Racist porn and Barbies

Whenever you come to dealing with topics of race, you feel like you need to tip toe around the topic cautiously, knowing that someone somewhere is going to misinterpret what you are saying or label you a racist or get offended or whatever. Hopefully I don't step on any toes with this post :) and let me throw in the, what seems to come from every european talking about race but it's true for me, comment about how most of my friends are Pacific Islanders and Maori, I am the whitest in my group of friends without question although I think we all just call ourselves New Zealanders.

To me the reading on SuicideGirls seems to be finding "racism" that isn't actually racist at all. Is it just me, or is SG (along with it being an empowering feminist movement or whatever it's meant to be) effectively porn for guys who like punk/rock/scene/emo chicks? (dedicated punk/rock people, please let the / represent a huge distance separating you from the emo people, I'm not trying to lump you all into one) Now in saying that, obviously I don't live in America so I can't make comparisons to there, but how many punk/rock/scene/emo chicks or guys for that matter do you see here who are Asian/Maori/Pacific Islanders? I'm not trying to say that the europeans own those particular music/lifestyle tastes, but it seems clear that for the most part europeans tend to be the ones who are part of that music or trend. Odds are if you see someone with a lot of piercings, a lot of tattoos and colourful hair, mo-hawks etc they are probably going to be european. I don't ever actually recall seeing a Maori/Pacific Islander with the sort of punk look. Is it a drastic leap to think that it would be a similar situation in America? that the African Americans would be less likely to have that look/style? If you look to the music those scenes are based around, it's predominantly white artists. So is a lack of non european models on the site really an issue of race? or is it simply an environment that is more about something white people are interested in (thinking aside from the feminist aspect of the site). If there was a similar site named RnBgirls.com or hiphopgirls.com (I have no idea if these sites are real or not) would a lack of white girls on the site be a sign of racism? or rather a sign that the site is designed around a scene/lifestyle that is predominantly made up of non white members, and I say this as a white guy who is listening to hip hop while writing this. I think the number of successful applicants to SG was 1 out of 350? how many of those were even non white applicants? it's easy to say they should have more non white girls, but how many non white girls are even interested?

The reading mentions how the tattoos on the African American girls are referred to as tribal. My experiences are a small sample size, but from what I have seen, Maori/Pacific Island people I meet are more prone to having tattoos that are tribal, meaningful, cultural rather than white people who have something A BAD ASS SKULL ON MY ARM YEAH!!! and although I'm not particularly well educated on the subject, as I understand it, tattoos for those cultures are tribal, are cultural and let's make a point here that there is a difference between tribal for these cultures and the stupid "tribal" that white people thought were all the rage a year or two ago. I don't want to lump Maori/Pacific Island people into just one big group with African American people, but again I'll ask the question, is it a big leap to think it is the same in America? that the African Americans are more inclined to have a tattoo that is tribal or cultural? think for a moment, when was the last time you thought a non european persons tattoo was tacky? for me I can't think of any and I know many with tattoos, now when was the last time you thought a european persons tattoo was tacky? if you are anything like me, at least half the time you see a white persons tattoo you think it is stupid. To me this is just hunting for something to call racism to generate a buzz out of, oh my god people are calling the tattoos tribal, RACISM!! if anything I think calling those tattoos tribal is a compliment because it acknowledges the fact that those tattoos have culture and meaning.