I am not a habitual watcher of BET's new hit show "Tiny & Toya," but I know many people (some of whom are black women) who are addicted to the show. However, the few times that I have seen the show it would be an understatement to call my reaction "shocked." I was more appalled than anything else. First of all, I think I should provide some background information on these two ladies before I discuss why the show troubles me. Tameka "Tiny" Cottle is known as the fiance of rapper T.I. and a former member of the all-female R&B group of the 90s called Xscape. She is even the writer of the smash hit TLC song "No Scrubs." With that being said, one cannot underestimate the success and talent of Ms. Cottle. My problem with Tiny is not that she speaks in a vernacular that makes her hard to understand, but instead her insistence on doing what T.I. asks of her rather than what she would like to do. She often discusses in the episodes I have watched how T.I.'s only request from her is that she doesn't work. Really? In 2009, there are still men asking women to be "kept"? Women who had made names for themselves before meeting their male partners? That is absolutely absurd to me. As for how Tiny feels about this request, I get the impression she thinks it is reasonable. However, she seems to find it hard to leave behind her other love: music. Viewers of the show will probably find out if she chooses to pursue music again despite her fiance's objections.
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Tameka Cottle ("Tiny")
Toya, on the other hand, is best known as the ex-wife of rapper Lil' Wayne. On the show, Toya states that Wayne met her when she was very young and the two grew very close over a short period of time. Later, she became pregnant with the rapper's daughter when she was a pre-teen (as was he). However, I was informed tonight by a friend who watches the show that Toya has never had a job in her entire life. Granted, I did not hear this information first-hand, yet I am still troubled by it. But then again, why would she work? She has money, possibly from Lil' Wayne's alimony and child support checks. Nevertheless, I do not think living this way, possibly on money she might have received through a divorced settlement or from her child's child support, is setting a good example for her daughter. Not to mention it seems that Lil' Wayne isn't exactly making the smartest decisions when it comes to showing his daughter how men should respect women. On this year's BET Awards, Lil' Wayne performed "I Wanna F**k Every Girl in the World" while his daughter was on-stage! WOW!
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Antonia Carter ("Toya")
This show is nothing more than a way to perpetuate and glamorize the negative stereotypes often associated with black women. You have the "Oh I'm So Desperate to Keep a Man" stereotype and the "Just Be A Successful Rapper's Baby Mama and You'll Have it Made" stereotype. BET needs to really take a good look at themselves and realize that Black Entertainment should not be at the EXPENSE of Black people. It should exist to show positive images of the Black community that could potentially help uplift its members. Until the network shows that type of positive programming, BET cannot count me among its number of devoted viewers.