Season 3 Discussion

[jumper sage]

3 hours ago, AyeshaTheGreat said:

Further to the name thing, I probably used to judge people for their names.  Then I realized that it was mostly fellow Black Americans that were being judged and decided to stop.  No one questions the meaning of the stereotypical lily white names.  Those names are actually greeted with an expectation of success. 

 

37 minutes ago, PradaKitty said:

We have a neighbor named Aquanetta. When I introduced her to my mother, she asked if she was named after the hairspray ((Aquanet) !!!

I know white people with the following names:

• Tyrell Ry'dell Thomas
• J'aquill'yn  (one apostrophy is bad but two?)
• Clamydia

32 minutes ago, Happytobehere said:

The baker only opened the envelope provided by Bow's doctor.  So, the sonogram would be wrong, which actually happened to my cousin.  All the scans said it was a girl and she bought and got gifts based on this belief but she had a boy.  Doctor was like, "My bad, the baby must not have been properly positioned during any of the scans."

It's true.  I think now with the 3d ultrasounds they get a clearer, and creepier, picture.  Back in the day my friend had 3 boys and was having her last child. Her doctor told her it was a girl.  They were overjoyed!  Redid the nursery with a super girly theme......they had a boy with a micro penis.  Yikes!

Love Junior and love that Jack is trying to help him.  Diane still needs some character fine tuning.

[DearEvette]

48 minutes ago, AyeshaTheGreat said:

While I definitely see an argument for DeVante being #1, I can see K-Ci in that spot as well.  I actually was going to say they are a tie because of their different yet important contributions to Jodeci.

I am not sure if you saw a recent social media debate after the NE story but it was about which group was better, Jodeci or Boyz II Men.  I have always liked both but I've been firmly on the Boyz II Men is first camp for a long time.

It's things like '90s R&B that gets me going so I am so happy this was a part of the storyline.

Confession time, Jodeci were never in my top five.  Sorry, not sorry!  Boys II Men though, yes!  Also anything Teddy & New Jack related.  But I was partial to the girl groups: En Vogue, SWV, Jade and of course TLC.

1 hour ago, PradaKitty said:

We have a neighbor named Aquanetta. When I introduced her to my mother, she asked if she was named after the hairspray ((Aquanet) !!!

The funny thing is, this sounds stupid to us now but the etymology of naming shows that so many names came from really commonplace things.  Like, most surnames we use today came from the job the people of the commoner class had.  So names like Smith, Cooper, Baker, Hunter, Clark etc. weren't so much their names, but a way to identify what they did and basically the poors weren't individuals to the upperclass nobility.  So no matter what your actual family name was, you were 'John Coachman' because that is what you did.

Outside of names in the bible, even first names came from general terminology like Barabara was what the Greeks called barbarian (foreign) women.  Supposedly, William meant 'helmet' in olde english and the names Jessica and Pamela were apparently straight up inventions.

[Boofish]

I for one was tired of the only child in the family that don't look "mixed race" was the evil one. There I said it; not proud but it is what it is .. 

[Nidratime]

I've never heard of the singing group Dre was referencing, so I certainly didn't know the singer's name. Has it been established that this is a favorite group of his? Otherwise, I just didn't get the reason why he chose *that* name besides the fact that it "sounded black," as he kept insisting. I mean, does it have any meaning to him other than that? Since it was so important to Dre to be culturally connected why not -- as someone said earlier -- look for names *from* his or his wife's own ethnicity? That, at least, would make sense.

[Empress1]

33 minutes ago, Nidratime said:

I've never heard of the singing group Dre was referencing, so I certainly didn't know the singer's name. Has it been established that this is a favorite group of his? Otherwise, I just didn't get the reason why he chose *that* name besides the fact that it "sounded black," as he kept insisting. I mean, does it have any meaning to him other than that? Since it was so important to Dre to be culturally connected why not -- as someone said earlier -- look for names *from* his or his wife's own ethnicity? That, at least, would make sense.

I can't remember if Jodeci has been referenced before on this show but they were very big in their day. A Black man Dre's age who was raised in an all-Black environment would definitely have feelings about Jodeci.

1 hour ago, jumper sage said:

I know white people with the following names:

• Tyrell Ry'dell Thomas
• J'aquill'yn  (one apostrophy is bad but two?)
• Clamydia

My brother went to college with a white person named Keisha. I was shocked - it's a common name in the Black community but I've never met a Keisha/Keesha/Keshia who wasn't Black.

[vibeology]

2 hours ago, Happytobehere said:

Actually, we saw Bow waxing poetic about Jack and Diane being named for the John Cougar Melloncamp (or whatever variation of his name he was using at the time) song.  Jack and Diane were rightly horrified to know that their namesakes were not siblings but lovers.  That episode made me think it was a Bow thing, even if Dre agreed.

You're right. I forgot about that! Either way I think it's a strange way to name your children.

I too was eager to hear the rest of Bow's list. Obviously Boyz II Men were number one. The stuff after that is where the debate actually gets interesting.

[ChromaKelly]

54 minutes ago, Nidratime said:

I've never heard of the singing group Dre was referencing, so I certainly didn't know the singer's name. Has it been established that this is a favorite group of his? Otherwise, I just didn't get the reason why he chose *that* name besides the fact that it "sounded black," as he kept insisting. I mean, does it have any meaning to him other than that? Since it was so important to Dre to be culturally connected why not -- as someone said earlier -- look for names *from* his or his wife's own ethnicity? That, at least, would make sense.

Um, Dre is a Black American from Compton. DeVante is from his culture and ethnicity. 

[Tiger]

5 hours ago, DearEvette said:

But I think that is exactly the point the show as trying to make.  There is such a deeply rooted racism in the idea that the name black people invent are considered inferior, laughable or 'stereotypical' while names that white people invented are considered acceptable and 'normal'.

In and of itself the name 'Jessica' is not inherently better than the name 'Devonte' but the latter has been loaded with such derision simply because it is a name no white person has ever used.  There is literally no other reason.

And yet even when white folks begin using unusual names  of their own - Skyler, Braxton, Kayden etc.  people may raise eyebrows but they are not actively derided to the point where the names become a detriment or yet another signifier of 'otherness' toward an entire race. 

I liked the episode because once again I think the show made a lot of salient points on both sides  - that and the photoshopped baby head at the start of the show. Ha!  But  Personally, I dislike both extremes.  I roll my eyes at the too out-there cray-cray names.  Really watch Toddlers and Tiaras sometimes for some incredibly inventive names or incomprehensible spellings of conventional names (how is it that a name pronounded "Kaylie" ends up with 15 letters in it?)  But I also sigh at the utter conformity of it all too (my youngest son was in a class had that five girls names Emma.  Out of a class that had 12 girls, five of them were named Emma).

Personally, I like very aristocratic names like Jackson and Victoria.  

And I side-eyes "black" names like DeVonte and "white" names like Cadence.  

1 hour ago, jumper sage said:

 

I know white people with the following names:

• Tyrell Ry'dell Thomas
• J'aquill'yn  (one apostrophy is bad but two?)
• Clamydia

It's true.  I think now with the 3d ultrasounds they get a clearer, and creepier, picture.  Back in the day my friend had 3 boys and was having her last child. Her doctor told her it was a girl.  They were overjoyed!  Redid the nursery with a super girly theme......they had a boy with a micro penis.  Yikes!

Love Junior and love that Jack is trying to help him.  Diane still needs some character fine tuning.

Who names their kid after a sexually transmitted disease?!?

[tennisgurl]

I actually thought Diane was used pretty well this episode. She was still Diane, but she also seemed like a normal little kid who was trying to hang out with her Cool Big Sister and her friends. And Diane and Junior on the couch was pretty adorable. For Diane anyway.

The name debate is an interesting one, and I was glad they got good arguments in for both sides. I ended up more or less on Dre`s side, although he was an asshole to his other kids, as per usual. I went to college with a guy named Devonte, and he was a cool guy. He was a black guy from the inner city, but he was an indie music loving hipster type, so that's what I think of when I hear Devonte. That's the thing about names, it all just depends on what your "used" to hearing. You picture stereotypical "black" names and think NFL and jail cells, like when you hear a name like Thurston you think rich WASP, or when you hear Billy Bob you think meth dealer. Its not fair, but its how people think. If we had more Devonte's who were doctors or teachers or lawyers, that's what people would think of. And I think that's cool. If you feel like your name connects you to your heritage or your family or something, you should use it without feeling like your kid would be judged.

That being said, I feel like Bow made a good point about it being less about the race issue, and more about it just being an usual name that barristers will mispronounce forever, and he will never find a personalized mug in a gift shop. But, to me, I would take an unusual name over a name that I share with 10 other kids in my graduating class any day.

Its funny that this topic comes up today, because I just had a whole conversation with one of my students about her name and the story behind it. Her parents are Russian immigrants to the US, and when they had her, they debated forever about whether to give her a typical Anglo American name, or a Russian name. They didn't want her to be considered "foreign" or "weird", or just to spend her life explaining how to pronounce her name, but they also wanted her to have a connection to her heritage. They went with a name that has Slavic roots, but is still a relatively normal name in America. Its not the same as the African American issue, and the desire to get back to their culture that was stolen from them, but its still interesting to me to see how different people have similar worries about names and culture.

Edited February 9, 2017 by tennisgurl

[Traveller519]

Somebody get Dre an Irish names book! I would love to seem him stumbling over the Nimh, Sibohan, Tadgh, and Saorises's of the world.

Charlie always brings the laughs, but I really enjoyed everybody's contributions at the Office. Diane Farr's character lurking back there is terrific too. How is this whole team not getting fired?

I thought the Diane stuff was pretty sweet too. Both of the Twins actually were looking up to their older siblings with some adoration this episode.

[vibeology]

3 minutes ago, Tiger said:

Personally, I like very aristocratic names like Jackson and Victoria.  

And I side-eyes "black" names like DeVonte and "white" names like Cadence.  

And I personally would never consider Jackson as a first name aristocratic. For me it's a trendy, current name to go along with the Masons, Aidens and Landons of the world. It only became popular in the mid 90s. But that's how you associate it so it appeals to you. It makes you feel a certain way and when it comes to baby names that's what matters.

And that's sort of the point of all of this. For Dre, DeVante is a name that speaks to him. It carries the weight of reminding him of his youth and the people who grew up around him. It connects him and his future son to his culture. Dre is aware of the potential pitfalls but doesn't want to accept those pitfalls but rather help his son challenge them.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

9 hours ago, Michel said:

It was kind of funny that Bow, Ruby, Stevens, Connor, Josh, and Charlie all agreed on how bad the name was, though.

This may be the only time that all six of them agree on anything!

As for who else was in Bow's top five, I was indoctrinated to believe the top three would be Boyz II Men, ABC, BBD! 

[Happytobehere]

1 hour ago, Boofish said:

I for one was tired of the only child in the family that don't look "mixed race" was the evil one. There I said it; not proud but it is what it is .. 

Others, perhaps not on this forum have commented on that as well.  They have also noticed that based on his treatment of her, Diane seems to be the least favored by Dre.  Until this season, we never got the Bow tries to keep Diane at arms length, but with both parents shown doing it, is it any wonder that Diane has a problem connecting with people.  This is why her moment with Junior, especially when she put her head on his shoulder and he put his arm around her was so important.  She was shown both wanting to embrace and being viewed are worthy of being embraced.

Edited February 9, 2017 by Happytobehere

[Nidratime]

Quote

Um, Dre is a Black American from Compton. DeVante is from his culture and ethnicity.

Nope. He said he preferred it because it sounded black, not that it had some special meaning to him beyond that.

[vibeology]

27 minutes ago, Nidratime said:

Nope. He said he preferred it because it sounded black, not that it had some special meaning to him beyond that.

His culture is Black American. He literally said to Bow near the end of the episode that he grew up surrounded by people with names like DeVante. It makes him think of his own roots.

[DearEvette]

Key and Peele have a couple of sketches that play around with both the common name and the sterotypical name.

The subsitute teacher one is where an black teacher finds "normal" names hard to pronounce

 

And then their more famous East/West bowl which plays around the trope of the stereotypical black name and NFL players

[Deanie87]

1 hour ago, vibeology said:

And that's sort of the point of all of this. For Dre, DeVante is a name that speaks to him. It carries the weight of reminding him of his youth and the people who grew up around him. It connects him and his future son to his culture. Dre is aware of the potential pitfalls but doesn't want to accept those pitfalls but rather help his son challenge them.

And this is part of my problem with it.  Its ALLLLLLL about Dre and his feelings, not what might be best for the kid.  Who is going to grow up in Beverly Hills, or wherever they live, unlike Dre.  But it makes Dre feel good, so that's what matters.  It doesn't matter that Rainbow, who knows what its like to grow up with an unusual name, told him that she wished her parents had named her something else.  Nope, it only matters that Dre feels like he didn't "sell out."   There are plenty of names that can bridge the gap between "obviously black and obviously white" but again, its all about Dre.  No one is saying that he has to name his kid Grayson or Morty for god sake!

In the interest of full disclosure, I am a name purist and if it didn't exist in 1850, I probably don't like it.  My nephew and his wife are having a kid soon and my poor eye is red from twitching every time they unveil the newest name idea.

[Mountainair]

I loved Charlie giving examples of hyphenated kids names and he used NyQuil! 

When naming my kids I always try to picture them as an adult professional (non stripper) using their name. Dre did have a point about Barack Obama though. Who would have thought someone with such an unusual name would not only be elected President but have such a positive influence on America. 

I too was trying to think of who else was on Bow's list of R&B groups. I never listened to Jodeci. But I remember Tony, Toni, Tone (or however they spelled their names) :)

[proserpina65]

5 hours ago, attica said:

In a bit of synchronicity, Miss Manners disapproves of gender-reveal parties in today's column. (WaPo link, so maybe a paywall if you've used up your freebies.)

I have a sneaking suspicion that when the baby arrives, the French-Canadian-hating baker will have gotten it wrong, and Bow's dream will prove right. Because that's a thing that happens on teevee.

I'm with Miss Manners on this one.  Although I do love cake.

[peeayebee]

11 hours ago, Michel said:

So Bow as a "girl dream" before Zoey's birth, a "boy dream" before Junior's birth, and a "boy dream" followed by a "lucid nightmare" before Jack and Diane's births.  Sigh.  Guess they picked the "Diane is creepy/evil" thread back up, further demonstrated by her suddenly appearing near Zoey throughout the episode.

I loved when Bow mentioned her lucid nightmare and Dre nodded like they completely acknowledge and accept Diane's nefarious nature. It's very funny to me. Her suddenly appearing over and over in Zoe's room was another good joke.

I didn't understand why they had the balloon to pop to reveal the sex of the baby when they had ordered a cake to reveal the sex of the baby.

 

4 hours ago, jumper sage said:

 

• Clamydia

For real? Yikes. My husband once saw a cashier with the nematic "Latrina."

 

1 hour ago, DearEvette said:

Key and Peele have a couple of sketches that play around with both the common name and the sterotypical name.

The subsitute teacher one is where an black teacher finds "normal" names hard to pronounce

I can't see Aaron Rodgers without saying in my head "A-A-Ron."

Quote

And then their more famous East/West bowl which plays around the trope of the stereotypical black name and NFL players

And I can't see the player introductions on football games without thinking of the classic and hilarious East/West Bowl sketch. 

I really enjoyed this ep. Everything worked. I loved all the discussion about names. I loved when Ruby agreed with Bow, Bow said, "Thank you, Mama!" and Ruby said that didn't sound right. And Bow agreed.

Jack helping out Junior and giving him advice and pep talks was really sweet. Shark tank top. Hee.

The office scenes were terrific. I was literally LOLing at everything Charlie said. 

Dre: I just want at least one of my kids to end up being black so I can love it.
Zoe: We were just coming down to see if there's any cake left.
Jack: But we'll just eat our sadness instead.

[tennisgurl]

1 hour ago, DearEvette said:

And then their more famous East/West bowl which plays around the trope of the stereotypical black name and NFL players

I was thinking of the same thing the whole episode! Its literally impossible for me to see the names of football players listed anymore without thinking of that sketch. I guess Bow should just be happy that Dre didn't want to name their son Javaris Jamar!

[TeapotDiva]

10 hours ago, Tiger said:

Wow, Marsai is now so much taller than Miles.

 

The new issue of TV Guide has a Q&A with Miles Brown, where he says that, despite many accomplishments, on- and off-screen, "there's one area where he sees major room for improvement, and it involves a real-life rivalry with his on-screen twin.  'When we first started the show, I was the taller one,' says Brown with dismay.  'Now all of a sudden, Marsai is super tall, and she's loving it.  I need to get my growth spurt!'"  So cute!

[Empress1]

1 hour ago, Mountainair said:

When naming my kids I always try to picture them as an adult professional (non stripper) using their name. Dre did have a point about Barack Obama though. Who would have thought someone with such an unusual name would not only be elected President but have such a positive influence on America. 

My rule is to put "Supreme Court Justice" in front of potential names.

I do think Bow is right that African names are viewed more favorably than stereotypical Black names - Imani raises fewer eyebrows than Shaniqua. I think Barack is a strong name - but I think that's because the only person I've heard of named Barack was the President.

12 minutes ago, peeayebee said:

I can't see Aaron Rodgers without saying in my head "A-A-Ron."

My best friend's SIL was dating a guy named Aaron and the whole family called him A-A-Ron (to his face, because he knew the sketch and loved it).

[ElectricBoogaloo]

All that talk about sex cake and then they just popped the balloon! 

I have an uncommon name (not quite as unique as Rainbow) so I too can testify that it's not as great as all the Emmas and Jennifers think it is. 

I feel for substitute teachers, baristas, and anyone who has to go through lots of names on a daily basis. Whenever I hear a name pronounced incorrectly, I think of that SNL skit where Will Ferrell is at a job interview and the other guy looks at his resume and says, "Oocla. What is that? A club?" Will Ferrell say, "UCLA. It's the university where I received my undergraduate degree," and the other guy says, "Never heard of it."

[Boofish]

Or the Family Matters bit:

Waldo - we are going to see "jiff'k"

Laura - it's J F K 

Waldo - I know how to spell it Laura!! LOL

[shura]

And I feel for the grandma of the lucky young man who gets to say "Grandma, I would like you to meet my girlfriend, Clamydia."

3 hours ago, vibeology said:

Dre is aware of the potential pitfalls but doesn't want to accept those pitfalls but rather help his son challenge them.

I am not sure about the "wants to help his son challenge the pitfalls" part. 

[Driad]

Speaking of names, what do Junior's friends call him? At one point he wanted to be called Andy, which Dre hated. At school is he Andre or Andy or Junior? In this episode I thought Zoey's friend called him Junior but I may have been mistaken.

[ChromaKelly]

3 hours ago, Nidratime said:

Nope. He said he preferred it because it sounded black, not that it had some special meaning to him beyond that.

He specifically said he grew up with kids with names like that and he liked the name. His culture is African American and it is a name of that culture.

[peeayebee]

1 hour ago, Driad said:

Speaking of names, what do Junior's friends call him? At one point he wanted to be called Andy, which Dre hated. At school is he Andre or Andy or Junior? In this episode I thought Zoey's friend called him Junior but I may have been mistaken.

I'm pretty sure she did, as did Zoey. I thought it was weird. But actually in this case, Zoey could be calling him Junior in a sibling-mocking way, and so Shelly only really knew him by that name.

[Traveller519]

1 hour ago, Boofish said:

Or the Family Matters bit:

Waldo - we are going to see "jiff'k"

Laura - it's J F K 

Waldo - I know how to spell it Laura!! LOL

"Man we went to see Prince of Tides and there wasn't even any surfing!"

[jumper sage]

7 hours ago, Tiger said:

Personally, I like very aristocratic names like Jackson and Victoria.  

And I side-eyes "black" names like DeVonte and "white" names like Cadence.  

Who names their kid after a sexually transmitted disease?!?

 

4 hours ago, peeayebee said:

9 hours ago, jumper sage said:

 

• Clamydia

For real? Yikes. My husband once saw a cashier with the nematic "Latrina."

Yep, the parents thought it sounded so pretty.

4 hours ago, Empress1 said:

My best friend's SIL was dating a guy named Aaron and the whole family called him A-A-Ron

When I was in college I had a couple of friends - Erin Kelly and Aaron Kelly.  The dated and when we were in grad school they married.  His grandmother was mad that Erin Kelly didn't go through the trouble of changing her last name to Kelly.  WTF?  We always referred to them as Erin the girl and Aaron the boy or stressed the last vowel.  ErIN and AarON.

Edited February 10, 2017 by jumper sage

[buckboard]

8 hours ago, vibeology said:

And that's sort of the point of all of this. For Dre, DeVante is a name that speaks to him. It carries the weight of reminding him of his youth and the people who grew up around him. It connects him and his future son to his culture. Dre is aware of the potential pitfalls but doesn't want to accept those pitfalls but rather help his son challenge them.

Dre and Rainbow have had four children.  Dre is just now wanting to give his next kid a culturally unambiguous name?  He is just now coming to this realization about the other children being "black-sh"?  

And speaking of the children, Dre once again spoke badly about his children, which they overheard several times in this episode.  I keep wincing, especially the way he treats Junior.  

[attica]

Where I live, Erin and Aaron have audibly different first-syllable vowel sounds. They're not homophones.  For her, the E is like the vowel in 'bed.' For him, it's the way all the Hogwarts kids pronounce 'Harry.' Flat a. 

I give Aaron Rodgers points for appearing in East/West Bowl II and introducing himself as A-A-ron. Well played, sir. Maybe not as well played as 'Fuuuuudge', but you feel me.

[Court]

So I'm the only one who kept thinking of Davante Adams the NFL wide receiver. I don't think there's anything wrong with the name. I've heard of it, know how to pronounce it, and it's not a crazy one.

I side eye many "white" names. OK I side eye several names but I'm sure my kids names are judged as well. I groaned when my friend told me she was naming her daughter Ella. Because we know about 8, half of them have to go by Ella middle name because there are so many. 

[jumper sage]

59 minutes ago, Court said:

I side eye many "white" names. OK I side eye several names but I'm sure my kids names are judged as well. I groaned when my friend told me she was naming her daughter Ella. Because we know about 8, half of them have to go by Ella middle name because there are so many. 

One of the good things about having a popular name is that you can find items with their names on them.  Stationary for little girls and name embossed clothing for little boys.

[Irlandesa]

I'm seeing a lot of talk about the gender reveal cake but having it be a balloon in the end.  I got the impression that the gender reveal visits to the bakery were for previous pregnancies and not her current one. 

Intellectually, I knew Dre's argument is sound.  My problem with it is that it's coming from Dre and Dre is motivated by Dre's wants and Dre's insecurities.  And his name selection may symbolically be his way of reclaiming his culture but it's his son who will bear the burden of the "fight" so to speak.  (Just as kids named Apple and PIlot will have to navigate their world based on the unknown whims of their parents.) And if the kid decides to use Matthew, you just know Dre is not going to take that well.  But maybe there's enough privilege with Bow and Dre's professional status that they can avoid at least some of the normal obstacles just as Apple's probably going to be all right given who her parents are. 

[Sile]

14 hours ago, PradaKitty said:

We have a neighbor named Aquanetta. When I introduced her to my mother, she asked if she was named after the hairspray ((Aquanet) !!!

There was an actress back in the 40s named Acquanetta.  Maybe mom was a fan?

All through the episode I was thinking of Devonta Freeman.  It would be total serendipity if they used him whiffing on Don'ta Hightower as a reason to switch from Devonta to Dont'a (pronounced Dante for the non-football fans).  Although that might be rubbing salt into the wound...

 

ETA I just looked up Hightower to make sure I got the apostrophe in the right place and learned that he goes by his middle name and his first name is actually Qualin.  He has a sister named Quenette.

Edited February 10, 2017 by Sile

[ElectricBoogaloo]

5 hours ago, jumper sage said:

One of the good things about having a popular name is that you can find items with their names on them.  Stationary for little girls and name embossed clothing for little boys.

Yup, they NEVER had anything with my name. Not souvenir license plates, not stationery, not shot glasses, nothing.

3 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

I'm seeing a lot of talk about the gender reveal cake but having it be a balloon in the end.  I got the impression that the gender reveal visits to the bakery were for previous pregnancies and not her current one.

I assumed the cake was for baby #5 because the guy at the first bakery specifically said he didn't make cakes for gay couples which was a more recent issue. Of course there were gay couples getting married and having babies 8-9 years ago when Bow was pregnant with Jack and Diane, but when I did a quick google search, the oldest link I found about gender reveal cakes was from 2009 which is probably before the twins were born (I'm still not entirely clear how old they're supposed to be, but they're still in elementary school, right?).

[Dee]

I doubt Rainbow would've had much issue if Andre wanted to name the baby Pilot, Apple, Blue, etc.

[Ms Lark]

1 hour ago, Dee said:

I doubt Rainbow would've had much issue if Andre wanted to name the baby Pilot, Apple, Blue, etc.

She already said to Andre she would have preferred a normal name to the "Rainbow" she was stuck with. She wouldn't have gone with any odd names suggested.

Edited February 10, 2017 by Ms Lark

[CaptainCranky]

Typical Black-ish show. I get the thought process on the new baby name.

But I've grown weary on how Bow and Dre treat the kids. In my world that's pretty poor parenting. 

[peeayebee]

7 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

I'm seeing a lot of talk about the gender reveal cake but having it be a balloon in the end.  I got the impression that the gender reveal visits to the bakery were for previous pregnancies and not her current one. 

The bakery scenes seemed current to me. They didn't have the feel of flashbacks, like with Bow and Dre having different hairstyles and such. I may rewatch to make sure.

[vibeology]

9 hours ago, jumper sage said:

One of the good things about having a popular name is that you can find items with their names on them.  Stationary for little girls and name embossed clothing for little boys.

It's 2017. You want something personalized you just go online and order it. Stationary isn't a reason to pick or not pick a name.

11 hours ago, buckboard said:

Dre and Rainbow have had four children.  Dre is just now wanting to give his next kid a culturally unambiguous name?  He is just now coming to this realization about the other children being "black-sh"?  

Yes? Probably at least. People grow and change and their thoughts and opinions change. This entire show is in part about Dre struggling more and more with how he and his family fits into the world as Black, knowing where he came from and where he is now. The Pilot was about him realizing that he feels that he and his family have lost touch with his roots and the way he grew up. Since this is the first time since that realization he gets to name a kid, it really isn't that surprising that his new attitude is impacting his choice of name.

I think Dre (and Bow a little) were being jerky with their other kids in this episode but I don't think it's a jerk move or especially selfish to give your child a name that you love. That's what parents do all the time. There will never be a President DeVante Johnson if parents are too afraid to name their sons DeVante. It's a cycle and Dre is opting to challenge it. And yes, DeVante will bear the brunt of the challenge but I don't doubt for one second that Dre and Bow will be there all the way to support him because jerky moments aside, they do have their kid's backs out in the real world.

[Dee]

2 hours ago, Ms Lark said:

She already said to Andre she would have preferred a normal name to the "Rainbow" she was stuck with. She wouldn't have gone with any odd names suggested.

She says that, yet had no problem naming the twins after a song about lovers. So inappropriate names are acceptable to Rainbow as long as they 'sound' conventional. 

[Zeebreezy]

I liked the episode.  both Bow and Dre made a lot of valid points.  My name is a very common name in both the AA community and white community,  most people know at least two people with my name. So when I had my daughter I wanted to give her name that was different, kind of a flower child hippie type name.  I kept her name a secret from most of my family for fear of what they would say.  My parents passive aggressively begged me to change it but I love her name.  I actually had it picked out since I was a teenager and even though I tried to think of something different I always came back to that name.  Those that did know her name teased me and said she's not even going to get the interview,  meaning one look at her resume and she would immediately be dismissed.  My daughter has a two first names and her second first name is Bleu.  she was born in December, one month before Beyoncé's daughter and when I say my phone rang off the hook with not only my parents and those same family members talking ish about my childs name saying "You thought of it first" and how beautiful my daughter's name is etc *insert side-eye*all because someone famous named their child something similar. 

[buckboard]

vibeology wrote:

"I think Dre (and Bow a little) were being jerky with their other kids in this episode but I don't think it's a jerk move or specially selfish to give your child a name that you love. "

My issue isn't with the discussion about choosing a name.  I think this is the focus of the show, how to live an authentic life as a Black person in a white dominated country and it is one of the things I enjoy about the show.  These are conversations more of us white people need to hear discussed on television.

What irks me is the way Dre treats his children.  I mention this almost every episode, how he verbally demeans the kids, especially Junior.  In this episode the kids overheard him three or four times saying, for example, how pleased he was to finally have a "real" son and how he was glad he would be able to give his new child an authentic black name.  That he was disappointed in the black-ish lives his four children were leading.

[jumper sage]

2 hours ago, buckboard said:

What irks me is the way Dre treats his children.  I mention this almost every episode, how he verbally demeans the kids, especially Junior.  In this episode the kids overheard him three or four times saying, for example, how pleased he was to finally have a "real" son and how he was glad he would be able to give his new child an authentic black name.  That he was disappointed in the black-ish lives his four children were leading.

I have always had a problem with this.  He is treating his kids, especially Jr., the same way he was treated and it wrong.

10 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Yup, they NEVER had anything with my name. Not souvenir license plates, not stationery, not shot glass

Well, with the name Electricboogaloo..............................................................

5 hours ago, vibeology said:

It's 2017. You want something personalized you just go online and order it. Stationary isn't a reason to pick or not pick a name.

Now I'm going online and pulling out my never used credit card.  I have to look away from HERE and get up, find my purse, oh the credit card is in what drawer?  Really I was talking about being a kid, with my birthday money from a great aunt in my hand, and biking up to the strip mall to buy stuff.  I loved notebooks or stationary in which to send the thank you note.  License plate for your bike - oh yeah!

[Rockstar99435]

On 2/9/2017 at 2:07 AM, Michel said:

 Sigh.  Guess they picked the "Diane is creepy/evil" thread back up, further demonstrated by her suddenly appearing near Zoey throughout the episode.

I don't think we were supposed to see it as creepy, but as a younger sister wanting to hang out with her older sister. My sister is 4 years older and yeah, I would totally sneak into whatever room she was hanging out with her friends in. I'd sit on the floor behind the couch and then slowly scoot closer and closer until I was in the room with them. Then, as long as I played it cool and didn't draw too much attention to myself, my sister wouldn't notice and tell me to go away. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

8 hours ago, jumper sage said:

18 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Yup, they NEVER had anything with my name. Not souvenir license plates, not stationery, not shot glass

Well, with the name Electricboogaloo..............................................................

14 hours ago, vibeology said:

It's 2017. You want something personalized you just go online and order it. Stationary isn't a reason to pick or not pick a name.

Now I'm going online and pulling out my never used credit card.  I have to look away from HERE and get up, find my purse, oh the credit card is in what drawer?  Really I was talking about being a kid, with my birthday money from a great aunt in my hand, and biking up to the strip mall to buy stuff.  I loved notebooks or stationary in which to send the thank you note.  License plate for your bike - oh yeah!

Hahaha, touché! You're right - they'd never be able to fit ElectricBoogaloo on one of those bike license plates!

I was an optimistic kid though. Every time we went to Disneyland, Great America, a toy store with spinning racks of personalized things, or souvenir shops on vacation, I ALWAYS looked for my name. Never found it, not once, but I looked every single time. The one time I got something personalized as a little kid was when my parents mailed away for a custom poster (it was one of those ad you'd find in the back of a magazine - this company made posters with any name that said, "Mom and Dad love _________"). And my mom embroidered a pillow with my name when I was about six. Even though I didn't necessarily want all the knick knack kind of stuff that is inevitably personalized, it just sucked that every time I saw, say, magnets with names, mine was never there.

Now that I'm an adult, I don't care (and when those nameplate necklaces were the rage thanks to Sex and the City, I didn't mind at all that they never had my name because I thought they looked a little tacky and juvenile) so I haven't bothered to buy anything personalized except for an address stamp.

[fishcakes]

As a kid, I was always disappointed not to be able to find mini license plates or keychains personalized with my name, although I see it all the time now. I have a name that's in the Bible (for Superstore fans: no, my name is not Jerusha), and it wasn't common when I was a kid in the 1970s, but later became a popular baby name for girls born in the 1980s. So even traditional names fall in and out of favor, although some names should probably stay dormant. A few months ago, I heard a man call his toddler daughter, "Bertha," and I thought, well, that's just child abuse.