[S07.E04: Bury The Ratchet]

Cynthia, Claudia, and Kenya are boring as fuck. The other ladies were much more entertaining and organic in their interactions. I love how they were shading Porsha for wearing weave when all three had several horses worth on their heads. Have several seats.

I actually like Claudia so far and I think she'd fit right in with the other four. Kenya and Cynthia are zzzzzzzzz. Although I think Porsha was correct, it's not her business what happened with Kenya. But I know, we need these meetings and meddling or there would be no show.

And is this bitch gonna cry in every episode? I know she has nothing else going on but damn.

I'm not sure where I stand with Todd and Don't Juan yet...

[Social And Race Issues In Black-Ish]

Ok I mean if you want to believe the shaving thing I won't stand in your way. Everyone I know was all wtf? after the Monique thing but what do we know. We're just black women. :)

[Social And Race Issues In Black-Ish]

My first time hearing it was back in 2010 when actress/comedienne Mo'Nique showed up at the Golden Globes wearing sheer hose over clearly unshaven legs. It was not a pretty sight.

During the media storm that blew up afterward, the New York Times jumped into the fray. A certain Black woman blogger on political and cultural issues was quoted in the NYT article asserting that Black women were/are specifically taught not to shave their legs because it was/is considered something that "White people do".

This is a sentiment that I remember being surprised to see repeated by posters on more than one forum. Apparently it is "a thing" but maybe one that doesn't come into public view very often. I've still never seen an explanation of why this belief would've developed to begin with. That's why I suggested it for Black-ish.

I'm not convinced it's a thing.

What I have noticed is that the white parents I know let their daughters to things like shave, wax, wear makeup, dye their hair, etc relatively early. I was never told I couldn't shave my legs because 'black women don't do that.' But there were definite...I guess I'd call them age milestones for me and all the black girls I know. So shaving was fine, just not at 12 years old.*

*I'm speaking for myself and people I know, not all black women everywhere.

I kinda don't want this show to become "hey guys, this is what black people do. Isn't it hilarious?" I don't want them to start throwing in random things that a black person once did or said. Because some people are dumb and some of us work with these people and we don't want to have to hear or answer dumb ass comments and questions (see my Good Hair comments).

[Social And Race Issues In Black-Ish]

Every woman has to "go through" something with her hair. Those of us with poker straight, very fine hair (like yours truly), often can't hold waves/curls without loads and loads of product. It makes hair feel really gross! I have to get my hair curled really tightly a few hours before an event just so it could look wavy later. The waves tend to stay on longer, though.

I agree but between that suck ass Good Hair movie and the subsequent press tour, I have had white people actually tell me "I had no idea what black women have to go through" and "I didnt know black hair was such a struggle!" amd my favorite, "I dont know how you do it! If I had hair like that I'd probably just shave it all off!"

I'm just saying...don't pity me. As you said, I don't "go through" any more than any other woman and I happen to love my natural hair. It's not a struggle and it's not a burden.

[S07.E03: All Tea All Shade]

Maybe I need to be checked in to the Bravo Home for the Criminally Skeptical, but I'm just not buying the whole Apollogy Tour--and especially not the reaction to it. This is basically a guy who's never admitted to doing anything wrong, despite the fact that he was tried, convicted, and incarcerated. So this is the one thing he's owning up to? It's just not credible. And what's even less credible is how everybody immediately jumps on the bandwagon, most particularly Phaedra, who goes from "Kenya is the Antichrist whore" to such sincere Christian regret, zero to sixty in ten seconds.

My theory, to the extent that I have one, is that this show wouldn't have been filmable with everybody hating on Kenya. So to me it seems likely that Apollo was given some kind of incentive (money?) to say--in front of the cameras--that he was lying, whether he was or not, and everyone else was encouraged to hop on board. How else would it have been even remotely credible for Phaedra and Kenya to go to each other's lunches, parties, spa days, etc.? That apology makes the show feasible again.

Ita with your theory. I also think Porsha refused to play along with it and that is why her role got reduced.

[Social And Race Issues In Black-Ish]

I have to admit, the first time I was in a hair-salon and watched a woman with Afro hair get a blow-out, where her hair went from a huge pooffy all over the place mess, to a sleek smooth hairstyle, it was almost like magic. I definitely gained a new appreciation for what one has to go through with that type of hair.

Please don't think of my type of hair as something I have to "go through." Honestly, I find it a little insulting.

[Porsha Stewart: Least Likely to Become a History Professor]

Porsha knew Kenya would be doing the most (with props and all) at the reunion, but she really didn't keep her cool that day. Now she's got a mug shot, possible lawsuit, and a job demotion to show for it. Also, buying (or renting) that huge mansion in the ATL suburbs just to prove a point, doesn't seem too bright either. Cheers for leaving a bad situation (with no coins, btw), but getting sold to Kordell in the first place, was a terrible gold-digging strategy.

She is the worst kind of dumb. Willfully ignorant and smug about it.

.

I actually think that's more of an example of Kenya's lack of emotional intelligence. Here is a woman who claims she plays a role, riles people up on purpose but it's just for the show, etc and she never once stopped to think that someone might actually take offense or have a real reaction to her bullshit.

I don't think anybody anticipated her bringing a bullhorn and shouting insults in people's faces. Porsha was raw and emotional from her divorce and made a big mistake (as she's admitted) but Kenya is the stupid one there for thinking she could proprove real humans and not expect real reactions.

[Porsha Stewart: Least Likely to Become a History Professor]

I am glad I am not the only one who sees this. Porsha and Nene appear to be the only ones on that show who have manage to break into mainstream TV. Cynthia and Kenya appear to be the only ones who have not been very successful in any of their ventures

Cynthia's beauty pageant thing seemed to just fade and ner modeling career is waning. Her insistance of holding on to PSmurf is mind boggling. Kenya has managed to get on The Apprentence but I don't believe she does very well there. Her ventures appear to be a tit for tat with the other Hwives. It was also amazing how the invisible BF disappeared completely for a new invisible BF.

Porsha, on the otherhand, managed to get a permanent spot on a mainstream TV show. Her hair business is doing quite well, she did well with her last record and is working on a video and album. She may not be by any stretch of the imagination a literary giant, but she is willing to work hard and make a live for herself. She was no longer willing to stay with a controlling husband (which she could have is that was really what she wanted) but to make a name for herself.

And she seems to always have something going on. She has that Ask Porsha spot in OK mag, she was on The Real this morning, she did the red carpet for the BET awards. She's definitely hustling.

Meanwhile Cynthia's still letting Peter drive her to the poorhouse while she does pageants in an effort to extort money out of pathetic moms who live through their daughters.

[Porsha Stewart: Least Likely to Become a History Professor]

So Aging Goth (I can't bold on my phone) had a great post in the episode thread about Porsha not getting credit and I wholeheartedly agree.

Books smarts are just one facet of intelligence. Porsha may not be book smart but I believe she is savvy and I think she has a good bit of emotional intelligence (something I think Cynthia and especially Kenya lack).

She can read people and situations and I think that's why she could show up to a meeting an hour late, 100% wrong, and still have Cynthia pressed and flailing while she kept her cool. She knew Cynthia was going to turn up and look foolish and sure enough, that's what happened.

I also agree that she has made the most of her time on the show, which was discussed upthread. Hell, she even parlayed her mugshot into a PR win when most people would have been clowned and dragged for it in the media.

AG also made the (IMO) excellent point that only Nene and Porsha have seen through what Kenya is doing this season. I have a sneaking suspicion that Kenya's getting a good edit this year which means rewriting history a bit, and I think Porsha refusing to play along with it might be why she got demoted.

[S07.E03: All Tea All Shade]

Aging Goth, meet me in the Porsha thread because I have some thoughts about your post (which was on point).

[S07.E03: All Tea All Shade]

No. I think it's all awful, especially things that can't be changed. For example, I can get mentioning that someone is willfully ignorant, but I don't like saying someone is stupid. Not everyone has the same IQ or opportunities. I know "stupid" is often said, and I sometimes get it when someone's referring to "stupid" actions, but not as a person as a whole. But, these shows are all about gossip and insults. I watch it to think about each person's behavior. I don't get out much, so this is part of my social outlet

I hear you. It's all very ugly. I would never insult people like that in real life. But for me, watching the show, I think it's only fair that if they toss around stupid or ghetto or moose, then old is fair game.

[S07.E03: All Tea All Shade]

Is age off limits? These people have made fun of each other based on their God given looks, the way they speak, the way they dress, their height, size, mental capacity, and so on. I don't see why age is so objectionable, and I say that as someone who is on the far side of 30.

[S07.E03: All Tea All Shade]

Was college never tossed around as an option for Kayla? If not, that makes me sad. And Riley was a little rude. But good for Kandi for being g supportive of Todd for ONCE.

Claudia seems cool for now. Her voice gives me Marlo teas but she's pretty and she makes Kenya slightly less boring.

Cynthia is just ridiculous. She was 100% in the right about Porsha's lateness but she had to turn up and make herself look like an asshole. I can't take a whole season of turnt up Cynthia. Porsha couldn't help but laugh in her face, she was so over the top. Ugh, shut up Cynthia. And that jumpsuit was cute to me. If she was gonna make fun of anything it should have been that ugly ass headpiece.

[Social And Race Issues In Black-Ish]

Ah, I see. My mom would do more than two - she was probably more intricate than necessary. In that case, I totally understand where you're coming from - it would indeed be faster than pressing.

I would do more intricate if I knew how LOL (holds tightly to black card)

Yeah I don't think light skinned guys are trophies (see every joke about Drake). They had a brief moment in the sun thanks to All B Sure and Christopher Williams but the Morris Chestnuts and Idris Elbas tend to fare better these days.

[Season 1 Talk]

About Dre's mother saying she was Zulu and Native American -- didn't Oprah Winfrey say she thought she had Zulu ancestry but the DNA test showed she doesn't? Henry Louis Gates, on his "Finding Your Roots" show, has said that many African Americans think they have Native American ancestry but most do not actually have it according to DNA tests.

This is true. Most African Americans have some European ancestry but it is my opinion that many claim NA because they don't want to claim white with all the pain and baggage that that carries.

[Social And Race Issues In Black-Ish]

It does? That's not what I remember from childhood. It usually took longer to braid my hair than to press with a hot comb. I could never sit still long enough for braiding, and used to drive my mom crazy. Different strokes, I guess.

I figured Diane's hair was pressed, and I like Bow's reasoning. There's no way Diane could maintain her own hair at her age, so I understand why Bow would keep it pressed. Plus, it bugged me that Dre's mom was all about her Zulu/Cherokee heritage (of course, she had to throw some "Indian" in the mix), yet still referred to the back of Diane's hair as her "kitchen."

Yes it does for us. I can give my daughter two cute braids in ten minutes.

[Social And Race Issues In Black-Ish]

I actually didn't care for that so much. I have a natural daughter and I sort of soft press her hair sometimes (picture Rudy Huxtable) with my flat iron but the whole hot comb thing takes about as much time and effort as washing and braiding natural hair does. Maybe more. Diane has a hard press to make her hair completely straight which is perfectly fine if that's the look they want but I thought the excuse they used was sort of a copout. Jmo.

[Kenya Moore: Twirl! Twirl!]

On the last reunion she said we would "see what happens next season" but when Andy asked her on WWHL last night she said "we will see at the reunion"! IMO, it is just another storyline much like her BF Walter! lol

Oh ok. Should have known LOL. No wonder her and Brandon are back on that piano this year.

[Kenya Moore: Twirl! Twirl!]

Whatever happened with the baby? Wasn't she supposed to get inseminated awhile back? Or was that yet another fake storyline?

[Social And Race Issues In Black-Ish]

Since we're discussing names, I just learned that John Cougar Mellencamp named his son Speck Wildhorse. (Why, America?)

Perhaps Jack and Diane were just too pedestrian for him. It makes me wonder if Bow, who probably endured lifelong teasing for her name, wanted to give her kids names that wouldn't make them stand out in the way hers did.

ridethemaverick, I also wanted to clarify that I hope there was no offense taken with the cultural heritage comment I made about names above. It was used specifically to explain how ethnic names that differ from the mainstream (such as names with overseas roots and would also include newer names that reflect cultural heritage like Tyresha and Shenequa) are in a different category from crazy celebrity baby names (see above), which is how Rainbow might get categorized, even if it is one of the more tame ones.

No offense taken at all. I hear it a lot and was commenting on the general idea. I actually think it's a valid one. No worries.

[S07.E02: No Moore Apollogies]

It wasn't just that Kenya said "tell him to stop texting me", it was also how she said it. Kenya made it sound like Apollo was trying to "get/be" with her and she said it as a taunt to Phaedra. She knew what she was doing when she said it but then tried to back peddle after it was shown and viewers reacted badly toward her. Kenya also admitted that she was texting Apollo, it was not just 1 sided with only him texting her, and that the texts were business not sexual on both sides but the damage was done by then. This is the same woman that asked Phaedra about having a threesome because "Apollo is so fine", which was first looked at as a joke but then after her "texting" comment stopped looking so funny. Apollo is a POS, to put it mildly, for lying about her but Kenya is not some innocent random victim either. Kenya thought she could just lite a match and throw it where ever she want to without it burning her, she was wrong.

Yes to this.

Kenya isn't that stupid. I think she knew good and well what she was doing and I think lying ass Apollo had a broke clock situation going on when he told her they were both wrong. She tried to brush past it but I think she knows deep down that she was almost as shady and messy as he was with the way she played up the texts.

[S07.E02: No Moore Apollogies]

Why does MJ need a 7 bedroom house?

Because that is the manner to which she has become accustomed. To.

[S07.E02: No Moore Apollogies]

Interesting how Kenya glossed over the fact that she was the one who originally misrepresented the texts Apollo sent her. Her flirting and threesome comment plus the text misrepresentation are what made it easy for people to believe she was going after Apollo.

He's a total dick. I hated his little smirk when he said he made up the fallatio stuff. It seems clear to me that he hates both Phaedra and Kenya and wanted to see them both humiliated.

Cynthia is boring. She's just literally a boring person. Her party was boring, her photoshoot was boring, even the way she talks is boring.

Nene was boring too but looks like she's back next week.

I'd love to not see Joyce on my screen again. She's vile.

Interesting that even Claudia thinks Kenya provoked Porsha.

That dentist was cute. Alright then. Phaedra better get on that.

[Porsha Stewart: Least Likely to Become a History Professor]

Not hate, but I disagree with the idea that everyone should go to college. Some people are not cut out for college. Porsha, IMO, is not cut out for college. She is barely cut out for the GED class and macaroni pasting.

This is a developing problem with higher education in America. We, as a country, are encouraging everyone to go to college. However, instead of making high school harder and striving to get more qualified high school graduates, we have made college simpler. However, I don't think we have, or should make it simple enough for Porsha

You have a point in that not everyone is cut out for college but I have taught students like Porsha who blossomed once they found what they were good at/interested in. As her thread title says, she'll never be a history professor, but I think she (and anyone) can learn. And in Porsha's case, there are no financial constraints that would make college a burden or waste of time. It could only help her, IMO.

[Porsha Stewart: Least Likely to Become a History Professor]

I wouldn't want the image of higher education in America denigrated by Porsha getting within 5 miles of a college. If any college allowed Porsha in, all higher education in America starts to look like a scam. I don't think she finished high school, so maybe she can enroll in a GED course. Or she can work on her macaroni gluing skills.

I don't hate anyone so much that I would disparage the idea of them furthering their education but I guess reality TV is that serious for some people.

The American education system has a shitty enough reputation on its own that I think it could survive the enrollment of a reality TV personality.