CHAPTER EXCERPT FROM: White Men Can't Hump (As Good As Black Men)
So many of the questions I receive about my book White Men Can't Hump (As Good As Black Men) revolve around "Sexual Self-Help." I always get a chuckle out of those questions, but folks, I am not Dr. Ruth (though I am flattered by some of the Comments). White Men Can't Hump is basically a mixture of real American history, current events, pop cultural, and my personal observations and experiences (minus "little-black-book" details). So to be fair, and to give folks a taste of what White Men Can't Hump is all about, I've decided to start periodically Posting some chapter excerpts.
White Men Can't Hump is nearly 500 pages long, and is broken into seven Sections. Each Section contains four or five chapters, and the following chapter excerpt is from the chapter entitled "Ho-in's Alright, When the Pimp is White."
ENJOY!
Throughout the 20th Century, society, Hollywood and the Media did an excellent job of portraying Black Men as either rapists or pimps. The Black rapist and the Black pimp soon became the face of Black Male Sexuality. This was done long before hip hop music (which certainly hasn't helped the present-day stigma). The Hughes Brother's 1999 pimpumentary entitled AMERICAN PIMP shows us this particular face is not a very positive face. AMERICAN PIMP starts by asking average White American's on the street "What is a pimp?" Here's a sample of their responses:
"A sleazy guy, with a big afro and a gold medallion and a big wad of cash in his pocket"
"A pimp is a person with no moral sense"
"They're manipulators"
"I've always felt that pimps are kinda despicable characters"
"Dirty scum balls"
"Someone with no character, something dirty"
"Everything they stand for makes me sick"
"I don't give a fuck about pimps. I don't like them"
"Someone who doesn't value the true value that God intended to have for a woman"
"Somebody who is abusive, and manipulative, and exploits the vulnerabilities of people who don't have any control over their life"
"Either they (the girls) have a weakness for a particular drug or they have no financial backing, and they (the pimp) take advantage"
"Essentially well-endowed."
I think most people would agree that there is an element of truth in most of those statements. The pimpin' and ho-in' business is a rough business. The pimpin' and ho-in' business is also a very old business. Prostitution has been around at least since Biblical times, and still appears to be going strong today. Prostitution played a key role in the establishment of the Old West. Prostitution was the number 2 form of employment for women in the Old West, trailing only the Domestic Trade's profession. The men that traveled to the Western territories looking for gold, or looking for a better life, needed female companionship. The saloons of the Old West usually had brothels right upstairs. These are the places where elected officials, businessmen, and even local law enforcement met to unwind and relax. These places were forced to become more discreet when families started moving into town. When families came to town, they brought family values with them. The pimps and ho's may have been forced to hide, but they never went away. Over time prostitution not only became immoral, it also became illegal. It was always immoral among religious folks (except for hypocrites like Rev. Jimmy Swaggart), but it wasn't always looked at with utter contempt.
It wasn't looked at with utter contempt until Black Men got in the game. When Black Men started getting large sums of tax free DOLLAR$, prostitution became a crime that required strict enforcement. It wasn't considered exploitation of women until Black Men got in the game, and started adding White Women to their stables. By adding White Women to their stables, Black pimps gave White Men another Fear and Smear Card they could play for America. White Men had a new alarm bell they could sound. America's women were told: "Stay away from them Niggers, because they'll force you to start whorin'." Like all of the other negative Stereotypes, word of the Black pimp on the prowl for young White recruits spread like fire. The Black pimp became the new face of Black Male Sexuality, and ascended to the same level as America's all-time favorite Black Male face, the face of the Black Male rapist.
Like I said, prostitution didn't receive its black-eye until Black Men got involved. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining about the black-eye, and I'm certainly not condoning pimpin' and ho-in' (sounds like a rap song, huh). Some guys have to pay for Sex, and some guys prefer to pay for Sex. Personally, I'm in neither category, so I have no whorse in this race. I'm just pointing out one of the many Sexual double-standards that exist in America. Everything always seems to be alright when it's White, and prostitution is a perfect example of this. I'm not an advocate for the legalization of prostitution. I am an advocate for equal enforcement of the laws. When 85 % of the prostitutes arrested are from the street, the laws aren't being equally enforced. There are five times as many women prostituting in Strip Clubs, Massage Parlors, and Escort Services, as there are on the street. You don't hear much about them because their pimps are White, and so are the majority of their customers. It's actually easier for law enforcement to find these women because they're usually in a fixed location. At the same time, these girls only account for 15 % of the arrests. It's a dangerous and dirty business, there's no doubt about it. All vices and restricted activities are dangerous and dirty when they're forced to operate underground. Whether it's the illegal drugs of today or the back alley abortions of years past, when you're forced to go underground, the filth gets deep. The fact that prostitution is legal in Nevada, and illegal everywhere else in this nation is unexplainable, and utterly absurd.
What's even more absurd is that once you leave Nevada, you can easily find the "Wink & Nod" game that we call Escort Services. The whole concept of an Escort Service is impossible to criminalize, unless you throw out our entire political system. An escort is supposedly a woman who will accompany you for dinner, drinks, or whatever. The dinner, drinks and whatever, is paid for by the customer (i.e., the ' john'). Somewhere down the road the ' john' expects a special favor (or whatever) in return.
Congressmen are also taken out for dinner and drinks (or a golf trip to Scotland, a la Tom Delay). The dinner and drinks are paid for by a lobbyist. Somewhere down the road the lobbyist expects a special favor in return. In both cases someone is getting fucked. The ' john' gets fucked by the escort (or vice versa), and the American taxpayers get fucked by Congressmen (NO vice versa on this one). Can someone please tell me what is the difference (or which one is worse)? There is no difference, until you consider whose profiting.
Prostitution should either be safe and legal everywhere, or illegal and immoral everywhere. It's not immoral everywhere right now, because if it was the religious right would be camped out in Nevada protesting this very second. Rappers say 'ho' and Congress calls for hearings, and in the meantime White pimps get Made for T.V. Specials such as HBO's CATHOUSE and CATHOUSE 2 and MSNBC's Rita Cosby "Live at The Bunny Ranch." The White pimp then cashes in his free national advertising for major profit. For some reason White America doesn't say a peep, and doesn't apply the same harsh criticisms to White pimps either.
Like the Black pimp, the White pimp also gets a healthy percentage of what the girls make.
Like the Black pimp, the White pimp didn't have to suck one Dick for his cut of the pie.
The White pimp has occasional Sex with his ho's, but he's not an exploiter.
The White pimp provides an aura of security for his ho's, but he's still not placed in the same category as the street pimp. My point is, America doesn't have a problem with pimpin' and ho-in' as long as the pimp is White. It doesn't have to be a White Male either. The two most famous White pimps of all-time are White Women. Sydney Biddle Barrows aka 'The Mayflower Madam' of New York, and of course, Heidi Fleiss, aka 'The Hollywood Madam', both ran profitable escort services, and both became legends after getting busted, not pariahs. Heidi Fleiss is back in the business right now, and is planning on opening a brothel in Nevada (featuring male ho's for female customers). I repeat, America has no problem with prostitution as long as the pimp is White. Hollywood knows this, and occasionally cashes in with a delightful comedy or a wonderful Love story, based on prostitution. Here's a few of Hollywood's biggest pimpin' and ho-in' movies. Abbreviation: P = pimp
Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982)
P- White pimp- Dolly Parton.
A.C. - A delightful comedy, wonderful Love story, and a great musical.
Doctor Detroit (1983)
P- White pimp- Dan Akroyd
A.C. – A delightful comedy.
Night Shift (1982)
P- Two White pimps- Henry Winkler & Michael Keaton
A.C. - A delightful comedy and wonderful Love story.
Pretty Woman (1990)
P- White ho- Julia Roberts (No Pimp)
A.C. - A wonderful Love story.
Risky Business (1983)
P- Two White pimps- Joe Pantoliano & Tom Cruise
A.C. - A delightful comedy and wonderful Love story.
Trading Places (1983)
P- White ho- Jamie Lee Curtis (No pimp)
A.C. - A delightful comedy and wonderful Love story.
There was no protests over any of these movies when they debuted. I'm sure if the Hughes Brothers had asked those White Folks on the street what they thought about these movies, their attitudes towards pimps would've been a little different. Actually these movies were widely praised and accepted. Five of the six movies listed were made within a two year period, which is a tribute to Hollywood's 'copy-cat' ability. The big thing they all have in common, is there was no Black pimp. I'm sure this contributed mightily to their success. I'm not complaining about the lack of a Black pimp one bit, that's great. Black Folks don't need anymore movies like STREET SMART (1987) or Hustle & Flow (2005). The movies I listed featuring White pimps were widely accepted, thus proving my point: "Hoin's Alright, When the Pimp is White." Three of the four movies with White pimps, also happened to have Black ho's, but when the pimp is White, exploitation of women is quite alright.
Prostitution is considered exploitation of women, isn't it? You'll hear women's groups say it is, but you don't see them at The Bunny Ranch protesting. That's because there's no Black pimp at The Bunny Ranch. Either it's exploitation or it's not exploitation. It can't be exploitation when it's a Black pimp and cool when it's a White pimp, but as usual, White Men in America get to have it both ways. That's why we see an entire state sanction polygamy in the name of their religion, and only receive token national scrutiny, and token law enforcement scrutiny. Can you imagine what would happen if a Black Man tried to pull some bullshit like the polygamists in Utah? ATF would light their asses up like they did David Koresh.
If a man of any Race is physically abusive to a woman that's a crime, and should be treated as such. Men that abuse women should be prosecuted to the fullest, whether they're a street pimp, a boyfriend, a polygamist, a husband, or the manager of a massage parlor. If it's illegal and immoral, it should be illegal and immoral in all 50 states. One thing it shouldn't be is persecuted and prosecuted when the pimp is Black and invisible when the pimp is White.
Why does this matter?
This matters because the Black pimp and the Black rapist are crucial tools in the Campaign of Fear and Smear. These tools aid in keeping Black Men ugly, unattractive, and undesirable. These tools aid in making Black Men appear threatening, and aid in painting Black Men as Sexual predators. These behaviors are not exclusively Black, but are exclusively criminal when attached to Black Men. Comparing Black pimps and White pimps probably seems trivial to most people, but this comparison provides a window to America's biased Racial and Sexual perceptions. The chapter entitled The Media, in SECTION VI, will expand on these Racial and Sexual perceptions by making another unique comparison. By comparing The Media coverage of the alleged Black Male rapist, to The Media coverage of the repeat offender White Male pedophile, The Media chapter will show that pedophilia also gets a favorable nod because it's primarily a White Male phenomenon. It doesn't matter if the bias occurs in the Criminal Justice System, the News Media or Ignorant movie portrayals, the goal remains the same: Fear and Smear. The Black pimp and the Black rapist are merely high profile tools that mask the true Cause for the Campaign of Fear and Smear. The true Cause for the Campaign is Fear of the Black Penis, and the Root Cause resides in the short-comings of the individuals who keep the Campaign alive.
The bottom line is that in America, the Black pimp and the Black rapist are the preferred face of Black Male Sexuality, but they don't define Black Male Sexuality. We know what defines Black Male Sexuality don't we (sorry, but that's not a question). When you say Black Male Sexuality, the Black Penis is the first and probably the only thing that comes to mind. Hollywood's Black Penis policy is very similar to Bill Clinton's 'Gays in the Military' policy. Pres. Clinton's policy was "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Hollywood's policy is "Tell Jokes, Don't Use." Hollywood's use of humor to create the Fear and Smear seems to sneak under America's Sexual radar. On screen, Black Actors can freely joke about the Black Penis, but are rarely put in Sexual situations. The obvious goal is to make the Black Penis a joke, or as you'll see in this next chapter, the Punch Line to the joke.
As always, please remember: "Life is too short to Hate."