by Eric D.GrahamNORTH CAROLINA (BASN)---There is Pavlov's classical conditioning, which has been performed on dogs and Skinner's operant conditioning conducted on rats. But now there is a new form of learning called Basketball Wives, which has become the new basic training camp for young black girls. The show, in fact, is designed to destroy past positive images of black women, while dehumanizing women, and making it "fashionable "and acceptable to use violence, whether it be verbal or physical against females.
Basketball Wives as a form of social learning, however is more powerful than the classical or operant conditioning developed by B.F. Skinner and Pavlov because it revolves primarily around the observation and imitation of role models, who reinforce a pattern of behavior, look similar to the learners, receives status and power, and are envied by the learners due to their ability to be rewarded for their inappropriate behavior.
Drilling For Dysfunction
As a result, Tami Roman, (ex-wife of Kenny Anderson) Shanuie O'Neal (ex-wife of Shaquille O'Neal), Evelyn Lozada, (future wife of Chad Johnson)have become the new drill sergeants to a young naive generation of black females, who have been "drilled" with their dysfunctional attitudes along with their "cursing, fighting, face-slapping, weaving pulling and violent bottle throwing."
Why? Because, these particular women were hand-picked, trained, scripted, encouraged, edited and programmed by VH'1 to deliver a level of dysfunction, immaturity, anger and aggression every episode to millions of female viewers. In effect, they have been rewarded financially and celebrated by Hollywood insiders.
Oddly, this false sense of celebrity creates a level of envy in other wanna-be "reality “stars, who feel they have to mimic their bad behavior or act even worse.
In effect, these "unwed" basketball wives have shamefully become the "new" archetypes for "some" young African-American women.
Unfortunately, executive producer Shaunie O'Neal along with the "hidden Caucasian faces" that applaud this sick show are "manipulating the minds of impressionable teenagers" with their so-called "women empowerment" programming.
These so-called reality shows like Basketball Wives that highlight and endorse these "train wreck personalities" on national television, however must understand the global impact these negative images have on other black women throughout the world.
Therefore, it disheartening, to see VH'1 advertise its "Basketball Wives' brand" outside the United States into other countries like Tahiti, in which one of the cast members while on vacation there, non-chalantly said, "I hope they don't eat us.."
Sadly, sometimes art imitates these stupid stereotypical attitudes produced on Basketball Wives.
Cannibalistic ritual
Consider the racists actions and attitude of Swedish Minister of Culture Lena
Adelsohn-Liljeroth last month during a ceremony held at Stockholm's Moderna Museet, Museum of Modern Art, in which she was photographed "devilishly" yet nervously laughing while cutting into a red velvet cake that depicted a nude African woman, which was rigged to have the cake’s creator to scream as the edible sculpture was sliced and cut.While the inter-active diet of death was supposed to represent artistic freedom, the right to offend, and condemn female genital mutilation, it reinforced harmful stereotypes of the past.
This "distasteful" cake cutting ceremony and cannibalistic racist ritual, which marked the celebration of World Art Day in Sweden, actually showed us "a slice" of the twisted psychic being harbored in the minds of many Western elitists when it concerns the lives of African women.
This so-called provocative piece of performance art, in fact reminded several historians of the "Hottentots Venus” exhibition, which took place in Europe in 19th Century, where Sara Baartman along with several other African women were tricked into parading naked in museums and in the public square as part of a pornographic freak show for horny on-lookers, who stared in astonishment at their "large buttocks, breast and genitalia."Keep this in mind, when you learn that Sweden, as a country profited from export taxes from slavery as well as from the sale of iron chains used to constrain our ancestors from 1683 to 1813 according to human rights advocate Dowoti Desir of the New York-based Durban Declaration Program of Action (DDPA) Watch Group.
This is relevant when we take a second look at this red velvet cake and the red carpet treatment giving to these reality show divas parading around on VH-1 as if they are celebrities.
The image of this cake created by Afro-Swede Makode Aj Linde, in effect, should be e-mailed to every cast member of Basketball Wives.
And after they have viewed the disgusting image of this "cake cutting" ceremony, each lucky lady should be forced to discuss this "devilish desert" on the next reunion show and explain how the image makes them feel as Black women. (Read my previous article on BASN: Honoring the Great Black Mother)
Because you can't have your cake and eat it too.
You Can't Have Your Cake and Eat It Too.
Why? Because, Basketball Wives symbolically represents the same deplorable, racist, black face caricature displayed by this Sambo-ized red velvet cake, which a roomful of Caucasians laughed at and fed upon it.
This so-called "cutting edge" cake, in my opinion, symbolizes the violence perpetrated on women of African descent as well as how images like this are used strategically to de-sensitize the general public to violence against women globally.
For years, Hollywood has used similar yet different "cutting" techniques, in their annual slasher movies, which women are usually murdered wholesale by being "sexually” stabbed and cut up by American cult heroes like Jason, Freddy, Chucky, Leather Face or Hannibal the Cannibal for our personal enjoyment. Plus, everybody knows Black people are usually the first to be murdered in most of these 'satanic' horror movies.
Unfortunately, we live in a "sin-sick world", where the mutilation of the female body has become a form of entertainment and also a part of the masochistic fetish and sexual fantasy for some psychological disturbed individuals.
But there is nothing "funny or entertaining" about the violence on Basketball Wives or the "bloody" black-icing covered red velvet cake created by Makode Aj Linde.
But despite these glorified images of violence toward women displayed in art and on television, it seems to be more acceptable if that violence being committed is produced by other women.
Hence, shows like Basketball Wives, Love and Hip-Hop, Bad Girls Club or any other silly "wives" shows continue to exist.
BOY-COTTING to GIRL-COTTING
Personally, I know some people watch shows like this as a form of "escapism” from the harsh realities of life. Plus, I am not suggesting that females can't watch or laugh at other women's misery, or that women can't learn from the self-defecating behaviors of others. And, yes, I know the old philosphy of, if you don't like it change the channel.
But, could you imagine a television show being celebrated as empowering or hilarious, in which a group of angry men verbally and physically abused women weekly by grabbing them by the hair, slapping them, cursing them and bullying them, without someone getting arrested or the show being permanently banned from television?
Could you image the public outcry if a show like this existed?
But for some odd reason, Basketball Wives gets a pass.
Plus, American corporations continue to shell out billions of dollars for a few well placed seconds in between all the "bitches and brouhaha" being produced by Tami and Evelyn in order to advertise their products, while convincing hard-working Americans to pay for them.
This only suggest that businesses like Dave and Busters actually support the demeaning images being displayed on Basketball Wives and we foolishly continue to support them.
But it still quite disturbing, that women, especially Black women, in particular, continue to watch Basketball Wives Clockwork Orange style while being desensitized, conditioned and indoctrinated without being offended by the behavior being displayed on the show.
Even though there is currently a “GIRL-COTT" against Basketball Wives, we have to ask ourselves some serious questions?
Why have these women lost their dignity and their shame? And why do they continue to belittle each other and assault one another?Truthfully, the general public won't be satisfied until one of these Black women is stabbed on television or killed on camera "snuff film style" for someone's sexual gratification and left lifeless like the racist red velvet cake displayed in Sweden.
With that said, we must all stop accepting the glamorization of violence against women being displayed on Basketball Wives the same way we have stopped glamorizing smoking cigarettes on television.
Because they both are cancerous.
Eric D. Graham is the author and alter ego of the infamous BASN character "Bobbee Bee". An upcoming cartoonist who graduated from Winston-Salem State University, Graham is also a local sportswriter for the Warsaw-Faison Newspapers of North Carolina. To learn more about Bobbee Bee go to www.bobbeethehater.blogspot.com
