Sisters strike back

I was going to write about Team Major Taylor, but somebody told me: "wait until after the team wins." \nSo, I'm taking the advice. (Knock on wood.) \nBut just because I'm putting the cycling story on hold doesn't mean I can't write about biking shorts. \nLet's take it back, shall we? Take it back to the days of Wreckx-N-Effects -- back to the days when video girls looked like Vanessa Williams.\nPicture a beach littered with electric pink two-pieces and purple spandex. \nBut, before you start to "zoom-a, zoom, zoom, zoom and a boom-boom" -- shake your rump into fast forward.\nIt's late Wednesday night, and there's 10 booty-jiggling minutes remaining of BET's "UnCut." \nA few minutes pass, and who appears but Mr. E-I, E-I, himself -- rapper, Nelly. \nBefore you can even manage to find "Tip drill" in your hip-hop dictionary, homeboy's swiping a credit card through the booty cheeks of some misguided homegirl.\nThe "Hot in Herre" video had its share of wet T-shirt moments, but the amount of stripper-esque moments in "Tip Drill" took mainstream female exploitation to another level. \n"Brotha, brotha," you say, nodding your head. \n(Depending on where you're coming from -- that "brotha, brotha" could mean "Go on 'head, brotha."\nOr it could mean, "Brotha, brotha -- please, find Jesus.")\nThe ladies at the historically black, all-women's Spelman College saw the video and were not happy.\nEarlier this month, students there began organizing demonstrations to protest Nelly's planned appearance at a bone marrow drive on their Atlanta campus.\n"We can't continue to support artists and images that exploit our women and put us out there as over-sexed, non-intelligent human beings," said the head of Spelman's Student Government Organization, Asha Jennings, in an interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.\nSpelman's student government promised if Nelly addressed the "Tip Drill" issues in a forum, it would agreed to host the bone marrow drive, according to an article in www.Africana.com.\nNelly passed on the forum and canceled the 4Sho4Kids Foundation event, instead. \nAnd rather than give the Spelman students props for standing behind their principles, detractors argued Nelly's intentions to raise consciousness about the need for bone marrow and blood stem cell donors far outweighed any butt-card swiping.\nI understand, but don't agree.\nFor the sake of feigning balance, I'll even play devil's advocate.\nFirst off, Nelly didn't invent the word "tip-drill" (which usually describes a female with a "screwed up face" and a sex-ready body). The word's just a sad reflection on the value placed on women.\nSecondly, Nelly's not the first to appear in off-color music videos. \n(But I sure wish he'd be the last.)\nA lot has changed in the 13 years since the days of Wreckx-N-Effects. The bathing suits are smaller and the video budgets are bigger, but the negative depictions of women in hip-hop culture have remained consistent. \nI'll admit between my equality-promoting and Bible-toting, my girls and I have been known to groove it out to whatever music -- regardless of content.\nWe should probably follow the example of the sisters at Spelman, who between the goodwill givin' and the late-night feelin,' decided to hold Nelly accountable.\nWe can even learn a lesson from the brothers at Morehouse College, who helped their sisters with the protest.\nI guess those men have realized the cheeks Nelly swipes today could easily belong to the daughter they raise tomorrow.