10:20 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Bizarro|Controversia|Media|media justice|Obama|Politics|radio|The Obamas · 4 Comments
24 Mar 2009What would we do without Media Matters, the organization that monitors the disgusting right wing slant we are subjected to — in varying degrees — in mainstream media? Well, we might have actually consume this trash in order to find little gems such as this one. In this asinine rant with absolutely no substance to speak of, conservative commentator (and “ex-liberal Democrat”) Tammy Bruce sounds off with outrage about nothing after listening to a benign quote made by Michelle Obama. Have a listen:
Huh? How is what she said outrageous? Let’s look at the transcript:
BRUCE: But here’s Michelle Obama explaining to some kids what it was like for her growing up because she sounded like a white person, whatever that means.
OBAMA [audio clip]: I did do my best, getting good grades was always important to me, and it wasn’t because my parents were -
BRUCE: It’s all about her.
OBAMA [audio clip]: — hounding me or that they had the expectation, it was just something that I wanted for myself. I wanted an A. And I didn’t care whether it was cool, ‘cause I remember there were kids around my neighborhood who would say, “Ooh, you talk funny, you talk like a white girl.” I heard that growing up my whole life, and I was like I don’t even know what that means, but you know what? I’m still getting my A.
BRUCE: What? What? What — what is that? And then she devolves into that weird fake accent, like Hillary did when talking to black people. What? What is that? That’s, that — you know what that is.
DAVID AFTER DENTIST [audio clip]: Is this going to be forever?
BRUCE: Yeah, that – remember nitrous oxide kid, on You Tube. No it’s not going to be forever, nitrous oxide kid. It’s not. Can you — can you believe that?
OBAMA [audio clip]: So do I need to introduce myself?
BRUCE: What a shame. That must’ve just ruined her damn day. “I wanted the A for myself, and I wanted to do it, and ooh, they said you sounded like a white person, I don’t know what that means, but uhh.” Huh?
Man, oh, man. That’s who he’s married to, what does that tell you? This is what we’ve got — you know what we’ve got? We’ve got trash in the White House. Trash is a, is a thing that is color blind, it can cross all eco — ecosocionomic kind of categories, you can work on Wall Street or work at the Wal-Mart. Trash are people who use other people to get things, who patronize others, who consider you bitter and clingy.
Has Bruce been hitting the crazy juice? Michelle and Barack Obama are “trash” and the comment made by Michelle Obama is supposed to be evidence for this?
“People who consider you bitter and clingy…”? WTF? Sounds like a personal problem to me. Is this lady projecting her feelings towards her ex-BF onto the Obamas?
My diagnosis: mental problem mixed with deep-seated racism and a dab of grasping at straws. What do you think?
Via / Media Matters
10:51 am By Maegan La Mala · business|children|Controversia|Marketing|Money|Politics · 3 Comments
26 Jan 2009
How would feel if a toymaker (say, the maker of Beanie Babies) started manufacturing dolls in the image of your two young daughters without asking for consent or even respectfully letting you know in advance? Spittin’ mad, I’d say, especially if you were a woman interested in shielding your children from the massive spotlight that will fall upon them as children of the president. It sounds a bit surreal, but that’s actually what has happened, and Michelle Obama isn’t happy:
First lady Michelle Obama is not pleased about the marketing of a pair of dolls that bear the same names as her daughters.“We believe it is inappropriate to use young private citizens for marketing purposes,” Ms. Obama’s spokeswoman said.
Ty Inc. has released the 12-inch plush dolls as part of the company’s “TyGirlz Collection,” introduced in 2007. The Sasha doll has pigtails and wears a white and pink dress with hearts. The Malia doll has a side ponytail and a long-sleeve shirt with capri pants.
9:12 pm By Maegan La Mala · Fashion|Obama inauguration · Comments Off
20 Jan 2009
What are people paying more attention to than the politics? The fashion pues! Michelle Obama chose Cubana designer Isabel Toledo to wear for the inauguration earlier today.
Toledo, a New York designer who immigrated to the U.S. from Cuba when she was eight, didn’t know that Obama picked her outfit until watching the TV and told the Times that 13 people worked on clothes—”Chinese ladies, Polish ladies, Spanish ladies”—and added, “We’re all grateful for this opportunity, and we don’t even have a PR person!”
I met Isabel Toledo and her husband last year at an event for El Museo del Barrio and they definitely are cutting edge even if Mrs. Obama’s dress was vintage looking.
I liked Michelle Obama’s dress. Did you?
3:45 pm By la Macha · Politics|society|US Presidential Race 2008|Women · Comments Off
13 Jan 2009Michelle Obama’s body has been the subject of dicussions all over the web since her husband became the Democrat’s nomination for president. Is her booty too big, does she cover it up, is she too black, does she wear her blackness well, etc etc.
The following video is a follow up video to this essay which leads off with the opening sentence, “The first time I saw Michelle Obama in the flesh, I almost took her for white.”
Now besides the fact that I have a problem with the way the men open this segment, stumbling around a way to talk about Michelle’s ass in a non-piggy way and I’m getting rather sick of Michelle’s body being subject for discussion as if her body doesn’t deserve a little damn privacy every once in a while, I think that the post and the video are both interesting–they actually discuss class as it interacts with blackness.
An interesting line from the essay:
When I saw Obama in Chicago and took her for white, it was not because of her cadences, mannerisms, or dress, but because of the radical proposition she put forth—a black community fully vested, no DuBoisian veil, in the country at large. A buddy of mine once remarked that Michelle “makes Barack black.” But that understates things. She doesn’t simply make Barack black—she makes him American.
It’s an interesting idea–the idea that how Michelle carries herself makes Barack–but one that however interesting it is, I still rebell at.
Can a woman’s body really make a man what he is? And if it does-should it?
4:44 pm By Maegan La Mala · Fashion|Politics|Women · 1 Comment
4 Dec 2008A few Latino designers have submitted sketches of what their vision for Michelle Obama’s inaugural gown is.
My favorite is this one from Carolina Herrera.

12:00 pm By Maegan La Mala · TV|US Presidential Race 2008|Women · Comments Off
29 Oct 2008First mujer wannabe Michelle Obama appeared on the Tonight Show on Monday and came across as a genuinely nice mujer with her J. Crew. outfit that she bought online.
Can you see Cindy McCain making the same type of appearance? More importantly, do you want to?
Via / Stereohyped
8:41 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Controversia|US Presidential Race 2008|Women · 2 Comments
12 Jun 2008
You can’t make this stuff up. First it was images of lynching Michelle Obama, a woman who could be the First Lady. Then it was that Michelle and Barack were sending messages to terrorists. Now, Michelle Obama is a baby mama?
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