I won't buy the book written about below, but I just might scan it the next time I'm at Borders.
Must Have: An Inner OmarosaNewsweek
Sept. 27 issue - All black women are angry: it's just a matter of extremes. That's the argument behind "The Angry Black Woman's Guide to Life," which will help you figure out which kind of ABW you are. Are you a "Curse-You-Out-in-a-Heartbeat" kind of girl, like Mary J. Blige, or an "In-Denial" ABW, like Condi? Or perhaps you're a "sister in the struggle" like Hillary Clinton. Whatever the answer, the book will put a smile on your face—and what ABW (or AWW) doesn't need that?
—Allison Samuels
I got a chance to flip through this book a few months ago and walked away from it rather underwhelmed. It's supposed to be a light-hearted look at black women's various levels of pisstivity (yeah, I made that up). However the generalizations and stereotypes used are so aggregious that I found myself distracted and annoyed. I put it down and walked away never to have it cross my mind until now.
Pissivity is a word. I've used it many times. But I won't be picking this book up. Why do I need to read about being an ABW when supposedly I already am? Books that play up on supposed stereotypes are pretty passe and boring and fly-by-night. I imagine it would just sit on the bookshelf and collect dust. If I was that interested in reading it, I could always go to the library. :)
That's too bad. I was hoping that the book would be an honest to goodness satirical look at the angry/conniving/"sassy" Black woman stereotype --God knows it's used often enough in pop culture, right on up to Omarosa. And there's certainly some truth to it. The double whammys of racism and sexism are more than enough to piss a sista off. Maybe someone (one of us?) will have the wit and insight to write that book one day.
To the point, the first word that always comes to mind when I think of Ursula: ANGRY.