I’m not sure how I feel about Vivica A. Fox’s It Gets Better video. Which makes me feel funny, because I love me some Vivica A. Fox! Her message to teens is, at its core, that it’s okay to be different and find your own path to success. But when I first watched it — where she says she was teased for shooting straight-to-DVD movies, starring in a reality show, acting on the theater stage — I was all, “Uh, can you stop talking about how successful you’ve been and how easy it was for you to make your millions?” And then I realized, hey, this actually is a great message, because here is a woman who is making her millions by taking the road less traveled. But to be fair, that Cougar dating reality show was awful, and Glam God wasn’t much better. And you were almost the face of the Psychic Friends Network before backing out. Girl, you shoulda been dogged on for all that! [via]
it gets (much) better
N
Who?
j
@N: I dunno know she is either, but I love me some allies. Reminds me of my straights irl. They may not know what it feels like, but they can identify and it strips away the otherness of it all. Definitely a good message and glad to see the straights supporting us. Sixty years ago they were throwing us in jails but we still have a long way to go.
Stefan
Vivica A Fox was in Kill Bill
DMWN
Eh. I guess. I like Vivica and would have rather she not done this.
JMM
Really? This is one of the worst “It Gets Better” videos I have seen. Oh Viv, your life has been so hard! Let’s equate getting “teased” for professional decisions where you were paid more than many people make in a year (or their lifetime) with serious issues that kids (especially LGBT) face today.
Michael
@JMM: The only way people feel compassion is if they feel they can relate, if even on a less significant level. Vivica saying she gets teased for career decisions isn’t about “how hard her life is” or equating it to be bullied for being gay. It’s about commonality. It’s about being the person others are going to hate on, for whatever reason.
Are they anywhere close to similar situations? Of course not. But saying “I can kinda see what you go through in my own little way” helps other people see in their own little way how they are just like us. Being bullied or teased for whatever reason they are and how it hurts.
This idea that “NO ONE CAN HURT LIKE US” has gotten us so defensive about every little thing. “I can sort of understand what it’s like” has turned into this huge offensive phrase to some people and I really don’t get it.
san
I don’t see anything wrong about her message, she said that being different can end up being something others look up to or accepted later in life even if you gets teased and bullied for it now, so it gets better if you hang in there.
JMM
@Michael:
Certainly wasn’t saying that “no one can hurt like us” at all… bullying hurts many people for many different reasons. I just think her attempt at “understanding” by giving examples of successful, but perhaps criticized, professional decisions is a pretty shallow comparison. If she had said something meaningful about gender or ethnicity, it would hold much more weight. I find it very hard to believe that the most significant pain she felt from ‘bullying’ came from a bad review she received from starring in or hosting some TV show.
Michael
@JMM: I would disagree. I think that considering this is her career, something she takes very seriously, and to most people it is seen as sort of a joke is personal. It is more personal than race or ethnicity for *some* because we don’t choose our race while those who follow their passion are choosing to do so. I’m not saying her career is more personal to her than her race, because I don’t know her, but there’s obviously a reason why she’s bringing up her career and not her race.
She is seen by some as doing illegitimate work because she does straight to DVD movies and reality shows. If people considered your passion illegitimate, I think you might take issue with it.
Hilarious
@JMM: It was her personal video, get over yourself.
She doesn’t have to say “I can relate because I’m black and face racism because I’m black.”, in fact most people would’ve tuned out, and rolled their eyes because she even mentioned race.
Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. Fags picking apart people for every little thing.
Ironically claiming black people as a whole have a “culture of homophobia” but when you see black people doing something to help it’s somehow not enough or doesn’t count.
Not that it should surprise me considering you also ignore white homophobes/racists who raise millions in hate campaigns.
If you don’t like her video then do better in your own. Tearing down someone else for trying to do something good is just plain childish and idiotic. This video isn’t even about you in the first place.
IonMusic
@Hilarious: Your race card has expired. You used it up in your last 50 posts. Sorry 40 post limit on flashing your race card after every sentence.
Hilarious
@IonMusic: Clearly you had nothing to say. Thanks for the laugh.