First impressions: I’m a tall Indian girl, who can seem reserved and awkward at first. However, if you see me at a party where they’re blasting some ghetto rap music, you will probably see me cat-daddying it up. My love of rap and hip-hop music has resulted in a direct correlation to my recent attraction to African American men. Yes, people, I have been hit by jungle fever.
I don’t know what it is, but for some reason I’m rarely attracted to men of my own race, much to mother’s appall. My friend Nicole thinks I am attracted to black men because they are much cooler versions of Indian men, which may or may not be true.
I guess I kind of brought this crazy obsession upon myself. This past summer, while flipping channels, I found a VH1 Behind the Music documentary on Lil Wayne. This resulted in me buying a shirt with Weezy’s face on it and attempting to call the local radio station to win concert tickets.
While watching the documentary, I became even more hooked on Drake (yes, wheelchair Jimmy from “Degrassi”). Not only did I download the leak of his album Take Care (in stores today!), I also pre-ordered it on Amazon just to support him. I’ve got posters of him and he is my current phone background. I’m not crazy, just a tad obsessed. This past weekend I won tickets to see him live in December, so my life is pretty much made.
While doing more channel surfing over the summer, I ultimately landed on BET’s “106 & Park”, where they play the top 10 hip-hop/rap music videos. The show soon became a daily ritual that I would make time in my lackluster schedule for. Something about being able to identify the obscure rappers that showed up randomly in the music videos made me feel like a music connoisseur.
To add more excitement to this ritual, my brother and I would have Rick Ross grunting competitions while watching the music video for DJ Khaled’s “I’m on One.” Pretty soon, it became second-nature to spit Busta Rhyme’s rap in “Look at Me Now” and memorize the songs on ‘Ye and Jay’s “Watch the Throne.”
By the end of summer, I was not only darker in skin tone, but also had a greater understanding of African American culture, or at least rap music. There was only one thing left to do: start scouting out those men.
Many of my closest friends began to knowingly point out black guys to me. They were now aware that my type had shifted from tall brunette men to tall African American men and helped me scout out these hotties.
Most people are taken aback when they hear about my obsession with rap music. I recently came out to my fraternity about my attraction to black men and hip hop. Here was this quiet Indian girl who seemed like nothing more than a hard-working student and now she’s in the living room teaching people how to dougie and yelling about how much she loves Drake.
I’m not one of those girls that will exclusively date black guys, though, I’m still open minded to men of all types. I did get an application to join the Black Student Union, but I’ve been a little too intimidated to turn it in because I lack the confidence to go in there and check it out.
My jungle fever, although recent, has become a huge part of all aspects of my life, as strange as that may sound. I’ve gone from listening to alternative bands like Linkin Park and Incubus to rap music from the likes of E-40 to Childish Gambino.
This music has also gotten me more into dancing because who doesn’t want to take a hip-hop class where you learn to dance to your favorite songs? Not only do I enjoy dancing and listening to rap and hip hop, but I feel like I have become more open-minded through the experience. So next time you’re at a party, don’t be surprised if you see me trying to jerk and cat daddy at the same time to impress that hot Drake look-alike in the corner. Don’t hate, I’m just being me.
MEDHA SRIDHAR loves her dark chocolate. If you want to accompany her to a BSU meeting, contact her at mdsridhar@ucdavis.edu.
Thank you Alicia and Omar for your comments…you’ve articulated everything so well there’s no need for me to belabor the point, but just had to let it be known that I agree and how incredibly disappointed I am in The Aggie as a (usually) proud UCD alum. This article is so rife with racist stereotypes I don’t even know where to begin. Good luck with that BSU application sweetie because you stand for just about everything BSU is trying to work against. I really hope The Aggie and the University as a whole issues an extensive apology and I know I will do my best as an alum to contact them and encourage them to do so. I know we had our share of race relations issues when I was a student at UCD and I hope that this is not just swept under the rug and instead treated as an opportunity to educate and discuss these issues. Wow, too angry to really say anything intelligent right now so I apologize and will stop there.
Madisyn,
Thank you, but I don’t think attacking this one person is the big picture. Yes, they are part of the problem, but they are not the real issue here. An apology will just be a made up excuse and read off a paper or planned, there needs to be a statement made of some sort. This shouldn’t stand. You know what’s funny? They’re probably going to take this down by tomorrow.
Don’t you guys think you are taking this article way to literally?
The first thing I thought of when reading this was I could totally relate this to a couple of my friends, and the amount of admiration this girl has for the African American culture. Furthermore, this is an OPINION article, people are allowed to speak their minds and express themselves without the fear of reparations.
The word ghetto was used a total of one time in the article to refer to a genre of music, please explain to me how attributing that to a genre of music is offensive. Also, the darker skin color directly states that it was after the summer…I’m pretty sure most people get something called a ‘tan’ when exposed to the sun.
There is also nothing wrong with bringing up the use of stereotypes and how they affect our society’s perception of a certain group of people. The author of this article never said anything to directly insult any African American or their culture. It is merely an opinion of admiration towards a culture that she is clearly interested in and felt comfortable enough to portray. Unfortunately, it’s obvious that most people took it the wrong way and tried to turn this into a type of ‘hate’ article.
I can see how her choice of words of ‘jungle fever’ can be taken as offensive. However, she did NOT create this phrase. I don’t see what’s wrong with using a phrase that is so commonly used in our society today. There’s all kinds of fever, I mean look at ‘yellow’ fever. Does this imply that this group of people have yellow skin? or possibly are obsessed with the color yellow? These stereotypical phrases have no implication that African Americans are from the jungle. Actually it seems slightly absurd to assume that.
Overall, this is an opinion article, if it conflicts with your opinion, that doesn’t mean it’s offensive. Realize that these stereotypes are all over the place and most people just don’t have the confidence to publish anything relating to them because they get responses as seen above.
you should probably go ahead and google/wiki the origins of jungle fever. not so crazy to assume it has racist connotations…it’s actually pretty blatantly obvious how offensive it is. also, you’re right she’s entitled to her ‘opinion’ but she better be ready to deal with the consequences if that ‘opinion’ is racist and hurtful to other students on campus. The Aggie is also affiliated with the University so opinion articles aren’t a free-for-all…HATE speech is often in the form of an opinion, but that doesn’t mean that it can or should be published…especially not in a university paper. And so if you don’t make up the racist phrase it’s ok to use it?? and ummm yea ‘yellow fever’ is also incredibly RACIST and shouldn’t be used the same way jungle fever should’ve never been used in this article.
I already explained below why ghetto is misused in this article, or in almost any context when referring to the word or a genre or a group of people in general. She’s implying that the “ghetto” rap music has something to do with the men she’s pursuing, which just so happen to be African-Americans, so are African-Americans “ghetto?” Which is why I asked, what does “ghetto” mean to her. I want to know exactly what she means, and I want her to explain it, because I’m interested in what her description of “ghetto” is. I hear people use this word every day, but you wouldn’t call an African-American ghetto to their face in a serious manner would you? “Hey you! Ghetto man!” No.
She didn’t bring up the “use” of stereotypes, but she used the stereotypes to describe the African-American men and the music. Although she does not directly insult any African-Americans, this is still offensive to me, a Hispanic, who just so happens to work and live closely with African-Americans on a daily basis, and have throughout a significant part of my life. It is an opinion of admiration, yes, but the way she talks about them is offensive to me, and to a lot of people. Fortunately, this is NOT a hate article, it is an ignorant article. Ignorance can be cured, however, I’d like to hear from the author.
This last part made me laugh, so you’re saying “I don’t see what’s wrong with using a phrase that is so commonly used in our society today.” Really? Let’s take a step back for a second and rephrase this. You’re saying it’s ok to use EVERY phrase that is commonly used in society? In that case, let’s call promiscuous girls “s%%ts,” or Mexican men “bean@@s.” How about we use derogatory terms to describe every race in America, and use them in a public setting? Would we be the only ones offended now? No.
Again, it’s about being aware of what you say and in what context you say it. Using “jungle fever” to describe a personal taste of African-American men is ignorant, derogatory, and unprofessional. It does not belong on any publications, and by allowing this to be published, UC Davis is promoting the use of words like these to describe certain groups of people. Using these “commonly used words” allows others who are ignorant of their background and their context to use them, recreate them, spread them, and allow others to use it. We should not allow people to be this ignorant, because this, my friend, is absurd.
Although this is an opinion, it is offensive. Maybe not to you, but it is to a lot of people who identify with, or are more culturally aware of different groups of people and their experiences. Stereotypes are all over the place, but does that mean that it is ok to use them? Are all stereotypes true for all people? You’re saying people should have the ability to say whatever they want about any group of people without repercussions? I’m sorry, but I can’t stand for that. People should have the confidence to say things as they wish, but expect backlash if they’re using language that has racist background and is no longer acceptable in our society.
You people obviously have too much time on your hands, seriously, get over it.
I appreciate that to you, this is not a big deal. But you have to acknowledge that to some people, it is a big deal. And stop defending it as an opinion article, it is not. No opinion is offered by the writer. I am shocked that more than one UCD student (namely the writer) is ignorant enough to not have considered that the terms used are quite offensive. You need to educate yourselves, people. Honestly. By the way, I think you mean repercussions, not reparations, in your earlier post. And nobody is calling it a ‘hate article’- you’re right, there doesn’t seem to be any hate, just ignorant admiration of something the author doesn’t understand. But, it is ignorant and offensive. If you don’t don’t understand why- read the posts and try to learn something. Please.
“Us people?” And who exactly are “you people” to you cdavis91? Get over it? It sounds like you no longer have a point, so now you’re choosing to be immature.
I agree with Chris Tung. Additionally, this article reinforces that university was an incredible waste of my resources. It indicates that UC Davis isn’t teaching its students critical thinking but rather encourages a very expensive (thousands and thousands of dollars) regurgitation of data. Such an education does not provide a logical foundation.
To address Lauren’s comment, the article loosely associated the summer tan with the new-found appreciation for black men and very much implied that this change was one of enumerated steps to embracing rap culture. So, Lauren, you will find that this line can be read as a double entendre.
It’s tough to say that UC Davis does not teach students critical thinking though. It all depends on what you make of it, and this isn’t necessarily attributed to her experiences at Davis, I’m sure. This is attributed to her experiences with African-Americans in general, or lack of, thereof. She does not seem to understand the culture, or the need to be aware of stereotypes or the things she wrote about.
Not all African-Americans like rap music or hip-hop. Not all African-Americans can dance, or are tall, or “hotties.” It’s just blatant ignorance that comes from not being aware of diversity within different communities.
You could be right, maybe she’s an unreachable student and can only memorize provided materials rather than learning and applying concepts. But some of the comments here are as poorly thought out as the article itself. A well-rounded, educated person would know that this is not a piece to publish in a university paper. Also, a well-rounded, educated person would know that she’s not trying to be offensive which is why I’m annoyed with the education system more than anything else. Who really needs to understand a culture to know that you can’t measure PEOPLE against their representation in popular media? You don’t need to be halfway intelligent to understand appropriateness, so how do students go through UCD and not have that skill?
It’s blatant ignorance. People should like this should not be allowed to publish on a college campus, or anywhere.
I am very surprised this was published… I don’t understand.
…Is this for real?
This article is a little offensive to me because of the constant use of stereotypes with little regard to how they are said. “Ghetto” rap music? I’m actually an RA for the African American floor in Campbell Hall, and I know that when my residents have been called “ghetto,” they don’t like to be referred to as such or perceived in a way that makes them seem uneducated or violent or any other stereotype you may think of that is associated with this word. You’re associating African-Americans with being ghetto, and I want to know, what exactly does “ghetto” mean to you?
One other thing, jungle fever? Excuse me? Are African-Americans elephants or lions? Are they roaming the jungles of Africa or the Amazon or Vietnam? Because what you’re implying by saying that you have “jungle” fever is that you’re attracted to wild men who are associated to animals who live in the jungle. Are African-Americans jungle animals? I want to know what you think of this, and please do not hesitate to reply back to me.
Well she wasn’t calling your residents ghetto, was she? She was talking about “ghetto rap music.” I’m not really sure what that means, but still… it seems to be a way of describing the music rather than describing people. I think the “jungle fever” reference is a lot worse.
She was making a correlation between the word “ghetto” and the fact that she likes “black guys.” So she was attributing “ghetto” to African-Americans. That’s my point.
Yes, I think the fact that she’s talking about “jungle fever” is the real issue here. There are so many things wrong with this article though.
Hey Alicia… I am pretty sure that Medha was not trying to say that music changed her skin color but merely that she got a tan that summer! FYI
I’m a bit baffled by the constant use of stereotypes in this opinion piece that I felt compelled to make a comment.
In the beginning, the article intrigued me with this jumping off point: “I’m a tall Indian girl” and “I have been hit by jungle fever.” But throughout the article, you are constantly limiting your understanding of the African American male to a fetishized and hyperbolized image that the mainstream media projects onto America.
Thankfully, you acknowledge that perhaps your “greater understanding of African American culture” is only a fuller understanding of “rap music”, but rather than making an analysis on how the media’s depiction of African American males limited your understanding of what Jungle Fever could mean you instead generalize an entire group of males based on your small sampling of a genre of music that you were not privy too.
Ultimately, your article, which had the potential to undercut your own ethnic stereotyping by highlighting a culture and sexuality that you now identify with ends up coming off as another message to generalize and umbrella an entire race of people based off of what the media projects.
It’s great and all that you have expanded your horizons by listening to more music genres and have accepted Black males as a potential dating pool. However, there are two things we need to clear up about this column. Although this is your opinion, I do urge you to understand that rap music by definition is not “ghetto”. Ghetto is a term used to describe an act of improvising because the natural or more acceptable tool is not available. Indeed the Black culture has improvised and has made well despite others mocking or taking little or ill regard for the Black culture. One more thing, you can not and I repeat you can not get darker in skin tone from a new found passion of hip-hop and rap music. Minorities have struggled too much and still do to this day to fight stereotypes and barriers for any person of any color to make joke of the matter. I appreciate your effort to publish, but please think about the messages you are implying to the Davis community about yourself. And I’m curious, what does Jungle Fever really mean to you?
Please don’t take my words harsh, as I am yet another person with an opinion, but I just could not let this slide by.