts.” -Bell Hooks, Black Looks

I Love Men!

I love men

I love everything about men

And though at times I slate men

Act like I don’t rate them

Sometimes I even go on like I don’t want to date men

But truth is, I don’t hate men

In fact, I love men

I love ‘em, I love ‘em, I love ‘em

I love the ‘deep, intellectual’ men

I love the ‘ambitious, determined’ men

I love men who aren’t afraid to give a compliment

Or two, or maybe three…coz boy, if I’m looking good he better tell me

I want a man who’s gonna make me feel beautiful from within

I love men with confidence and a man who stands for what he believes in

I love the ‘down to earth, soulful’ men

But I don’t like the boastful men…you know, the ‘big ego’ men

Or the ‘psss psss, oi’ men…

I’m not just any girl, so chat like that won’t go down too well

Coz I’m a lady, so don’t ‘oi’ me

I’m looking for a man who will spoil me

The way my father did

When I was a kid

I love the ‘don’t put your hand in your purse’ men

I love the ‘open doors, ladies first’ men

And yes, I do love the ‘God first’ men

You can’t go wrong with a man of God…can I get an ‘amen’?

My list is endless, because I love all types of men

But unfortunately, not all men are good men

I’ve encountered many of them

I grew up in a home with physical abuse

I watched the only man I ever truly loved beat my mother black and blue

Leave her battered on the floor as I watched from the door, then he would say ‘I love you’

I used to believe that was love, no wonder why I still get confused

About what love really is; but I tell you this

Despite having an abusive father

And being raised by a bitter mother, one who was forced to be Miss Independent

I do love men

I love ‘em, I love ‘em, I love ‘em

Yes, there will be men who will make you feel worthless,

But it’s gonna take much more than a bad ex

-boyfriend

To stop me from loving men

I even pray that someday God blesses me with baby boys so I can raise men

From this day forward I will praise men

Pay respect where it’s due

Because women were made to love & respect men

We were made to walk side by side with them

I won’t be told any different

So for anyone who thinks I dislike men; that I have a problem with men

Because at times I do slate men

Act like I don’t rate them

Sometimes I even go on like I don’t want to date men

But truth is, I can’t hate men

In fact, I love men

I love ‘em, I love ‘em, I love ‘em!

© Copyright 2010

How can I forget you?

I don't know how I could ever forget someone who stimulates me with thoughts rather than touch
Someone who intrigues me with their mind and teaches mine
Someone who doesn't laugh at my dreams, instead encourages me to dream even bigger
I can't forget someone who makes me cherish moments
Especially the moments we share together
Someone who impregnates me with passion and brightens my soul with their smile
Someone who listens to my cries and yet has the power to provoke enough emotion in me to make tears run from my eyes...
How can I forget you, you who has shown my once hardened heart how to love with no limits?

A Fictional Future

My thoughts for today...

Our future is our fiction that can be re-written at anytime. It's our minds' powerful ability to imagine what could be. What 'could' be. Many people get too caught up in their future plans and get so specific with timings...'by the age of 30 I want be to be this and that' and almost certainly set themselves up for disappointment. I've been there before, I was so disappointed with myself on my 25th birthday because I wasn't where I had 'imagined' to be. And why do we set goals for the age of 25 and not 26, why 30 and not 32? Because they are society's made up birth milestones and so there is an unnecessary pressure on us to feel like we've 'achieved' something by then. Its ok to set goals and aspire for something but don't allow your happiness to depend solely on reaching that place in time, that future you perfectly created in your mind. Tomorrow isn't promised as we know, but another thing to embrace is that the future is an unknown realm that you have no full control over. I've sketched out a future in my mind but I now understand that I should find happiness along the way rather than believing that I'll only find happiness in that very day in time that only exists in my mind.

Experience is a great teacher

Today I had the best conversation I have ever had with my mother; I told her to get off my back! Not in those words of course, I do value my life lol. She is very protective of me, so much more than I feel she is with my other siblings, maybe it's a first child thing? I can also see that a lot of her happiness is dependent on my success, she always makes it known how much she had to 'sacrifice' raising five children on her own. So she wants me to have this perfect life with no mistakes because she lives in a world of regrets; its almost like she wants to correct her wrongs with MY life. Unfortunately, no matter how many times you tell a child to stay away from a hot stove so they don't get burnt, they have to touch it first to fully understand. I have a scar on my thigh from getting burnt by an iron when I was a toddler even though my mum always told me to stay away from the hot iron but of course, it was not until I got burnt that I put her words into practice. It left a small scar but it didn't kill me. I already know there are going to be many more moments in my life where I will say to myself 'damn, mum was right' and she will have her 'I told you so!' moments with me but that's the cycle of life. No teacher can beat experience, not even your mother.

Enjoying every minute

My random 'living in the moment' thought today...

I like my sleep. I really like my sleep. So much so that if I for whatever reason wake up as little as 5 minutes before my alarm goes off, I go back to sleep! To some people, going back to sleep for just 5 minutes is absolutely pointless because in their minds all they keep thinking about is 'the alarm clock is going to go off any minute now'. In my case, I don't think of anything in that moment. To me its 5 minutes of being wrapped up in warmth under my duvet, its 5 minutes of tranquility and its 5 minutes of peace of mind before the rush to work starts. I enjoy every minute...

Changing Education Paradigms

I think it's a real shame that we live in a world where parents trust strangers, who happen to be qualified to work in schools, to teach and mould the ideology of their children. I know children have to go to school but I just believe that it is very important for parents to also take authority in shaping their children's minds rather than leaving it in the corrupted hands of TV, the internet and teachers. School teaches kids that there is only one right answer for everything...their answer and it irons out children's sacred gift of imagination. Ever notice how children question everything when they are young but then as they get older it's as though their inquisitive minds have malnourished; schools just don't encourage them to challenge the status quo. As for the media, it teaches us the false value of materialism, sex and vanity as means of happiness and success. There have been numerous times when I've seen my god-daughter cry for a new Barbie or Hello Kitty doll and that's because she's constantly watching TV which is conditioning her at a tender age that these toys will make her happy. But like all material things, once you've attained it it leaves you with a feeling of 'is that it?' and then you soon find yourself looking for the next thing you 'think' will make you happy. Then when our children are teens, we blame celebrities for being bad role models - why does society make parents believe that schools and the media are responsible for their child's mental development and social behaviours but themselves? Why do parents think that they are only accountable for placing a roof over their children's heads, instead of placing a window into their minds; many children grow up to only see things with their eyes. Or putting food into their mouths instead of feeding their minds; clothing their flesh instead of adding layers to their minds?