Here are a few exercises that you can incorporate into your workout routine to get you in tip top shape.

Lunges – This exercise is a certified booty blaster. It targets the glutes, hips and thighs and boy do you feel it. But the results are well worth it. To do a proper lunge stand upright with your feet facing forward and together. Place your hands on your hips. Chose one leg and step forward, bending your front knee so that it is over the top of your foot, but making sure that it does not extend further than that. As you bend your knee lift the heel of the opposite ankle. You can stop when your body is in a 90 degree angle position with the floor. Now pull your body back to the start position and repeat. For added resistance you can also do this exercise with weights.

Squats – Beyonce was quoted in saying that a woman can never do enough squats. With sage advice from the bootylicious singer herself, this is definitely a commandment that we can add to our workout repertoire. Stand with your legs shoulder width apart with your toes facing forward. Relax your body and push your shoulders back for good posture. Suck your stomach in while maintaining a natural breathing pattern. Put your arms in front of you so that they are perpendicular to your body and pretend as though you are sitting in a chair, making sure that your knees do not go over your toes. Release and repeat. For more resistance you can also do squats with free weights.

Kickbacks – On an exercise mat kneel on all fours, and evenly distribute your body weight. Bring your knee forward and exhale, and then extend the leg in an upward position while squeezing your but muscles. Adding 3-5 pound ankle weights will rev up this exercise.

Steps – Using the stairs in your home with 3-5 pound weights on your ankle can make a big difference. Walk up and down your stairs a few times and feel the burn.

Walking/Running – Again, ankle weights can be a girls best friend when getting her booty in shape. Walking up hills so that there is maximum resistance, can whip your glutes into shape. Take a 20-30 minute walk somewhere that you have to walk uphill, and you will certainly feel the difference after the first workout.

The post Lunges and Squats: Exercises to Get Your Booty in Shape appeared first on Clutch Magazine.

The dictionary defines prostitution as, “the act or practice of engaging in sexual intercourse for money.” But this definition, which most people subscribe to, supplies no meaning for those who choose to engage in pro bono sex. What is the antonym for the word prostitute, and why isn’t there a pejorative connotation associated with giving away free sex?

We all do it. Our mamas, our grandmamas, and our grandmama’s mamas before that. An elder woman, old enough to be my grandmama, once told me quite matter-of-factly that “a lady should never be wet between the legs with dry palms.” It wasn’t until many years later that I deciphered the meaning of her cryptic message. This was a woman who had been married for 40-plus years, respectable by all of society’s arbitrary standards, bore children who wed and graduated from college, attended church regularly, and was a doting grandmother — sage advice. Another friend, who also happens to be a married, educated mother, politely interjected into one of our conversations about dating and courtship: “Well you’re not supposed to have sex with a man if you don’t have his social security number.” Both of these remarks by these married women imply their feelings that sex should not be had without some form of recompense. But I have a feeling that neither of these ladies would view themselves as women of ill repute — and neither do I. However, if the very definition of prostitution presupposes a monetary transaction of some kind, are these married women engaging in a form of prostitution?

Some years ago a college coed garnered news headlines, which received national attention. She had devised a plan, a quite savvy one in fact, to sell her virginity online (I would have guessed she was a business student, turns out she was a Women’s Studies major, go figure). Bids reached up to 3.7 million dollars for one night of pleasure with the unsullied virgin. She eventually brokered a deal to be ‘deflowered’ at the infamous Moonlite BunnyRanch where the suitor paid a reported $1 million dollars to have sex with the young coed. She, in turn, received $600,000 from the deal. Before they consummated the deal, the guy was sent through a rigorous background check and was free of venereal diseases. I know a lot of ladies must have been thinking to themselves, “With all the bad free sex I’ve had in my life, that wasn’t such a bad idea.”

There are countless examples of the exchange of money and material items for sex that inundate our television sets daily. Marlo Hampton, the newest addition to the Real Housewives of Atlanta admitted that her ‘Big Poppa’ was a “Billionaire with a B.” I guess ‘Big Poppa’ in this instance is a euphemism for a ‘trick’ or a ‘John.’ She appears to be compensated very well for her services, boasting an immaculately designed townhome, a paid for Aston Martin, and an endless collection of designer attire. These are obviously material items that she holds in high esteem and is willing to work for in the form of sexual favors. But again, would she refer to herself as a prostitute? Probably not, but — by definition — that essentially is what it is.

The post What is the Problem with Prostitution? appeared first on Clutch Magazine.

Because many independent artists do not get to see the light of day due to the political correctness, or otherwise, non run of the mill content they deliver, Kickstarter is the perfect avenue to get the word out about art and causes that would otherwise gone unfunded.

Here are a 3 Kickstarter projects that are worth contributing to:

Nomad*Ness Travel Tribe: Evita Robinson founder of Nomadnesstv.com created a travel series that stemmed from her international travels, and the desire to bring the world to an often underrepresented demographic of travelers. Her travel series quickly turned into a movement of over 1500, mostly people of color who have found kinship in their wanderlust. With membership over 1000, who have lived and traveled on 6 out of the 7 continents, and with dozens international meet-ups that have taken place among members, Ms. Robinson is now seeking to take her movement to another level by funding the ‘Utlimate International Meet-up Episode’ slated to take place on September 29^th, the 1 year anniversary of the Tribe. Learn more here.

American Promise: ‘American Promise’ is a documentary 12 years in the making about the very real issues faced by Black boys in the American educational system who are statistically more likely to go to jail than college. The documentary follows the lives of two Black boys who are best friends and attend two very different schools. One public, and the other of Ivy League ilk. The film follows the students inside their classroom, household, school board meetings, and social events and traces the trajectory of their lives, and the subsequent paths they embarked upon after graduating. Check it out here.

Mother/Mutha: ‘Mother/Mutha’ is a dance piece by the T Lang Dance Company that is seeking funding. The performance seeks to bring to light and showcase through dance, the blights of American history and the shame, degradation, and subsequent survival of Black women who were forced to breed children who would ultimately be enslaved. Donate here.

The post Support: 3 Kickstarter Projects We Love appeared first on Clutch Magazine.

Census data is collected every decade and people are urged to classify themselves under any number of arbitrary racial categories, but if we look more closely at the numbers, particularly of those who are of mixed heritage and Latino or Hispanic who come from an African background, the number of African descendant people in this country would be well above the 12.5% recorded in the latest 2010 census data. But what’s more, the terminology of being categorized as a minority is misleading on a global scale.

The truth is White/Anglo/European people make up less than 5% of the world’s population, making them the real ‘minorities’ on the planet. While there are nearly 1 billion people alone currently living in Africa, there are untold millions of Blacks living throughout the world and within the African Diaspora. Take Brazil for instance, which is the home to more Black people outside of the country of Nigeria. That means there are more Blacks living in this South American country than countries in Africa, thanks to the transatlantic slave trade. In fact Brazil is home to an estimated population of nearly 95 million Blacks and mixed race persons of African ancestry.

Are you keeping count here? So far I have only counted 1 continent and 1 country and the figures of Black folks who are assumed to be minorities, is at 1.1 billion.

Haiti boast just over 9 million Black people on the tiny island, Cuba nearly 1.5 million, Jamaica is home to 2 million plus African descendants, and Venezuela has an estimated population of 3 million African identified people. So let’s break this down so that we have a more accurate picture of the total number of Black people in this world, lest we continue to be mislead about our so called minority status.

According to global census reports there are just over 22 million African descendants living in the Caribbean. More than 110 million residing in South America, close to 45 million who make North America their home, and just over 7 million in Europe. So according to these simple calculations the worldwide population of Black people on the planet, including inhabitants on the continent of Africa and throughout the Diaspora and Europe is (drum roll please)…over 1.4 billion African and African descendant people on this planet. Good Lord that’s a lot of Black folk!

It’s important that we understand semantics, and how certain terminology is used to dupe us into believing foolishness. And as Jay-Z says, “Men lie, women lie, but numbers don’t lie.”

The post Are Black Folks REALLY a Minority? appeared first on Clutch Magazine.

For example, if your preference is not to sleep with a white man, that must mean you’re a racist. Or if you matriculated through an ivy league school, live in a Black upper-middle class neighborhood, attend a progressive black church, and speak truth to power (i.e. Michelle Obama), you must be a racist AND an angry black woman. Or when sound bite surfaced of Shirley Sherod making a remark–taken out of context–about a white farmer, she was immediately deemed a racist.

But riddle me this: How can a collective group of mostly politically and economically disenfranchised people be racist without having the structural power to collectively oppress another race of people? It’s IMPOSSIBLE! Contrary to popular belief, racism does not come in all colors, particularly in black.

Recently, I was having an impassioned discussion with a Sudanese woman and a man from Holland on this subject.  They vociferously disagreed with my point, that in order to be racist an infrastructure has to be in place, and I was accused of being a racist because I have zero attraction to Anglo men. But contrary to their beliefs, my proclivity toward brown penises–and vehement disregard for white ones– does not qualify me as a racist. It is what the Oxford English Dictionary refers to as a preference.

My predisposition toward not finding white men remotely attractive, romantically or sexually, does not yield the power to disproportionately imprison them, systematically keep them underemployed, or create generational poverty. Whereas racism has policed my womb for 400-plus years, created de facto  segregation, ushered crack cocaine and weapons into communities that were already suffering from the after effects of slavery and legislative injustice.

Nope, my sexual leanings were not the cause of 400 years of chattel enslavement which has never been abolished, but rather is referred to by another name–the ‘prison industrial complex’ which just so happens to house Black men at a rate 12-times that of White men who commit the same types of crime.

The post I’m Not Racist, I Just Don’t Want to Screw a White Man appeared first on Clutch Magazine.

If you didn’t notice by my references, the latest rappers to perturb me are Kanye West and Jay Z.

I may be one of the only people who did not purchase, or listen to every song off of the Watch The Throne album. But the two that I have heard–OTIS and the infamous, too often recited N*ggas in Paris–make me want to throw up in my mouth. After barely getting through both songs in their entirety, I thought my head was going to rupture, and I wouldn’t be able to afford my subsequent melt down with the exorbitant cost of health care.

In fact, I kinda find some of this music to be in bad taste, considering the real economic conditions of some of the most ardent Hip-Hop followers. These guys have the problems of the 1%, with concerns such as “spilling ace of spades” on a pair of Jordans. A $1200 bottle of champagne, that cost more than most folks’ rent or mortgage. I’m just saying, the least of the 99% concerns are “Audemars that don’t tick tock” (which can cost as much as $500,000). The sad part is that some of us can recall these lyrics more than we can the debtors we owe.

What frightens me is that, collectively, the world is experiencing an economic crisis, but Black folk are being disproportionately impacted by this fiscal catastrophe. With African-Americans average a net worth of a whopping 20 times lower than whites in this country, (only about $2,000), and one study even finding that the median net worth for Black women is a meager five-dollars, we should really give less than a damn that Kanye West is “about to go dumb again” because he “pulled up in [his] other, other Benz.”

These hip-hop songs boasting of all the material items they have accumulated, and the fabulous gold-plated, diamond-encrusted lives they live is a bit passé. Unfortunately, Americans (and specifically black folks) are the ultimate consumers and eat up every word of this mess up, dying to buy new Louis Vuitton bags (or sneakers), when they receive government assistance, or live a paycheck above the poverty line.

As Yasiin would say, “Poor so hard….that ish cray.”

Am I wrong for putting some of the blame on hip-hop for keeping Black folk in debt, or are their more substantial factors involved?

The post Is Hip Hop to Blame for Rampant Consumerism Among Black Folks? appeared first on Clutch Magazine.

Diplomatic tensions in the region have resulted in the potential halt of oil supplies leaving the Strait of Hormuz, where 40% of the world’s oil shipments come from. What does this mean for you? Well, some experts are predicting that gas prices can reach as much as $5 per gallon this summer if tensions do not subside. Currently, the national average is $3.65 per gallon and prices are already over $4 dollars in places like California.

What does this mean for your pocketbook?

Many folk will have to cut corners as a result of the rising gas prices. Here are 5 things you may consider doing, to cut the cost of oil prices in a practical way and keep a little change in your pocket.

1. Carpool to work. Do you have friends or co-workers who travel in the same direction as you to get to work? Get a carpool going, it’s a quid-pro-quo arrangement that helps everybody out.
2. Walk or use public transportation whenever possible. This is especially easy when you live in a metropolitan area.
3. Check out websites like www.gasbuddy.com to locate the cheapest gas prices in your neighborhood.
4. Ride a bike. Obviously, this does not suit everyone, particularly if your dress code at work is not conducive with riding a bicycle. But for those who work in a casual environment, this could be a great alternative.
5. Negotiate working remotely. A closed mouth does not get fed, and much of our work can be done from the comfort of our own home via the web. Talk to your boss or direct supervisor about working from home a few days a week.

The post $5 Gas? That Ish Cray! appeared first on Clutch Magazine.

The judge went on to defend her position stating, “And it’s kind of oxymoronic for me to perform ceremonies that can’t be performed for me, so I’m not going to do it.”

Judge Parker, however, does politely explain to those heterosexual couples who come before her and would like to be wed her reasoning for not doing so. The judge says, “I use it as my opportunity to give them a lesson about marriage equality in the state because I feel like I have to tell them why I’m turning them away. So I usually will offer them something along the lines of, ‘I’m sorry. I don’t perform marriage ceremonies because we are in a state that does not have marriage equality, and until it does, I am not going to partially apply the law to one group of people that doesn’t apply to another group of people.”

I applaud this sista on so many levels, but mostly for being an intelligent, professional, black woman who is not afraid to use her position to challenge the law.

What do you think? 

The post Gay Judge, Tonya Parker, Refuses to Marry Straight Couples, Says Laws Are Unfair appeared first on Clutch Magazine.

Perhaps, because I am the daughter of an ex-Black panther who had Farrakhan and Isis Cress Welsing tapes playing in our home on any given day of the week, and a mother who always made sure I had Black dolls to play with that I’ve always had a healthy image of what my God looked like, and that undoubtedly was like me.

Naim Akbar, psychotherapist and author of Chains and Images of Psychological Slavery, remarks in his book that the healthy imagination conceives of God in their own image, and further, when we assign physical characteristics to a deity we internalize those images and thus if our features, our skin color, our hair, our very likeness is not that of the imagined God-figure, we consequently deem those who have similar characteristics to the deity as superior, and ourselves as inferior.

Dr. Akbar’s analysis, begs the question for Christians, who have been inundated with white Jesus images, whether we consciously or subconsciously see our savior as a dead White man.

Do you think these images have any bearing on how Christians view themselves, and consequently their life potential?

Do you think these images of Jesus are damaging, or is this debate simply pointless?

The post Is Your Savior a Dead, White Man? appeared first on Clutch Magazine.

#dead@ “What you doing after altar call…make you repent next week”

The post Video: How to Get A Church Girl appeared first on Clutch Magazine.