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Kola_boof
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Kola_boof
Post Number: 2537
Registered: 02-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 31, 2006 - 03:23 pm: | 
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A BLACK MALE STYLIST...
HAS GIVEN ALEK WEK A WHOLE NEW
LOOK
"I was sick of how my peers
in the fashion world tried to
animalize this woman. They made
her look like a freak. No softeness,
no mod girl quality. She was presented
as a kind of Ink Spot clown. I wanted
to show Alek Wek as a beauty. The
mother of all women".
--Kevin Kane Pollack, BRITISH VOGUE
HE WAS RESPONSIBLE
FOR THIS "CLASSIC" COVER
OF ESSENCE MAGAZINE
A FEW YEARS BACK.
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Brownbeauty123
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Brownbeauty123
Post Number: 676
Registered: 03-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 31, 2006 - 03:25 pm: |
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I love that jacket in the Essence photo. |
Tonya
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Tonya
Post Number: 123
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 31, 2006 - 03:31 pm: |
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Alec is gorgeous as hell no matter what is done to her. Not many people have that quality.
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Tonya
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Tonya
Post Number: 124
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 31, 2006 - 03:33 pm: |
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these photos are breathtaking. |
Tonya
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Tonya
Post Number: 125
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 31, 2006 - 03:34 pm: |
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God, I love them boots! |
Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 5592
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 31, 2006 - 03:36 pm: |
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When she ages some and starts eating HUMAN quantities of food allowing, the T&A to fill-in some, that girls gone be AWESOME! |
Lil_ze
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Lil_ze
Post Number: 287
Registered: 01-2006
Rating: 
Votes: 1 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 31, 2006 - 03:45 pm: |
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alec wek is so dam ugly. super dark skin doesn't make a person beautiful. |
Yvettep
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Yvettep
Post Number: 1203
Registered: 01-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 31, 2006 - 03:52 pm: |
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Who said anything about "super dark skin" in relation to how gorgeous (many of us) thinks she is? Hmmmmmm.
At any rate I love those photos--and more importantly, love the sentiment expressed by the photographer. Wonderful! |
Brownbeauty123
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Brownbeauty123
Post Number: 680
Registered: 03-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 31, 2006 - 03:53 pm: |
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Lil_ze is just being a prick right now. |
Lil_ze
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Lil_ze
Post Number: 289
Registered: 01-2006
Rating:
Votes: 1 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 31, 2006 - 03:58 pm: |
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hey brownbeauty, does alec wek "give a shit" about you? so why are you defending her?
alec wek is just plain strange looking and ugly. having a different opinion does not make me a prick. can we get off of the "she's dark so she must be beautiful" bandwagon. ugly is ugly. beautiful is beautiful. alec wek is ugly. ciara is beautiful. plain as day. |
Brownbeauty123
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Brownbeauty123
Post Number: 682
Registered: 03-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 31, 2006 - 04:02 pm: |
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Could you please take your baggage to the Mulatto.org forums, PLEASE?
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Lil_ze
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Lil_ze
Post Number: 290
Registered: 01-2006
Rating:
Votes: 1 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 31, 2006 - 04:02 pm: |
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im sitting here with 5 male family members. we ALL think she is butt ass ugly. so its not just me. she is hideous looking. many people think so. |
Lil_ze
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Lil_ze
Post Number: 291
Registered: 01-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 31, 2006 - 04:03 pm: |
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alec wek is the mother of all ugly women. |
Brownbeauty123
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Brownbeauty123
Post Number: 683
Registered: 03-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 31, 2006 - 04:04 pm: |
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Since when were house negroes granted computer priveledges on Monday afternoons? |
Lil_ze
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Lil_ze
Post Number: 293
Registered: 01-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 31, 2006 - 04:10 pm: |
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why when someone is losing an arguement or can come up with an inteeligent point, they insist on name calling? calling names does little to support any point you are trying to make.
oh yeah, alec wek is super ugly. she looks like she came from the planet "black and ugly". |
Lil_ze
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Lil_ze
Post Number: 294
Registered: 01-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 31, 2006 - 04:11 pm: |
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or cannot come up with an intelligent point |
Brownbeauty123
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Brownbeauty123
Post Number: 684
Registered: 03-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 31, 2006 - 04:13 pm: |
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Lil_ze, do you want people to accept you as you are or do you want them to like you? |
Lil_ze
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Lil_ze
Post Number: 295
Registered: 01-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 31, 2006 - 04:16 pm: |
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i don't want people to accept me or like me. i don't WANT people to do anything. i don't worry about if people like me or accept me. my family is large enough on both sides that there are more than enough people who accept me whether they like me or not, because we are family. i only want to be involved with beautiful women who look like ciara or lisa bonet. |
Va_sis
AALBC .com Platinum Poster
Username: Va_sis
Post Number: 93
Registered: 02-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 31, 2006 - 04:35 pm: |
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Lil_ze, I agree with your sentiment that being dark doesn't mean you're automatically beautiful.
HOWEVER,
Alek Wek has some VERY BEAUTIFUL features! Hands down, she's a striking woman! I wouldn't call her beautiful, but come on...she isn't ugly either. I LOVE how he styled her, she looks FANTASTIC.
I've noticed that every woman you've ever found to be "beautiful" is light or caramel complexioned.
Are you saying there aren't ANY beautiful dark-skinned?
(note: Lisa Bonet & Ciara aren't beautiful: I'd give Ciara cute at best, and Lisa Bonet has always looked washed up) |
Brownbeauty123
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Brownbeauty123
Post Number: 688
Registered: 03-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 31, 2006 - 04:37 pm: |
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Look at this broad, she looks like a bag lady
Maybe in her younger days, she was somewhat a looker, but she looks coked out, rode hard and put away wet TODAY. |
Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 5598
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 31, 2006 - 04:40 pm: |
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BB123,
I agree. Lisa Bonet looks like your typical White woman who's aged BADLY. |
Va_sis
AALBC .com Platinum Poster
Username: Va_sis
Post Number: 94
Registered: 02-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 31, 2006 - 04:44 pm: |
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Exactly!
How can you say that Lisa Bonet's haggard, dry appearance is better than Alek Wek's crisp, vibrant, healthy glow? |
Fortified
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Fortified
Post Number: 230
Registered: 04-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 31, 2006 - 04:46 pm: |
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Lil_ze, why are you going out of your way to state how ugly Alek is? You have stated it before on other threads, and you have repeated yourself three times here. What is your point? |
Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 5600
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 31, 2006 - 04:47 pm: |
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Va_sis,
That half-a-kneegrow Lenny Kravitz wisely got out of the Lisa Bonet market before that sucker CRASHED.
Those Jews sure are SMART. |
Lil_ze
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Lil_ze
Post Number: 298
Registered: 01-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 31, 2006 - 04:48 pm: |
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ok, i was talking about a younger lisa bonet. her "hippy" ways took a toll on her beauty. but when she was on the cosby show and different world she was stunning. on the "black women we love thread i listed the women i think are beautiful.
tyrell hicks
regina hall
ashanti
kelly rowland
gabrielle union etc
my thoughts on who is beautiful is NOT about skin color. its about beauty. |
Lil_ze
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Lil_ze
Post Number: 299
Registered: 01-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 31, 2006 - 04:53 pm: |
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and other posters have stated on other threads that alec wek is beautiful. there have been at least two other threads devoted to alec wek and people saying she is beautiful. aren't two threads enough? so what is the point of people talking agian about how beautiful alec wek is?
my point is she's friggin ugly. i'd take lisa bonet as she looks today over alec wek. as long as people keep posting talking about how beautiful she is i will post talking about how ugly she is. there's my point. |
Moonsigns
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Moonsigns
Post Number: 1286
Registered: 07-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 31, 2006 - 05:42 pm: |
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Though Alec Wek has a beautiful, warm smile that leads me to believe she has a vibrant personality, I have never considered her a "beauty" (physically). However, I do think those photos are glamorous, sexy and feminine! She looks far better in these current pics than those of the past! |
Fortified
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Fortified
Post Number: 232
Registered: 04-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 31, 2006 - 05:46 pm: |
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^^^^Yeah, you are entitled to your opinion, but you repeated four times in one thread. We get it.
Lil_ze said:
my thoughts on who is beautiful is NOT about skin color. its about beauty.
^^^^^I strongly agree with that. Black women are beautiful at both ends of the spectrum. It would be nice if everyone thought that way... |
Kola_boof
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Kola_boof
Post Number: 2553
Registered: 02-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 31, 2006 - 06:53 pm: |
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Like Alek Wek, I am from SUDAN, so Alek Wek's beauty is MORE than beautiful to me.
For those of us who are "CUSHITE"--there is cultural and emotional connection, especially as our nation has been destroyed.
Not to mention WHAT IT TAKES to stand up and be Alek Wek in a world where she is constantly told that she is "ugly", "a joke", "disgusting looking"---and usually by Blacks, not whites.
So I am happy to celebrate HER BEAUTY, and I have the courage to acknowledge that....
....HER END...of the SPECTRUM is almost never recognized, let alone celebrated.
Wouldn't you agree, FORTIFIED?
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Fortified
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Fortified
Post Number: 235
Registered: 04-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 31, 2006 - 07:12 pm: |
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^^^^Yes, Kola, I agree.
People don't realize that their opinion of what is beautiful does NOT come from them 100%. It comes from repeated exposure to the same types of images in the media.
Humans have fundamental cues of beauty, such as curves and facial symmetry--those are evolutionarily conserved among bipedal organisms.
But skin complexions, hair grades, eye color and shape--preferences in these categories are largely shaped by cultural hegemony, which uses media (TV, print, internet) as its major instrument.
If you are Chinese in China, what is "attractive" to you will most likely be Chinese, and to a much lesser extent, white. This is because China is dominated by Chinese culture.
The same cannot be said for Black America... |
Serenasailor
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Serenasailor
Post Number: 658
Registered: 01-2006
Rating: 
Votes: 2 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 31, 2006 - 08:18 pm: |
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I think Alec Wek is Gorgeous. We all know that Lil_ze uses the "paper bag test" on his dates. So anything he says does not hold weight with me anyway.
But Moonsigns is a Racist, redneck, white bitch who thinks that just because she is married to a stupid, niggerish, self-hating black man that she is the "posterchild" for racial progress. Moonsigns you are a phony and so are all of those WW who are married to BM. The only problem is that your stupid housepets that you call husbands are to "whipped to realize this.
Of course you and your husband think that Alec Wek is hideous. She represents the very thing that he himself is trying to run from. "Blackness". |
Serenasailor
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Serenasailor
Post Number: 659
Registered: 01-2006
Rating:
Votes: 2 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 31, 2006 - 08:20 pm: |
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Lisa Bonet looks like Milli Vanilli. (After he died). |
Serenasailor
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Serenasailor
Post Number: 660
Registered: 01-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 31, 2006 - 08:23 pm: |
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I'm sure whenever your husband looks at Alec Wek he consoles himself by running to his bi-racial children and stroking their soft, wavy "good" herr. |
Serenasailor
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Serenasailor
Post Number: 661
Registered: 01-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 31, 2006 - 08:26 pm: |
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The Bi-racial guy in the last forum is the very epitome of why we need black children and not "watered" down white ones. |
Ntfs_encryption
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Ntfs_encryption
Post Number: 502
Registered: 10-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 31, 2006 - 09:16 pm: |
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"Alec is gorgeous as hell no matter what is done to her. Not many people have that quality."
Oh really? Ok....Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!
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Semperfemme
Regular Poster
Username: Semperfemme
Post Number: 32
Registered: 07-2006
Rating:
Votes: 1 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 31, 2006 - 09:28 pm: |
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She wasn't hot before? Newsflash to me. The new style is awesome and so are those pics, but she's always been a model of black perfection. I remember there was this one ad where she had on this stunning white bathing suit. Her skin tone was set off perfectly. Unmarred and pure.
I don't wear weaves or wigs, so Tyra and Naomi don't appeal to or represent me. Wek sports her natural and her own natural eye color for that matter. It's almost like black pride in action and not just words. |
Kola_boof
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Kola_boof
Post Number: 2556
Registered: 02-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 31, 2006 - 10:19 pm: |
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The OLD Alek Wek look
Presented her as something of
an ODDITY.
The NEW look created
by a BLACK MAN...takes her
SERIOUSLY.
KEEP IN MIND THAT SHE HAS NEVER
HAD A "BLACK" STYLEST BEFORE--ALL
THESE LOOKS BELOW...I AGREE THEY'RE
"GREAT"...AND WERE DONE BY WHITES,
BUT I DO SEE WHAT HE WAS SAYING.
WHEN COMPARED TO THIS.
CAN ANYONE SEE THE DIFFERENCE
IN THE "MESSAGES"? OR AM I JUST
BEING SENSITIVE??? LOL 
|
Tonya
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Tonya
Post Number: 135
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 31, 2006 - 11:15 pm: |
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((("...Presented her as something of an ODDITY.")))
Don't they do that with all models, though?
Fashion shows (magazines) flaunt all kinds of "exotic" "wild" unusual creations, where most of the models (black, white, other) participate. |
Kola_boof
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Kola_boof
Post Number: 2564
Registered: 02-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 31, 2006 - 11:24 pm: |
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Well, you could be right Tonya.
But I always thought Cindy Crawford, Kate Moss,Naomi Campbell, Tyra and Iman were also presented as elegant women--the kind you'd want to look like at the ball or marry.
Though I have seen them in a few "SpaceSuits" or done up like Punk Rockers----it seems as though that's the ONLY WAY Alek was usually shown.
I think the new look takes her serious as a woman and presents her as "normal".
|
Yukio
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Yukio
Post Number: 1439
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 31, 2006 - 11:30 pm: |
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Alek looks tastee... |
Tonya
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Tonya
Post Number: 136
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 31, 2006 - 11:52 pm: |
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Kola:
Though I have seen them in a few "SpaceSuits" or done up like Punk Rockers----it seems as though that's the ONLY WAY Alek was usually shown.
Tonya:
Ah, now that you mention it, I do remember hearing (black) people making that argument…especially when she first came out, blacks were furious about just that. I don't pay that much attention to the entertainment world; so I wouldn't know whether she's ever presented as "normal." |
Mzuri
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Mzuri
Post Number: 1129
Registered: 01-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 31, 2006 - 11:54 pm: |
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Looks to me like they lightened her up. |
Misty
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Misty
Post Number: 258
Registered: 02-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 01, 2006 - 02:16 am: |
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"alec wek is the mother of all ugly women."
lil_ze there are quite a few men who i know of that completely disagree with yuo on alek.... so beauty is in the eye of the beholder...why get so offended that someone else finds someone attractive that you think is butt ugly?????
it's not that serious. |
Misty
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Misty
Post Number: 259
Registered: 02-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 01, 2006 - 02:22 am: |
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"she is constantly told that she is "ugly", "a joke", "disgusting looking"---and usually by Blacks, not whites. "
this part here is so true, it's mainly the whites who i hear saying that alek wek is attractive but most blacks who i've heard talk abut ehr don't find her attractive. |
Ntfs_encryption
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Ntfs_encryption
Post Number: 508
Registered: 10-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 01, 2006 - 05:57 am: |
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".....it's mainly the whites who i hear saying that alek wek is attractive but most blacks who i've heard talk abut ehr don't find her attractive."
Ya got that right...! |
Brownbeauty123
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Brownbeauty123
Post Number: 711
Registered: 03-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 01, 2006 - 09:47 am: |
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Mzuri, I think alot of Black celebs are "bleaching" their skin.
Alek does look lighter.
Here's her in June 2003
June 2005
She looks lighter all over. |
Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 5613
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 01, 2006 - 09:57 am: |
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BB123,
Though I'm not a fan of the colors of her headdress, Alek looks scrumptious in the greenish-gold number above. |
Tonya
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Tonya
Post Number: 139
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 01, 2006 - 11:02 am: |
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Thanks for the photos, BrownBeauty.
Kola, did this BLACK/MALE stylist encourage Alek to bleach/get lighter?
Her features were made up to look as European as possible in that "CLASSIC" Essence shot, as well--now that I really look at it.
Is he trying to make her look "normal" or whiter/lighter? |
Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 5617
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 01, 2006 - 11:33 am: |
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Tonya,
Maybe the apparent difference in Alek's skintone is less function of bleaching/lightners and more a result of DIFFERENT schemes and degrees of LIGHTING in which the photographs are taken. |
Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 5622
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 01, 2006 - 11:48 am: |
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Tonya,
I really can't see the benefit of attempting to permanently lighten Alek given that its her stark 'Africaness' that makes her unique and special as a model. |
Tonya
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Tonya
Post Number: 141
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 01, 2006 - 11:49 am: |
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Yeah, ABM, I figured that too...which is why I backtracked and compared all of his photos to the ones done by other stylists/photographers.
|
Tonya
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Tonya
Post Number: 142
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 01, 2006 - 12:14 pm: |
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I see what Kola was looking at: The clothes, style and less make-up, because that's what I was paying attention to, also. I did not think about color at all, not until it was brought up---but now that it's been said, there is a recognizable difference.
And maybe it isn't her SKIN that's been lightened. Perhaps he chose to use different schemes for most of his photos purposely.
Btw, sorry for the repost…your 11:48 post was in response to my 11:49 one. |
Mzuri
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Mzuri
Post Number: 1131
Registered: 01-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 01, 2006 - 12:16 pm: |
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Regardless of the technique or method used, the end result is that she has been "en-lightened." What's up with that? |
Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 5625
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 01, 2006 - 12:28 pm: |
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Mzuri,
Fashion is a form of art. There's not inherently nothing wrong with the purveyors of such presenting alternate views and perspectives of their subject matter, including their models.
It's only really a potential issue when a certain biased (usually Eurocentric) viewpoint ALWAYS prevails above all others.
ALL,
It's interesting how everyone makes such a fuss about how models look, how thin they are, etc. when fashion aficionados assert it is the ability of model to NOT draw attention from the clothing they model that makes her (or him) special. |
Mzuri
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Mzuri
Post Number: 1133
Registered: 01-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 01, 2006 - 12:41 pm: |
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ABM - If they painted her white that would be alright with you? Because part of Alek's allure and beauty was her pure dark complexion. And now her "stylists" have changed that and lightened her up. And you think it's a "fashion" decision? An alternative view? NOT!
And BTW, I don't really give a care. I was just looking at the pix that were posted and it happened to dawn on me that something was WAY OFF! Subtle, but off. |
Tonya
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Tonya
Post Number: 143
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 01, 2006 - 12:43 pm: |
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I'm sort of a perfectionist when it comes to order so I HAVE TO straighten this out, lol.
Abm said:
Tonya,
Maybe the apparent difference in Alek's skintone is less function of bleaching/lightners and more a result of DIFFERENT schemes and degrees of LIGHTING in which the photographs are taken.
Tonya Responded:
Yeah, ABM, I figured that too...which is why I backtracked and compared all of his photos to the ones done by other stylists/photographers.
Abm replied:
Tonya,
I really can't see the benefit of attempting to permanently lighten Alek given that its her stark 'Africaness' that makes her unique and special as a model.
Tonya Added/responded:
I see what Kola was looking at: The clothes, style and less make-up, because that's what I was paying attention to, also. I did not think about color at all, not until it was brought up---but now that it's been said, there is a recognizable difference.
And maybe it isn't her SKIN that's been lightened. Perhaps he chose to use different schemes for most of his photos purposely.
Btw, sorry for the repost…your 11:48 post was in response to my 11:49 one. |
Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 5626
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 01, 2006 - 12:57 pm: |
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Mzuri,
As I said to Tonya, I don't see how it does the modeling industry any real benefit to attempt to permanently 'lighting' Alek. Because, hell, there are literally MILLIONS of dark brown African America women who'd starve themselves for the privilege of being in her position.
Yes. Some photographers might want to catch pictures of her with different kinds of looks. That don't necessarily mean they hope they could or would attempt to bleach her into Halle Berry territory.
Tonya,
Thanks for the attempts to "straighten" things out. I'm sure we're seeing eye-2-eye now.
Either that, or I'm sure you'll eventually realize I'm always totally RIGHT about everything. Which would be pretty much the same thing. |
Beautifulone
Newbie Poster
Username: Beautifulone
Post Number: 7
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 01, 2006 - 01:59 pm: |
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to those that thinks she is ugly...you are what you think...if you think she is ugly es because you are ugly...get a life,clue and then get a job... |
Kola_boof
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Kola_boof
Post Number: 2566
Registered: 02-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 01, 2006 - 02:36 pm: |
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Here is a photo of me in DIM light
Here I am (with the exact same skin tone) photographed in bright light.
I know for a fact that Alek Wek's skin tone is the SAME that it always was.
Her skin color, by the way, is EBONY, not Charcoal. As evidenced in this photo.
PLEASE take a good look, because
this is how Alek actually LOOKS.
As much as I LOVE this picture in the WHITE, because it reminds me of my birth mother-----this is NOT the color of Alek's skin. The photo for "ELLE" makes her look MUCH DARKER than she is in real life, although it's one of my all time favorite pictures of her--but this the ONLY WAY that White Stylists/Photographers like to photograph Alek---as Charcoal. We've seen that look for 12 years straight now.
And how do you all explain this next photo that is also by the Black Male Stylist where she again looks nearly charcoal?
Obviously, she's being given the same treatment that all other models receive---as she is now being LIT and airblown just like the other women.
TONYA---not trying to fight with you, but I don't have a clue as to how you could say that ALEK looks more "European" in this photo. She looks like a Stone Cold PURE Sudanese in this photo---but like all ESSENCE COVERS, the photo is airblown---and if you take a good look, she is LIT from the sides of her head, like all ESSENCE covers. See the light on both sides of her head? This is done to make people look THINNER. At ESSENCE, they don't care how thin you are---they try to make everyone thinner. They do the same to Mariah Carey's covers, Vivica's, Angela Bassett's.
Whatever is being done, I think the "LOOK" created by the Black Male Stylist is far more respectful and celebratory of Alek's beauty than the pictures like these ones-----that to me are meant more to make her image into a "freak show" than to honor it. Are very dark skinned women just FREAK objects?
What is alluring about this shit?
Everyone is entitled to their opinion,
butI like the "LOOK" by the
Black Stylist better, because
in these photos---Alek is presented
as a WOMAN, not a Caricature.
She could be a secretary on her way to
work in this one.
She could be a wife at a cocktail
party in this one.
OR, she could be a raven-colored
seductress in this one.
I don't necessarily think he's trying
to WHITEN her--if anything, she's being
shown as her actual color by the Black'
Stylist.
THIS, BY THE WAY...is my all
time favorite Alek Wek Photo.
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Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 5627
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 01, 2006 - 02:50 pm: |
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Kola,
One of Destined and my business associates is a make-up artist. And another (who's also a good friend) is a fashion photographer.
Really. Foks would be AMAZED by ALL the amazingly DIFFERENT kinds of WAYS they can make people look. |
Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 5629
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 01, 2006 - 02:55 pm: |
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A LOT of it is the positioning, texture and shading of lighting (some natural sun vs flame vs electic light). Some of it is makeup COMBINED with certain assortments of lighting.
Honestly. I don't think it possible for anyone to make a fair assessment of how dark or light Alek is simply via seeing her in her (MYRIAD) photographs. You'd really have to meet her when she's has NOT been made up to hope to get a true picture of how she looks. |
Kola_boof
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Kola_boof
Post Number: 2569
Registered: 02-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 01, 2006 - 03:03 pm: |
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I have met her, and she's not Charcoal. She is "EBONY"--which is such a rich brown, that from a distance, it can look jet black. But Alek (which is pronounced "Ulek" for those who care) is not bleaching her skin.
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Schakspir
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Schakspir
Post Number: 369
Registered: 12-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 01, 2006 - 03:11 pm: |
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Too androgynous for my tastes....Might appeal to closet gay men and/or lesbians, however. I would say she's "striking" rather than physically beautiful. |
Va_sis
AALBC .com Platinum Poster
Username: Va_sis
Post Number: 95
Registered: 02-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 01, 2006 - 03:18 pm: |
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THIS
is my favorite of Alek!
 |
Kola_boof
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Kola_boof
Post Number: 2572
Registered: 02-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 01, 2006 - 03:28 pm: |
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Breathtakingly gorgeous photo Va_sis.
But again--don't you see a PATTERN in the photos of the White Stylists/Photographers?
I myself do nude photos, I'm not against that. But we've had like 12 years of Alek Wek as a naked, wet charcoal NOMAD image---and that's why I'm in agreement with the Black Stylist. Why can't she be a secretary or a wife?
In other words, why can't she be taken SERIOUSLY and not always shown as a "Magical Negro"?
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Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 5631
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 01, 2006 - 03:41 pm: |
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Are those pubic hairs in Va_sis picture?
Or should I consider getting an eye exam? |
Va_sis
AALBC .com Platinum Poster
Username: Va_sis
Post Number: 96
Registered: 02-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 01, 2006 - 03:42 pm: |
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I agree 110%,
and to try to answer your rhetoric, I'd venture to say that white stylists just didn't "know what to do with her".
Due to their arrogance, they didn't ask, either.
As said before, Kevin Pollack did a FANTASTIC job styling her. Alek has the size & frame that she can wear almost anything and look stunning in it (I say almost, because those orange booty shorts missed the mark).
I love seeing her in gowns and mod couture. I hope he continues to present her to us in the future. |
Va_sis
AALBC .com Platinum Poster
Username: Va_sis
Post Number: 97
Registered: 02-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 01, 2006 - 03:44 pm: |
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Abm,
Imagine her as a goddess immortalized in polished onyx.
Try to ignore the bikini stubble.
lol |
Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 5633
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 01, 2006 - 03:53 pm: |
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Ladies,
Perhaps it's reaching: But has Alek reached a point where she can attempt to wield more control over how and by whom she's photographed?
Jes checkin'.
Va_sis,
I'll try. But, hey, when the nether region is being emphasized to the degree of such in that photo, inquiring minds kinda NEED to know. |
Va_sis
AALBC .com Platinum Poster
Username: Va_sis
Post Number: 98
Registered: 02-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 01, 2006 - 03:56 pm: |
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Abm,
good point. Either Alek is fine with the way she's been styled in the past or she hasn't developed the kahunas to put her foot down and steer her ship. |
Tonya
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Tonya
Post Number: 144
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 01, 2006 - 06:12 pm: |
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Abm,
(((((((("Tonya, Thanks for the attempts to "straighten" things out. I'm sure we're seeing eye-2-eye now.
Either that, or I'm sure you'll eventually realize I'm always totally RIGHT about everything. Which would be pretty much the same thing."))))))))
LOL! You wish. The only comment we see eye to eye on is this.
("Tonya, I really can't see the benefit of attempting to permanently lighten Alek given that its her stark 'Africaness' that makes her unique and special as a model.")
Kola,
No argument here either, but I have to agree with the Europeans on this one. Alek's exceptional, natural physical beauty is not to be touched...by schemes, by lightings, by chemicals, nothing. Plus I actually like the bright, bold fabrics that the they often put her in--the colors augment her rich dark beauty IMO.
And "Essence" seem a bit racist if that's what they do with all their dark model's FACES. I can see them doing that to Mariah, because Mariah's ass is kinda fat--(fat, not “Phat,” by the way). |
Tonya
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Tonya
Post Number: 146
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 01, 2006 - 06:29 pm: |
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My bad.
I meant "Plus I actually like the bright, bold fabrics that they often put her in..." |
Moonsigns
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Moonsigns
Post Number: 1290
Registered: 07-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 01, 2006 - 08:30 pm: |
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I think most models are dressed in fashions that average, everyday women just don't wear. However, I have to agree with Kola on this one, I like the look that has been created by the black stylist better. To me, it's geared more towards the everyday woman. And in this case, Alec is presented as a "normal" woman who just happens to be black --not a black woman that commands attention because she is so "different". It refreshing! |
Kola_boof
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Kola_boof
Post Number: 2576
Registered: 02-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 01, 2006 - 08:48 pm: |
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TONYA said:
Alek's exceptional, natural physical beauty is not to be touched...by schemes, by lightings, by chemicals, nothing.
KOLA:
Tonya, that comment is really confusing, because---the BLACK STYLIST is showing Alek as her own true color which is EBONY. How she actually looks.
The White Stylists are artificially darkening her to appear charcoal.
In many photos, they PAINT her black like these:
This is not her NATURAL beauty
or look
----THIS IS how she
actually looks, NATURALLY
DOES EVERY PHOTO have to present her
as something of a "FETTISH" that people
--including Sudanese can't
relate to?
What EXACTLY is wrong with the way
the Black Guy Showed her?
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Dahomeyahosi
Regular Poster
Username: Dahomeyahosi
Post Number: 48
Registered: 01-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 01, 2006 - 09:30 pm: |
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I think Alek looks a lot like many of the southern Sudanese women I see in pictures. It is good to see a woman who looks vaguely like me and I never found anything offensive in her previous photos. The one with the black background is gorgeous. |
Tonya
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Tonya
Post Number: 148
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 01, 2006 - 10:56 pm: |
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Kola,
I didn't pay close enough attention to this part of your previous post:
((("Her skin color, by the way, is EBONY, not Charcoal. As evidenced in this photo. PLEASE take a good look, because this is how Alek actually LOOKS.")))
When taking this into consideration, I completely get your point.
It also accounts for why my comment was confusing.
What's more, my full statement contradicts itself, because on the one hand I'm saying she shouldn't be touched, yet on the other, I'm in essence applauding the Europeans for "augmenting" her natural skin tone.
So I'm sure this added to the confusion.
Still, I can't help from recalling how back in the days darker skinned blacks were constantly reminded--usually by other blacks--to not wear certain colors because, supposedly, it made them look "blacker."
Of course, I see it from your perspective too, where Africans & AAs are made to look “wild” and “exotic” by Europeans to our anger/dismay. And I'm sure you can see it from mine because, hell, you wrote the book on it, lol.
It's just that this particular topic pulls us in opposite directions which is fine. |
Nolanfane
Regular Poster
Username: Nolanfane
Post Number: 64
Registered: 09-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, October 02, 2006 - 01:24 pm: |
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Kola Boof this was FANTASTIC!!!
I love this thread though don't get mad at me. I just not attracted to Alec and she's not pretty to me, but I do like her photos and enjoy looking at how different she looks. She's fun to look at.
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