Twitter, fast becoming the swiftest snitch slash gossipmonger in cyberspace, boasted trending topics #famusextape and #ilovefamu late last week. For non-tweeters, adding a number sign in front of a topic makes it searchable for users.
The trending topics were in response to an adult video featuring participants who have not been confirmed as students of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University.
The video captured the momentary intrigue of an attention deficit disordered society.
Sure the hoopla is sex, especially collegiate sex; however, money and race undoubtedly play roles in the popularity of the video and discussions about it.
If White pornography is lucrative, minority porn is understood to be both an aberrant and profitable niche market. Slap the illusion of education into the equation and a fixated public emerges.
Per usual, minorities cannot do what other people do. Well, we physically can, but the repercussions are not the same.
Caucasian heiresses and celebrities release sex tapes to heighten or begin their fame, which boosts their net worth.
The Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian, Pamela Anderson effect rarely creates opportunities for mainstream people of color.
Just look at the history. The first adult motion picture was a French film, Aprs Le Bal, released in 1897.
It began a domino effect of on-screen sexuality that obviously existed in daily life, but wasn’t initially deemed fit for entertainment purposes.
“Vampy” White women were the sirens and to an extent remain an ideal in less evolved societal subsets. Racial diversity was rare in general films, let alone the adult variety.
As times changed, opportunists seized the day. Recently, Karrine Steffans, a best-selling author, most noted by the moniker Superhead, became the most known Black adult star to spin her sexcapades into a career of books and speaking engagements.
Such is not the case for most broke Black college students. While it’s not the public’s place to judge the sexual activities of each other, everyone must be mindful of the consequences for their actions.
During Grambling State University scandals (founded or un), we request sensitivity. Universities remain institutions of higher learning. They exist for us to see returns on our investments.
No one wants to graduate from a school with a muddied name.
We must assess the implications of the video, and glorification of hypersexuality, but also remember that bad news travels faster and with more enthusiasm than good.
FAMU is an excellent university, noted for its scholars, band, and internationally traveled students. It’s our comrade university in debates about the validity of HBCUs. Allow their legacy to remain.