MikeBrownsJob
Seattle fan since 2013 *deal with it slime*
Note from BW of Brazil: Today’s post is a collaborative essay by Mark Wells, a frequent traveler to Brazil who has written on the topic of blacks and racism in Brazil in a comparative analysis from the African-American perspective for a number of years and Daniela Gomes, an Afro-Brazilian Ph.D candidate who has spent time in the US and studied much on black American influence in Brazil. Today, the team takes on a topic that was the source of a lot of controversy between around 2007 and 2010 on African-American-oriented websites: African-American men and sexual tourism in Brazil. The comments and opinions about this subject provoked some very strong opinions and comments about Brazilian women, or at least stereotypes concerning Brazilian women. This debate has recently heated up again with a documentary posted on You Tube about this very topic. These thought-provoking pieces should be a welcome addition to a growing cross-cultural debate on the general exchange of experiences in the African Diaspora.
A message to African-Americans on the stereotype of Brazilian women
by Mark Wells
As an African-American male who has visited Brazil a number of times over a period of 13 years, and becoming familiar with the Afro-Brazilian struggle, I believe I stand in a unique position of being able to critique and make comparative analysis between the two communities. As this incredible blog has exhaustively shown, the experiences of African-Americans and Afro-Brazilians have many similarities but also unique histories that present complex differences. Over the years there has been a small, but growing interest in the African-American community about the experiences of our “cousins” in Brazil. Although some have been on the cultural/historical tip, I hate to admit, the majority of the interest has had to do with aspects that have nothing to do with cultural connections with a common people.
A few examples
First, I remember a period starting in the early 2000’s in which some friends of mine hipped me to the fact that independent, US-based black **** video producers had suddenly developed an interest in Brazil. At that point, along with white American and European smut producers, African-American men were flocking to this new, “exotic” market in droves.
Second, in my own experiences, whenever someone heard that I was a frequent traveler to Brazil, I would always start meeting brothas who suddenly wanted to know me. After the exchange of “wad’dup” (or sometimes not even this), the conversation would ultimately turn to my trips to Brazil. There was rarely a moment when dudes would even hesitate in going straight to their real curiosity about Brazil: the women. Brothas would push up on the topic in a number of ways, from regular questions (“How are the women there?”), to the recognition of the perceived image of Brazilian women (“Man, dem chicks is bangin’!”). Another common way of approaching the topic was when brothas would ask me, “Was’sup on dat Brazil tip?” I, with my background in the social sciences would always touch upon how Bahia, where I would spend many of my first trips, reminded me so much of the US south. Brothas would always gimme dat look, cock their heads, curl their lips, and say, “Come on dawg, wus really up on Brazil?!?!?” Without having to acknowledge it, I always knew that they specifically wanted to know about Brazilian women. Then there were the flat out crude comments like, “Dem Brazilian bishes fine den a muh-freaka!”. In all honesty, the vast majority of comments/questions I’ve heard over the years would fit into some type of the latter category.
Candidates from a Carnaval competition
I remember vividly in 2002 when I met the first black American man I personally knew who had visited Brazil. After a mutual friend introduced us and we exchanged “wad’dups”, I asked this brotha what he liked about Brazil. The first thing out of his mouth? “A brotha can go to Brazil and find a sista and not have to deal with that nappy-ass hair!” Damn. Of all of the things he could have said about Brazil, the first comment he makes exposes one of the deepest contradictions about black American identity: Yes, we are “black and proud” but don’t be “too black” and have hair that’s “too nappy” or you will get roasted! On the hair topic, I always thought it was ironic how one of the greatest symbols of black pride in the US, in fact, the creator of the anthem
“I’m Black and I’m Proud”, James Brown
, wore his hair straightened for the vast majority of his career. Jus’ sayin’….
Year after year I would always have countless brothas tell me that they were going to get a passport and VISA and go to Brazil with me on my next trip. In reality, none of them ever actually followed through on this.
Photo from 2006 Jelani Cobb article for Essence magazine
Then in 2006 the floodgates on the “Brazilian Experience” were opened when Spelman College professor Jelani Cobb wrote a piece in the leading African-American women’s magazine Essence entitled “Blame It On Rio”, detailing the journeys of African-American men on their sexual and/or amorous adventures in Brazil (interview here). Two years later came a full-length book,
Don't Blame It on Rio: The Real Deal Behind Why Men Go to Brazil for Sex: Jewel Woods, Karen Hunter: 9780446178068: Amazon.com: Books
). Having become a Brazilianist over the years, I eagerly snatched up both titles wanting to see how my beloved Brazil was being experienced by other African-American males. Although I was appreciative of the titles, I became deeply disappointed. Here’s why…
2008 book, “Don’t Blame It on Rio: The Real Deal Behind Why Men Go to Brazil for Sex” by Jewel Woods and Karen Hunter
The article and the book both exposed a growing fissure in the relationships between African-American men and women. The comments of many of the men from both sources exposed a deep disappointment on the part of African-American men in regards to African-American women. Many comments of these travelers voiced the opinion that black American women were either too independent, too verbally aggressive, too unappreciative (of black men), too fat or, if they were very attractive, out of the reach of most black men of average income or social status. Having read studies by scholars such as Adriana Piscitelli on sexual tourism of European men in Brazil, I was taken by the similarity of the comments made by European men as well as African-American men in regards to Brazilian women. In both cases, in comparing Brazilian women to women in their countries of origin (white German or black American), men commented on how Brazilian women were more affectionate, attractive, dependent, submissive and less combative than women in their respective countries of origin. Some of the black men commented on how some of the “dime pieces”, or the Halle Berry, Ciara or Beyonce types, were much more accessible in Brazil than in the US.
A message to African-Americans on the stereotype of Brazilian women
by Mark Wells
As an African-American male who has visited Brazil a number of times over a period of 13 years, and becoming familiar with the Afro-Brazilian struggle, I believe I stand in a unique position of being able to critique and make comparative analysis between the two communities. As this incredible blog has exhaustively shown, the experiences of African-Americans and Afro-Brazilians have many similarities but also unique histories that present complex differences. Over the years there has been a small, but growing interest in the African-American community about the experiences of our “cousins” in Brazil. Although some have been on the cultural/historical tip, I hate to admit, the majority of the interest has had to do with aspects that have nothing to do with cultural connections with a common people.
A few examples
First, I remember a period starting in the early 2000’s in which some friends of mine hipped me to the fact that independent, US-based black **** video producers had suddenly developed an interest in Brazil. At that point, along with white American and European smut producers, African-American men were flocking to this new, “exotic” market in droves.
Second, in my own experiences, whenever someone heard that I was a frequent traveler to Brazil, I would always start meeting brothas who suddenly wanted to know me. After the exchange of “wad’dup” (or sometimes not even this), the conversation would ultimately turn to my trips to Brazil. There was rarely a moment when dudes would even hesitate in going straight to their real curiosity about Brazil: the women. Brothas would push up on the topic in a number of ways, from regular questions (“How are the women there?”), to the recognition of the perceived image of Brazilian women (“Man, dem chicks is bangin’!”). Another common way of approaching the topic was when brothas would ask me, “Was’sup on dat Brazil tip?” I, with my background in the social sciences would always touch upon how Bahia, where I would spend many of my first trips, reminded me so much of the US south. Brothas would always gimme dat look, cock their heads, curl their lips, and say, “Come on dawg, wus really up on Brazil?!?!?” Without having to acknowledge it, I always knew that they specifically wanted to know about Brazilian women. Then there were the flat out crude comments like, “Dem Brazilian bishes fine den a muh-freaka!”. In all honesty, the vast majority of comments/questions I’ve heard over the years would fit into some type of the latter category.
Candidates from a Carnaval competition
I remember vividly in 2002 when I met the first black American man I personally knew who had visited Brazil. After a mutual friend introduced us and we exchanged “wad’dups”, I asked this brotha what he liked about Brazil. The first thing out of his mouth? “A brotha can go to Brazil and find a sista and not have to deal with that nappy-ass hair!” Damn. Of all of the things he could have said about Brazil, the first comment he makes exposes one of the deepest contradictions about black American identity: Yes, we are “black and proud” but don’t be “too black” and have hair that’s “too nappy” or you will get roasted! On the hair topic, I always thought it was ironic how one of the greatest symbols of black pride in the US, in fact, the creator of the anthem
“I’m Black and I’m Proud”, James Brown
, wore his hair straightened for the vast majority of his career. Jus’ sayin’….
Year after year I would always have countless brothas tell me that they were going to get a passport and VISA and go to Brazil with me on my next trip. In reality, none of them ever actually followed through on this.
Photo from 2006 Jelani Cobb article for Essence magazine
Then in 2006 the floodgates on the “Brazilian Experience” were opened when Spelman College professor Jelani Cobb wrote a piece in the leading African-American women’s magazine Essence entitled “Blame It On Rio”, detailing the journeys of African-American men on their sexual and/or amorous adventures in Brazil (interview here). Two years later came a full-length book,
Don't Blame It on Rio: The Real Deal Behind Why Men Go to Brazil for Sex: Jewel Woods, Karen Hunter: 9780446178068: Amazon.com: Books
). Having become a Brazilianist over the years, I eagerly snatched up both titles wanting to see how my beloved Brazil was being experienced by other African-American males. Although I was appreciative of the titles, I became deeply disappointed. Here’s why…
2008 book, “Don’t Blame It on Rio: The Real Deal Behind Why Men Go to Brazil for Sex” by Jewel Woods and Karen Hunter
The article and the book both exposed a growing fissure in the relationships between African-American men and women. The comments of many of the men from both sources exposed a deep disappointment on the part of African-American men in regards to African-American women. Many comments of these travelers voiced the opinion that black American women were either too independent, too verbally aggressive, too unappreciative (of black men), too fat or, if they were very attractive, out of the reach of most black men of average income or social status. Having read studies by scholars such as Adriana Piscitelli on sexual tourism of European men in Brazil, I was taken by the similarity of the comments made by European men as well as African-American men in regards to Brazilian women. In both cases, in comparing Brazilian women to women in their countries of origin (white German or black American), men commented on how Brazilian women were more affectionate, attractive, dependent, submissive and less combative than women in their respective countries of origin. Some of the black men commented on how some of the “dime pieces”, or the Halle Berry, Ciara or Beyonce types, were much more accessible in Brazil than in the US.
My man 
You don't think White men don't get blasted for exploiting poor thai women? And the article has dualities. How hilarious black men are using the rich westerner perception to their advantage which is totally built on white supremacy.