Ugliest/Most Horrible Paraphenalia you've ever seen?

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Originally Posted by 33girl

Yes. See: Ronald Reagan using "Born in the USA" as a campaign song (with no clue as to what the lyrics are about).

I just read the lyrics to 99 Problems, and the song is apparently delineating all the problems the lyricist has...however, girl problems are not one of them. What does that have to do with a sorority? (Or the SWE, for that matter)

Actually, on further thought, I revoke my statement that it would be okay for the SWE to use it, but for different reasons, namely that it is not very egalitarian to refer to a woman as a "bitch".

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Sorry for the double-post, but I just got an e-mail from HQ saying it will be taken down ASAP. Goodbye, blackface Sir Fidel.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by DeltaBetaBaby

IThey are using hip hop culture to promote organizations that are, historically, comprised of the white and privileged. I think there is a distinct difference between, for example, a Wizard of Oz-themed bid day shirt and a Notorious B.I.G.-themed bid day shirt. I also think there is a difference between, say, the Society of Women Engineers using a "99 Problems" slogan and an NPC group using the same slogan.

It's specifically the friction between the exclusivity of NPC groups and the origins of hip hop culture that rubs me the wrong way. It's sorta like when a conservative political candidate runs some music in their ad by a liberal artist, and the artist has to be like "hey, stop that!".

Are you implying that "Wizard of Oz" is a symbol of whiteness whereas "Notorious BIG" and "99 Problems" are symbols of Blackness? Should NPC orgs, and white people in general, therefore avoid these references?

I'm not buying that because it creates a nonsense, surface-level response to inequality which pretends that this is all about people feeling offended by ANY type of reference. "Just stay away from it altogether and there will be no problems." I call nonsense on that. There are clear images of white people mocking non-white cultures, including racial slurs, blackface, and "dressing Black for a day." Every reference to something that is one aspect of one component of nonwhiteness is not offensive regardless of intent and outcome.

Originally Posted by Mevara

Just a note with the shirts I posted none of them are approved by the respective org. They are just shirts by a (popular) third party vendor.

Did you know that the Minerva one was in reference to an NPHC sorority? I am still searching for the racial and ethnic mockery there beyond the nonlicensed (probably white) third party vendor's motives.

Originally Posted by 33girl

I just read the lyrics to 99 Problems, and the song is apparently delineating all the problems the lyricist has...however, girl problems are not one of them. What does that have to do with a sorority? (Or the SWE, for that matter)

Originally Posted by DeltaBetaBaby

Actually, on further thought, I revoke my statement that it would be okay for the SWE to use it, but for different reasons, namely that it is not very egalitarian to refer to a woman as a "bitch".

So, now the issue is gender inequality and sorority life? *brain fart* I thought the issue was supposed to be mimicking and mocking Black folkseseseses. LOL.

Originally Posted by DeltaBetaBaby

Sorry for the double-post, but I just got an e-mail from HQ saying it will be taken down ASAP. Goodbye, blackface Sir Fidel.

We all have a voice!

[Mevara]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

Did you know that the Minerva one was in reference to an NPHC sorority? I am still searching for the racial and ethnic mockery there beyond the nonlicensed (probably white) third party vendor's motives.

No I did not know that Minerva was a reference to an NPHC sorority as it is also a reference for Kappa. And I only used that one because DeltaBetaBabay thought that the use of the word "homeboy" was offensive and I was wondering if using "homegirl" would also be offensive.

[Mevara]

Originally Posted by Mevara

Just a note with the shirts I posted none of them are approved by the respective org. They are just shirts by a (popular) third party vendor.

I just noticed that they are an official Greek Licensed company so I don't know if that means the shirts are approved or not.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by Mevara

I just noticed that they are an official Greek Licensed company so I don't know if that means the shirts are approved or not.

That doesn't mean that designs are approved. It means that they have paid a licensing fee to use registered trademarks of participating GLOs.

Originally Posted by Mevara

No I did not know that Minerva was a reference to an NPHC sorority as it is also a reference for Kappa.

On the seller's website, it is marketed as a "Kappa Kappa Gamma Minerva HoodieBuddie." I can see how the color could suggest Delta rather than Kappa, though.

There are some ugly shirts on that site.

[NutBrnHair]

"It truly amazes me when people feel the need to publically critique organizations to which they do not belong."

"If you can't say something nice..."

Some of you are being so "small-minded."

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by Mevara

No I did not know that Minerva was a reference to an NPHC sorority as it is also a reference for Kappa.

Originally Posted by MysticCat

On the seller's website, it is marketed as a "Kappa Kappa Gamma Minerva HoodieBuddie." I can see how the color could suggest Delta rather than Kappa, though.

There are some ugly shirts on that site.

*breathes a sigh of relief*

Thank you, Black baby Jesus.

Ignore my Delta and Minerva rant.

Originally Posted by NutBrnHair

"It truly amazes me when people feel the need to publically critique organizations to which they do not belong."

"If you can't say something nice..."

Some of you are being so "small-minded."

Shut up.

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

Should NPC orgs, and white people in general, therefore avoid these references?

Nope, I just said that it doesn't sit well with me, and I wouldn't wear such a shirt if one were made for my group. Others are free to do whatever they want, and to feel however they want about the issue.

To offer another analogy, it feels to me a little like having a bachelorette party in a gay bar. There are still parts of the country where black women are largely unwelcome in NPC groups.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by NutBrnHair

"It truly amazes me when people feel the need to publically critique organizations to which they do not belong."

Since you quoted me, I'll point out that my quote was in response to your "amazement" that a specific sorority had not made membership a requirement or preference in its search for an executive director. You were criticizing the internal hiring decisions of a sorority other than your own.

And I'm sure you'll recall that the "if you can't say anything nice" quote came in response your response of "Ooooo...classy!" to a poster noting that some nationally-involved members of her sorority have tattoos.

Here in this thread, I and others engaged in conversation about a shirt (granted, offered through Phi Mu's in-house store) that a Phi Mu posted here, noting that she had asked her HQ (successfully, it would appear) to discontinue the shirt because she thought it could be seen by members and non-members alike as offensive. I don't think anyone in this thread has publically critiqued an organization to which they do not belong.

Swell try though.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by DeltaBetaBaby

Nope, I just said that it doesn't sit well with me, and I wouldn't wear such a shirt if one were made for my group. Others are free to do whatever they want, and to feel however they want about the issue.

To offer another analogy, it feels to me a little like having a bachelorette party in a gay bar. There are still parts of the country where black women are largely unwelcome in NPC groups.

Thanks for the explanation. I always understood your point, I am just wondering where the line is drawn.

[BabyPiNK_FL]

*Retiring from hiatus for two seconds*

I didn't see the Sir Fidel shirt as a an adoption of a minority culture by elitist white groups. All of black culture is not ruined by a single hip hop reference on a Phi Mu t-shirt. As a "race" we have far bigger concerns.

I see it as an adoption of popular culture just as they would use "Wizard of Oz" theme or "Sex and the City" or a "How I Met Your Mother" theme. It's just what's hot in the streets right now to say "____ is my home boy" or whatever the kids are liking right now. The so called "hip hop" culture is what many young people are into and PNMs and others see these references and think it's "super cute" as we'd say down here.

It's not like they'd one day print a shirt saying "This N**** right here is my home girl" or something. At least not anyone with common sense.

Would I buy that shirt? No, but that's because it's ugly and we have way cuter things with more pink on it, not because I find it racist.

[PiAlphaGammaFM]

Originally Posted by BabyPiNK_FL

*Retiring from hiatus for two seconds*

I didn't see the Sir Fidel shirt as a an adoption of a minority culture by elitist white groups. All of black culture is not ruined by a single hip hop reference on a Phi Mu t-shirt. As a "race" we have far bigger concerns.

I see it as an adoption of popular culture just as they would use "Wizard of Oz" theme or "Sex and the City" or a "How I Met Your Mother" theme. It's just what's hot in the streets right now to say "____ is my home boy" or whatever the kids are liking right now. The so called "hip hop" culture is what many young people are into and PNMs and others see these references and think it's "super cute" as we'd say down here.

It's not like they'd one day print a shirt saying "This N**** right here is my home girl" or something. At least not anyone with common sense.

Would I buy that shirt? No, but that's because it's ugly and we have way cuter things with more pink on it, not because I find it racist.

This. All of this. much more eloquent then i was being.

[amIblue?]

For all of this throwing around of the Wizard of Oz in this thread, I would love for someone to tell me the last time it was used as a theme on a college campus. It's only older than my mom. (And I am no spring chicken, sadly.)

[ElieM]

I didn't think of it as blackface so much as trying to save money by only having one colour for the print