^that is raven-symoné and her girlfriend,
azmarie livingston.
( x az ) is hot.
great job raven!
nice piece!
thats a quick side bar.
so as you know,
or maybe don’t,
but raven had an interview with oprah that has everyone real vex.
she said some things that aren’t really sitting well with people.
black people.
this is what she had to say…
At 28 years old, Raven-Symoné has a very clear sense of who she is — and isn’t. The former “Cosby Show” actress and star of “That’s So Raven” recently sat down with Oprah and opened up about her strong sense of self, including her sexuality.
Raven has been relatively quiet about her personal life, but last year, when the Supreme Court ruled the ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional, Raven tweeted a status that many saw as her way of coming out.When Oprah asks if this was her way of saying she is gay, Raven gives a careful answer.
“That was my way of saying I’m proud of the country,” she says. “But, I will say that I’m in an amazing, happy relationship with my partner. A woman.”
Raven’s reluctance to open up about her private life is something she has practiced since her early days as a young star, under her parents’ guidance. “People in my family, they’ve taught me to keep my personal life to myself as much as possible. So, I try my best to hold the fence where I can,” Raven says. “But I am proud to be who I am and what I am.”
The actress says she has known who she is before she was even a teenager. “In that topic of dating… I knew when I was, like, 12,” she tells Oprah. “I was looking at everything.”
Still, the Louisiana native never felt the need to define her sexuality and doesn’t want anyone else to do it for her.
“I don’t want to be labeled ‘gay,'” Raven says. “I want to be labeled ‘a human who loves humans.'”
In fact, Raven tells Oprah that she rejects the notion of labels completely in all areas of her life. “I’m tired of being labeled,” she says. “I’m an American. I’m not an African-American; I’m an American.”
The remark seems to catch Oprah off guard. “Oh, girl,” Oprah says, shifting in her chair. “Don’t set up the Twitter on fire… Oh, my lord. What did you just say?”
“I mean, I don’t know where my roots go to,” Raven explains. “I don’t know how far back they go… I don’t know what country in Africa I’m from, but I do know that my roots are in Louisiana. I’m an American. And that’s a colorless person.”
“You’re going to get a lot of flak for saying you’re not African-American. You know that, right?” Oprah asks.
Raven puts her hands up. “I don’t label myself,” she reiterates. “I have darker skin. I have a nice, interesting grade of hair. I connect with Caucasian, I connect with Asian, I connect with black, I connect with Indian, I connect with each culture.”
“You are a melting pot in one body,” Oprah says.
“Aren’t we all?” Raven asks. “Isn’t that what America’s supposed to be?”
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eeeeeeeeeeeep!
…cue the internet blowing up.
god forbid she needs our support again.
i guess my question is:
Is Raven wrong for what she said?
or could she have worded it better?
lowkey: i personally have no issues with labels.
i’m a fox (bottom) and proud of it.
i like my wolves (TOPS) to be wolves as well.
i don’t give a hot fuck either.
don’t mean i wouldn’t get with a hybrid (vers),
but they would know from 21 jump street how i rock.
bitch and moan away!
article taken: the huffington post
Malcolm finally you made perfect sense to me. I’m fed up of hearing these jumped up divas bleaching there skin and denying their roots and portraying that s@@t to our youngsters.
I don’t see anything wrong with calling yourself American, but the simple fact is that black people and African-American’s and people of color are still oppressed in this country, soooo until we’re all treated like “Americans” I’m not so sure I’m willing to separate fact that I’m black/African-American from my identity
I was just watching a show on PBS with Derek Jeter and Dr. Skip Gates about tracing roots.Skip asked Jeter what do you say when people ask “What are You? Jeter said I say Black Irish.Often people won’t you to label yourself so they will know which team are you on.Are you one of us or one of them? Where does your loyalty lie?
J check your email about unrelated story in a few minutes.
I love Raven. BUT that comment was a no no moment, and black twitter is letting her have it. Oprah even gave her the opportunity to clarify herself, and she messed up again. Her PR better get on it.
Labels are limiting..do you
How so?
^but tony i’m confused and maybe you can help me,
limiting to what tho?
Please explain how? People are a trip. However, as soon as someone says the word faggot or another homophobic remark y’all the first one’s hollering. Why get upset, you don’t have a label? Y’all are just an unknown specie as far as I’m concerned. People with no labels are limited because you will always be held back because you can’t accept yourself. How does it limit you?
I can see a little where she is comings from in the gay thing. The moment you’re labeled as gay you get a whole bunch of stuff that comes with it. People seem to forget your human who’s just like them looking for love. It’s “oh he or she is gay so……………….” I do think she could worded it a little differently . Oh well I’ve always been a fan of raven I hope she gets back in comedy soon, I used to love that’s so raven
Well, black is a race, which is composed of various ethnic groups–Nigerians and Nigerian Americans, Haitians and Haitian Americans, Jamaicans and Jamaican Americans and African Americans and more. African Americans are the ethnic group that is composed of the descendants of Africans that were enslaved and brought to America. African Americans as other ethnicities have their own history, culture, traditions and sometimes even language.
This is similar to the fact that white is a race and that there are various white ethnicities–French, German, Italian, Englsh, etc.
The connection between race and ethnicity is this: All African Americans are black but not all blacks are African American.
So, my question to Raven Simone is this: If you are not African American, are you black? If you are black, then what black ethnic group are you?
Now, her answer may be that she’s not black. If that’s the case, then I agree with her. I abhor the racist “one-drop” theory and I believe that if a black person is sufficiently diluted, then he/she is no longer black. Such a person is mixed, mulatto or biracial–for example: President Obama. Certainly, you are not black if your DNA/roots in other than black are greater or equal to your DNA/roots in black. That’s racist and defies logic or reason.
If it is established (as she seems to want to establish) that she is not black, then she should shout that from the rooftop and insist that roles for black characters not go to her and that she will only go for roles for mixed, mulatto or biracial characters. I favor such because there are many black/African American actresses that should get such roles and not someone that is not black/African American.
I agree with {The Man} I get what she trying to say but she definitely not explaining correctly. She does sound very lost. Saying your American is a label while African American isn’t? She should have said Im just me lol she would have seemed more crazy but crazy with her own thought of path.
I think she could have worded it differently. But I really don’t care because I never cared for her in the first place. She seems like she lives in her own world from her own high pedestal. So meh. And she can miss me with that “great grade of hair” comment. Her edges state otherwise.
Frankly, I don’t mind labels. I feel like people who don’t like labels have some..insecurities or doubts maybe? They don’t define you.
On a positive note, her girlfriend is SEXY!! Those lips and her facial structure are God crafted.
^more than likely not,
a majority of the people who don’t like labels tend to be looking for something to help soften the blow of their intense hoeing.
now there are some genuine vers out there.
these others tho…
Ummm you never hear white people say I am European American or Canadian American, but just American. But it not okay for a black person to want be called American? Oh please.
She is trying to making logic out of what she said, and she is making no sense….at all. American is a label just like African American is. Am I right or wrong? Everyone is trying to sound smart and intelligent nowadays and it’s just an epic fail lol. You are what you are just sit back and own it.
^raven always struck me as very uppity.
she seems to have no place to fit in within society.
so she is creating this senseless logic to define herself.
To me she’s right, why do we need to label ourselves by our skin color. Not everyone needs to proclaim their “blackness” or sexuality all the time like everyone else. When we all stop giving a fcuk on the trivial stuff maybe we can get further…we just have to kill off all the racists and bigots first lol.
Labeling yourself and telling everyone is two totally different things. You don’t have to proclaim it, just own it.
^all the gay boys screaming:
“Why do we need labels!
I want to do what I want!
It’s either or in the bedroom for me…”
…but you’re a vers,
which is the label.
am I right or wrong?
yet they want to look down on everyone else.
A position is a label. It really makes them look dumb, whether they acknowledge it or not. It’s just another form of denial. You have people who have been convicted for drugs, but swear they aren’t drug dealers or users. What are ya then?