not to know if "brown sugar" is offensive.

[Charis1]

I am taking some gifts from work colleagues to a friend in hospital tomorrow. We had a collection, and one person bought the gifts from us all. We have some nice toiletries and things, but are in a toiletry bag with a picture of a teddy on it and the caption "brown sugar". I thought that term sometimes used in a racist context, so am reluctant to hand this over. but not sure if I am being paranoid and overly politically correct.

Please help!

[spanky2]

I've been listening to uptown funk and Bruno Mars sings 'Michelle Pfeiffer, that white gold.' Is that rascist?

[Tootsiepops]

There are a lot of people on this thread that would benefit from reading this:

goodmenproject.com/featured-content/white-fragility-why-its-so-hard-to-talk-to-white-people-about-racism-twlm/

[GingerCuddleMonsterThe2nd]

I still stand by my sentance "us white folk ....and leave them to it" followed by a stands as a general conversation and light hearted remark, and not a racial attack.

no need to start clutching pearls

[GingerCuddleMonsterThe2nd]

I'm now curious, would a sentance along the line of "men folk should just leave us women have our space" be in poor taste too by the pearl clutchers?

[ALassUnparalleled]

I just stumbled across this for the first time today;

//www.debenhams.com/beauty/black-up

Timely, in view of this thread

It's a range of make up specially made for black and mixed ethnic women which is in itself perfectly fine. The name however is another matter.

[SalemSaberhagen]

No ginger, I mean when talking about an us Vs them in terms of race, or minorities.

Have a google of 'othering'.

I didn't say it was a racial attack I'm saying when referring to, in this instance BME, you shouldn't use such divisive terminology.

[Garrick]

Tootsie, that article's a really nice discovery of unconscious white privilege :)

Spanky - 'Michelle Pfeiffer, that white gold.' Is that racist? - It might be meant in a 'racist way' but, essentially, racism can't apply to white people because we're the ones with the privilege.

Of course, black people are sometimes very nasty to white people based on nothing but skin colour. But there is no systematic racism against the pale of skin.

[NotInVenezualaNowDrRopata]

It's a range of make up specially made for black and mixed ethnic women which is in itself perfectly fine. The name however is another matter.

Err, yes, exactly

[NotInVenezualaNowDrRopata]

The concept of 'othering' is not philosophically compatible with the idea that your right to use hate speech is contingent on your own sex/ethnicity/sexuality/nationality/etc.

I CBA to scroll up and see exactly who is trying to have it both ways, but some posters are.

[spanky2]

Racism is based upon majority against minority. We are going to get to the point where the minority are the racists. Hoping so...
I grew up in a Jim Davidson loving, black people look like monkeys and intellectually sub normal, brown people smell household. I could never say I liked Whoopie Goldberg as she's black and has a Jewish surname. My parents are awful people, but they are old and will die soon. They are not just racist as they hate most white people too. They are vile. So I do know what racism is. But what can we do to change them ? Surely people who feel like this have personality disorders?
They make me angry and disappointed. I'm in therapy.

[ALassUnparalleled]

Notin I've been wondering - are we missing something /misinterpreting something,? It's so jaw droppingly awful but no-one else noticed?

[PavlovtheCat]

It's like when you call your girl friends bitches if you're fooling around. You call your friend "Hey bitch, sup?", probably means you're being playful and you two are close enough to insult each other without taking it personally. But you wouldn't go up to someone you don't know and call them a bitch, and it's certainly insulting to use it on someone as a derogative term

Do some women really call their female friends 'bitches'? apart from in the movies/rap videos?

[NotInVenezualaNowDrRopata]

I don't know Lass, I'm still ed and ed. Maybe we're just in the age of post-everything 'ironic' usage. But it is SO tasteless.

Racism is based upon majority against minority

But it isn't, is it spanky?

[NotInVenezualaNowDrRopata]

(Not automatically or necessarily)

[spanky2]

Yes, that's true in the case of South Africa.

[NotInVenezualaNowDrRopata]

Yes, lots of colonial examples, really. But also on the micro, family or individual level.

[ALassUnparalleled]

Interestingly Brown Sugar was released as a single with a song called Bitch on the B-side.

The song was written by Jagger with model/actor/singer Marsha Hunt in mind; Hunt was Jagger's secret girlfriend and mother of his first child Karis although Claudia Lennear, who was a backing singer for people like Ike and Tina Turner, Humble Pie and Joe Cocker, has claimed she was the inspiration.

Jagger does seem to be embarrassed about it these days.

What I also find interesting is Brown Sugar was written in 1971 by people who were treated as serious, credible and critically acclaimed musicians but who apparently didn't see anything problematic with it.

Brother Louie was written only 2 years later by writers in what were seen as just a chart pop band.