Wednesday Round-Up: Fierce Female Bloggers, Django One More Time, and GQ’s Take on Asian Beauty

Hi Meltingpot Readers,

It’s Wednesday, so let’s get it to it, your weekly rationing of tasty, fresh links. I’ve scoured the web, so you don’t have to. Enjoy!

1. Because I spend far too much time scrolling through my twitter feed instead of working intently on my next book project, I stumbled upon this great blog, called Colored Girl Confidential. I think I’ll be visiting the CGC on the regular. What pulled me in was their list of  “23 Fierce Female Bloggers to Follow in 2013.” Now, Ms. Meltingpot didn’t make the list, ahem, but I found some new folks that I’ll now be following. You might too.

2. I finally saw the movie, Django Unchained this past weekend. El esposo and I saw the 10:30 show on Friday night, followed by a restless night of sleep because we were both haunted by images of Mandingo fights and women locked in hot boxes. Interestingly, el esposo came away from the film feeling disturbed and unhappy. Me? Even though the movie filled me with rage, it was a familiar rage at the violence and depravity of slavery. But ultimately I felt empowered and proud of Django and Broomhilda. I even crafted a romantic epilogue to their story. Rather than go on and on about my thoughts about the movie, though, why not read some of the more eloquent responses already written. If I were going to say something profound about Django, it’d be something like Toure’s essay on Django as a “heroic love story.” I might also want to fact check some of the more controversial ‘facts’ of the movie and put my findings in an essay like the one Henry Louis Gates did.

3. So, here’s a question. Is GQ in the wrong for segregating Chinese and Indian women on their latest list of ‘sexiest women of the century?” Slate writer Yoonj Kim is crying foul over GQ’s decision to include separate categories like Hottest Indian chick and Hottest Chinese Chick for some of the non-White models. It’s like, why can’t the Chinese model be on the same list as the other girls? Not that what GQ is doing should make any of us pause, really, but still, it’s interesting to see how glossy man mags deal with ethnic diversity. Apparently, without a lot of grace.

4. Finally, guess what I did last night, dear readers? I took my first African dance class. Well, my first class in over 20 years. It’s just a local thing, around the corner from my house, but I’m doing it. My knees groaned and my back is kinda sore, but I had a really good time. And it was exercise. I know this may come as a shock, but I have never been a good dancer. I am terribly uncoordinated and somehow I’m never quite on beat. But I have passion and I’m bringing that passion to class. I may be dancing to a different drum, but on Tuesday nights, for the next eight weeks, it will be an African drum. I don’t look anything like this when I’m dancing, but a girl can dream, right? If you have any tips for me, I’m listening.

Peace!