• HOME
• ADVERTISE
• ABOUT
• CONNECT
  • Contact
  • Newsletter
  • Editor's Note
  • Meet Team
• MAGAZINE
  • Subscribe!
• INITIATIVES
  • Obaasema Village
  • Partnerships
    • Real African Women (R.A.W)
• MEDIA
• PHOTOS

• wellness
  • HEALTH
• culture
  • ENT'MENT
  • EVENTS
  • BOOKS
• features
  • NEWS
    • Be Informed
  • MONEY
  • DECOR
  • LIFE &♥
    • Relationships
    • Advice Column
  • WOMEN
    • Be Empowered
  • MEN
  • BLOG
    • CampusVoice
• style
  • FASHION
  • BEAUTY
    • AromaSense
• profiles
• spirituality
• powerhouse
• searchSite

Why Fame and Fortune Cannot Sway the Black Woman
By Tiffany Hall
                                                                                                                    

We have officially bid farewell to 2007, and for some it was a difficult year. We witnessed a slew of celebrities flock to rehab, and some even ended up serving jail sentences due to careless behavior. It baffled many of us that people with such talent, fame, and fortune could sabotage themselves and their careers. What is most interesting is how such stories of self-destruction are relatively unheard of among their black celebrity peers who seem to treat their fame very cautiously and reasons for this might go beyond mere humility.

So why are some white celebrities on the fast track to oblivion and some of their black peers still rising stars? From a cultural perspective, the latter may simply have to work that much harder to maintain their celebrity status. As black women, we are perceived to be on the lower rung of the social ladder. Many statistics have ruled us out to be nothing but welfare moms and drug addicts. Thus, working hard enough to beat those statistics, we have to work just as hard to maintain our status in society.

Some have managed to conquer the music, film and fashion industry, showing no signs of slowing down. This attitude however, is shared by many black women living ordinary lives.

According to a Census data from 2005, college-educated black women earned more than white women because they were more likely to work longer hours and stay in the workforce after having children. Also, many black women were raised to believe hard work would yield economical rewards to help elevate their social status, and such a perspective continues to be held by the majority.

Not only is working used as a means for black women to economically and socially advance themselves but to elevate their families as well. The family has become a large motivating factor for them in all areas of their lives; this could be rooted back in slavery when blacks were stripped of their economic and social freedom and forced to rely on relatives for strength and support.

But the black family is believed to have gradually deteriorated since slavery due to racism, migration to urban centers, and poverty. Marriage rates for blacks have plummeted in the past 30 years with only 35 percent of black women reported to be married in 2006.

With marriage on hold, many black women have more time to devote to their careers. As they become more successful, some opt to steer clear of marriage altogether because they are able to financially support themselves. They are constantly striving for upward mobility in order to avoid the consequences of growing up in a weakened family structure. Many black men have been deemed unavailable or unmarryable, and we have been brought up in largely matriarchal families as a result.

However, black women are not only working to improve the lives of their families. Many are fighting to improve the lives of other black women. Dating back to the Civil Rights era, blacks have made a collective effort to improve the lives of other blacks. This still holds true today, as many more black celebrities attain wealth and create economic opportunities for blacks. Many black celebrities are also trying to maintain a positive image in order to act as examples for how to achieve such success. With a lack of realistic, positive images in the black community, we must cling to the few role models we have. Therefore, black celebrities are more cautious in the career decisions they make, because not only will it impact them, but it could potentially affect their families and the race as a whole.

Reverting back to celebrity breakdowns, it is apparent that media coverage plays a huge role in catalyzing these supposed collapses. Many white celebrities receive more press for their excessive partying and careless antics than for their talent, whereas little of this is heard of among black celebrities – a fact that could unintentionally be a favor to black celebrities.

But the lack of black celebrity news coverage could allude to the fact that blacks are just not as interested in learning about the personal lives of their favorite stars. Many of us have separated reality from the fantasy of stardom and have come to a conclusion that celebrities, black or white, are just normal human beings who happen to receive a lot of attention.

Our society builds up celebrities in order to destroy them and often profits from their downfall. Perhaps we have actually saved many of our black celebrities from emotional breakdowns by not excessively exploiting their personal lives.

Black women operate under the mentality of ‘what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger,' and this seems to be an affirmation that prevents black celebrities from experiencing emotional meltdowns. Fame and fortune does not exempt anyone from life's challenges. But, as a culture, we have endured slavery, racism, poverty, and dysfunction in the home. Compared to this, being in the public eye is simple.