Marketing Campaign...

While sitting under the dryer for an hour (man I can't stand sitting under the hot-a dryer!!!) I found a link to this article about how Michelle O is helping to recast the image of Black women in the US. According to the author, Mrs. Obama doing much to dispel long-held mis-truths about the Black woman:

"Jones and others say that Michelle Obama knocks down old stereotypes of black women: Sapphire, the angry black woman; Mammy, the caretaker and nurturer of her own children and everybody else's, and Jezebel, the loose woman."

The article goes on to state how Michelle is not just a good role model for one race:

"She's brilliant, she's beautiful, she's classy and she's a warm caring individual. Not only is it great for black women to see a sister who could be the First Lady, it's good for all women because she has the qualities we can all admire."

I am hereby co-signing on that statement. I love the way Michelle carries herself, how she handles her multiple responsibilities and roles, and how she sets the example for so many other women, regardless of their race, socioeconomic status, etc. But I could not help saying an amen to Whoopie's comments:

Typically, society has touted a narrow image of the attractive black woman, Thomas says. That woman has usually been a lighter-skinned black woman -- something Whoopi Goldberg brought up when Michelle Obama recently cohosted the ABC television show "The View."
Goldberg complimented Obama's brown skin saying, "I know it sounds funny and silly, but if you are a black woman and you are tuning in and every time you see someone who is supposed to represent black women and ... not very, very fair skin women, I am talking about dark black women, I just want to say thanks."

Yeah Whoopi, I know it sounds funny and silly to, but it is the truth. And I want to say thanks too. Even though there are much more important things about this campaign, I can't help but enjoy the fringe benefits: Michelle is truly helping to market a standard of beauty that has been there all along.