Tayari's Blog: She Wants to Lead The Glamorous Life
Posted by TayariJones on December 6, 2005 02:07 PM
Filed under
Bookshelf
Since it is the end of the year, I thought that I would take a minute to talk about some of the highlights of this year on the blog. Hands down, the most popular entries have been my posts about Karrine Stephans, author of Confessions of A Video Vixen. Readers post comments almost every day. The comments range from hard-core misogyny: She's a slut and she should be taken out and beaten. To the more progressive: What does it means that so many women's lives have been reduced to such degradation? To the concerned: What about young girls who read this book and want to be video vixens too? This last point peaked my interest.
As you know, I have read the book, twice. I couldn't stop thinking about it, as I was haunted by the images, the commerce in women's bodies, etc. It freaked me out. So, I was wondering how a person could think that young women would idealize Karrine Stephans and aspire to the life she has lead. After all, the scenes described in this memoir were not sexy, hot, or exciting-- instead it seemed to be a first-person account of sadness, madness, anger and despair.
Then, the other day, I was listening to a On The Media podcast (click here for transcript)about the movie and book Jarhead. The movie is based on one soldiers experiences in the Gulf War. Appparently, the army shows the troops war movies to get them psyched up for a battle, to get them ready to kill. Mind games are nothing new, but the tripped out thing is that the movies shown include anti-war films like Apocalypse Now. From what I heard on the podcast, this is effective because people remember what they want to remember from the movie--- not the pain and the carnage, but the drama and thrill of blazing guns, the camaraderie among the men.
So what does this have to do with Karrine Stephans? Well, I was thinking that although her book does show the seedy underbelly of the music video world, a reader may only remember the jacuzzi trysts with celebrities, the gifts that she received.
And this took me back to my own adolescence and my then favorite song: The Glamorous Life by Sheila E. Do you remember that one? It's a portrait of a woman who has put her material ambitions first and has forsaken love. It is meant as a cautionary tale, but I remember being flat-chested and thirteen imagining myself living that "glamorous life." I loved the part where Sheila E sings about the "if-you-have-to-ask-you-can't-afford-it lingerie." And then there was the crescendo:
Boys with small talk and small minds
Really don't impress me in bed
She said I need a man's man baby, diamonds and furs
Love would only conquer my head
Okay, the point here is this: I totally disregarded the point of the song which is that "money only pays the rent." I liked the idea of the woman before she and Mr. Dream Man "made haste in the brown sedan." Gorgeous and ruthless, she was my hero.
This takes me back to Karrine Stephans and the role of the writer. Can you worry about the way your work will be interpreted when you sit down and tell your truth? Should Coppola not have directed Apocalypse Now for fear that young soldiers will use his decidedly anti-war movie to get jazzed up in order to kill?
My impulse is to say, no, that the writer can only make her point as best she can, that she can only write in good faith. But at the same time, how can you not feel at least slightly responsible for the damage your work might do, once it is set loose in the world.
![[divider]](http://www.tayarijones.com/images/divider.jpg)
There are 4 comments on "She Wants to Lead The Glamorous Life". If you'd like to leave a comment, click here to jump down to the comments entry form.
Comment #1, by Ladylee
Good point, Tayari... You took it WAY back with the Glamorous life reference! I remember being 13, sitting with my friends, wishing we could live THAT life when we grew up. Never mind what the song was really about. We all wanted to be that woman in the video sporting the long fur coat in the brown sedan...
But your question is a difficult one. Sort of similar to the question of the creation of the Atomic bomb. It was a question of research in the beginning, but would they have done that research knowing that the bomb would later be used to destroy hundreds of thousands of people? Probably. Probably not.
I remember your Karrine S. posts well, and it pissed a few people off. You approached it from a different perspective, whereas us video/rap world watchers were like "no this trick didn't write a book!" With books, everyone interprets things differently.
It's only my hope that an author expresses what is in his or her heart (being true to his or herself) regardless of the way their work is interpreted.
Good post!
December 7, 2005 11:52 AM
Comment #2, by Tinesha
Okay - I grew up in the seedy part of town and guess what... I was in the 9th grade (or 8th) when I seen New Jack City at the local movie theater. And as I stood on the corner with my best girlfriend waiting for our ride to pick us up - I held my fist balled tight, scrunched my face up in a don't-mess-with-me scowl, and dared anyone to say ANYTHING to me. My point is the same as yours - though new jack city was suppose to be a cautionary tale - for those of us living in the "hood" it was our anthem and the only thing it cautioned us not to do was get caught or get kilt. That is a wonderful point - and I add it could be our experiences (or the life we currently live) that dictate what we take from a book, song, or movie.
December 19, 2005 05:00 PM
Comment #3, by Ashley
I agree 110% with what was written here in your article about Karrine Stephans.In the beginning, I too felt young women couldn't possibly find the this book as a motivation to pursue such a lifestyle but as you said in so many words, people only remember what they want to remember, so they may have very well disregarded her sound of desperation and sadness in her book. As a young woman who repects herself and is very intuitive , I was completely cognizant of her underliying pitiful tone. But as for young women who are misguided, they may only see the glamour and eventual fame she got from all of this and say to themselves "hey why not, she came out alright at the end." You did a very exceptional job in your comparison to the song "Glamorous Life," that is one of my favorite songs as well. I idolized the woman that Sheila E. was speaking about in this song because I always told myself that love will come eventually but other things are more important. But I ignored what the true message of the song is. I am 21 years old and already very perceptive so I've learned from other people's mistakes and experiences, but unfortunately there are many young women out there who have yet acquired such a talent, so for those young women the example of Karrine Stephans a.k.a Superhead is not appropiate to say the least.
January 7, 2006 01:12 PM
Comment #4, by mz_erykah26 ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.tayarijones.com/blog/nav-commenters.gif)
I think this book serves as the perfect example of what not to become.I luv hip-hop however the industry does portray to young girls that sex for profit is cool when it's not. This not only affects girls aspiring to be in videos but young girls striving for success period.
January 12, 2007 02:04 PM