From the category archives:

Underwear

Hope you all enjoyed a lovely MLK holiday! (I went to WNYC’s MLK: Generations Speak.) Speaking of Things That Happened During the Weekend, did you catch the Golden Globe Awards? Hollywood Foreign Press gave a lifetime achievement nod (the Cecil B. DeMille Award) to Martin Scorsese. Robert De Niro in presenting the honor: “Marty sleeps, drinks and eats film. I hear there are videos on the Internet of Marty having sex with film.” Ah, sex tapes. How àpropos! Recently, over Sunday night nibbles with three pals, I asked: “Have any of you ever taken nude photos of yourself or made a sex tape?” To my surprise, all three said “no.” I believe them … I just felt a little awkward being alone in the group. Granted, I’ve never made a full blown sex tape; that said, I’ve watched plenty & I’ve slapped my nude-but-not-visible videos on YouTube as well as bra/boobie shots. Plus, if you read Funky Brown Chick during the early years, you know I used to regularly post pics of my bare brown flesh in undies. I don’t think there’s anything inherently shameful, naughty or indecent about nude bodies.

On a related note, watch the above “Lemme See (Your Dick Pics) video by Carolyn Castiglia, Shawn Hollenbach and Soce The Elemental Wizard. (Pssst! You might recognize the latter from Jen Kwok‘s Date An Asian Man.) Okay, so, curious to know how many people have privately taken dick pics / boob shots or other bare flashes, via my Twitter, I asked the internet: “What percentage of people have made sex tapes or taken nude photos?” One of the immediate replies: “I don’t know numbers, but I think it’s a much bigger % than people would expect.” I agree. So, now I’ll ask you: Have you taken nude pics of yourself or any of your lovers? Have you ever made a sex tape? The comments section awaits your stories.

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{ 6 folks got down with the Funky Brown }

If we’re close, you might know (or, maybe, you didn’t) I don’t generally wear supplemental clothing — no socks, pantyhose, underwear or other items of aren’t really “necessary” for daily functioning. Of course, there are exceptions: when I run, I wear socks inside of my tennis shoes because they protect my feet from excessively rubbing against the leather & rubber; as an accessory, I often fancy up skirts & dresses with patterned hose or fish nets; and, sometimes, I match panties with a pretty bra. I LOVE matching sets.

When I wrote anonymously, I regularly posted pictures in my bra & panties because I found it liberating. It was like telling the world: “This is what a 30-something black woman looks like without her clothes on!! Oh, and, by the way, there’s NOTHING wrong with looking at underwear. It’s not necessarily crude, pervy, titillating, disgusting or pornographic. Yay panties!!!” (Hell, I even flirted with the idea of running a panties blog: Panties210.)

Of course, it was easy to be bolder and more bare — and, since we’re on the topic, give graphic details about my sex & dating life — when my name wasn’t linked to my words. Faceless, I didn’t worry what my past employers, boyfriends, lovers, church members and family might think. Once I came out, linking “Twanna A Hines” and “Funky Brown Chick” together, I stopped the undie pics. It’s time to change that. Why? Because I still believe there’s nothing wrong with seeing a 30-something black woman in her underwear.

I Feel Like Wonder Woman

This pairing above is one of my favorites because it makes me feel like Wonder Woman. You won’t see me in any underwear ads because I’m neither white nor a size 00. (Nor do I desire to be either.) My stomach isn’t as firmly toned as it was 5 or 10 years ago, but I’m learning my waistline isn’t a measure of my self worth. Whenever I feel doubt, insecurity and/or question whether I’m making the right decisions in love, life or elsewhere, I slip on the superhero set and say: “Somehow, everything’s gonna be alright. I’m going to be okay.”

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{ 25 folks got down with the Funky Brown }

Pink & Black Chemise by Rampage

Pink and Black mesh chemise w/ flowers is by Rampage. Additional photos on my Flickr.

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{ 7 folks got down with the Funky Brown }

IMG_0405

I’ll file this under Flickr fun. If we’re not friends on that site, we should be. I don’t really update the “photos” section on Funky Brown Chick; it’s a static page. So, if you want more pics of me and day-to-day life, my Flickr is where you’ll find them.

{ 7 folks got down with the Funky Brown }

Because I forgot my BlackBerry at home yesterday and didn’t have access to my calendar, I totally forgot about the marlies|dekkers private lingerie event. A friend got me on the guest list and I was going to drop by before heading to a different friend’s party. Damn it! I guess there’s always next time. :( By the way, speaking of underwear and responding to Rachel’s comment from yesterday’s post …

“I thought you don’t wear panties? I’m confused. Either way is okay – I love that you wear matching bras and panties, it sounds so old school, I guess because I don’t know anyone else who does.”
Rachel Kramer Bussel

Hear ye, hear ye. Let it be known that I, Twanna A. Hines, do occasionally wear underwear. I have proof. Ages ago, back when my family, coworkers, church members and others didn’t know about this site, I used to regularly pose and snap pictures of myself in my underwear. See “Green Bra” Exhibit #1 and Exhibit #2 as well as “Matching Green Lacy Panty” Exhibit B. Seeeee? I do wear panties!!! Just not often. ;)

By the way, for the record, I always feel really happy, pretty and sexy when I wear matching bra and panties. (Pssst!! Victoria’s Secret is having 40% sale!) For that reason, I’m considering reigniting my passion for posting pictures of myself in my underwear. It was a lot easier to do when I wasn’t: (a) “out” with my name and face on the internet and (b) lugging around an extra 10 pounds of winter weight. Hmmm, not sure I feel confortable enough to do panty shots yet. Give me a couple additional weeks running in the park …

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{ 18 folks got down with the Funky Brown }

Whether it’s women who have sex strictly for recreation, dudes who wear thongs, Australian men’s droolworthy factor or whatever, reading what you guys write in the “comments” section is one of my favorite parts of this site. So, I recently (um, like, yesterday) scrapped the old comment system and I’m trying out Disqus (pronounced: discuss) because it’s easier to use. You’ve probably already seen the format on Gawker, Mashable, HuffPo and other places. Basically, I made the change because I got annoyed with scrolling up and down and replying en masse to 20 comments with a long list of “@ @ @” stuff. The new system works for me, but I want to know if it you like it too. To try it out, answer this quick & easy question: Which is a bigger turn on — secretly wearing NO underwear (i.e. vajayjay al fresco) on a date or dressing up in a pretty, matching bra and panty set? Ready? Set? Try out the new comment section!

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Photo credit: Image and purchasing information appear at Bueno Style.

By the way, more changes to my site are coming up. I’m going to upload the new logo Mariana designed sometime today or tomorrow morning. I design my site myself and I’m soooo not a web designer / web developer / whatever, so it takes me a bit longer to do this stuff than it should.

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{ 39 folks got down with the Funky Brown }

Last weekend, one of my lovely Twitter followers (I follower him, too), TabooLaRossi, asked me if I’d ever done a do’s and don’ts post for couples who take nude photos. Hmm … I don’t think there’s anything vulgar or unnatural about naked bodies. So, here are my “tips” for couples who wanna take nude photos of themselves:

Do decide how “naked” you want to be online. For personal reasons, I’ve never posted revealing (i.e. boobs and crotch shots) pics on my Flickr or a sex tape on my YouTube … though I have posted pics of myself in my bra and panties. My rule? I don’t show more Twannaflesh online than you’d glimpse if you saw me wearing a swimsuit on the beach.

Trust, like relationships, often changes. The lover holding the camera today might be your ex tomorrow. So, if you don’t want anyone / everyone to see your nude pictures, don’t make them available to others. Don’t give copies to your lover or friends. Don’t post them online — e.g. Flickr, blog posts, email forwarding, etc. (Note: Another option? Don’t show your face.)

If you decide to go full monty, do wear makeup and shave if you’re into that kind of stuff. Primp, smile and practice your facial expressions in the mirror before your photo shoot. Remember, pictures last forever; so, go at it full hog. Relax, have fun and enjoy!

I know a couple bloggers in town who’ve uploaded naked photos of themselves. I’m proud of my body and nudity isn’t a bad thing; at the same time, I think the only way I’d ever post nude pics online is if everything was like totally covered up because I’d feel odd about past or current employers and my family finding the pics. Since I don’t have personal experience to share on the public nudity front, I’d love to hear from someone who does. If you or someone you know has a great personal story about naked pics, a sex tape or other other fleshy stuff, tell us about it in the comments section.

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Suggested reading: Naked on the Internet: Hookups, Downloads, and Cashing in on Internet Sexploration

Credit paid: Photo of Canon EOS is by Kacper Marzoch

Related link: Follow me on Twitter.

Related link: My YouTube video “naked”.

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{ 14 folks got down with the Funky Brown }

I’ve got sex on my mind lately because I’m writing a chapter about the topic for a really great anthology. I skipped a party last night, stayed up late and woke up early to work on my piece. It’s like 98% there, but I need another hour or so to get the closing paragraph in really good shape. In addition to working on that, I’m wrapping up a pitch for an unrelated print magazine story. I did an interview for that at 8:00am this morning, and I have two more scheduled in the coming days. Crazy busy. Today on FUNKYBROWNCHICK, I wanted to write a post about my dating life … and recent insights a couple of guy friends have given me about “The Male Perspective on Dating” … but I don’t have time. I’m running out the door, getting ready to head to my day job. So, in lieu of a full funky brown chick post, I hope you’ll forgive me if I simply point you to my recent Nerve piece, “Chipped Red Fingernail Polish and Bill Wadman’s Penis.” Also, if you don’t mind, I’d like to show you this week’s panty posts on “panties210: The Underwear Blog for Men and Women“:

Hope you all have GREAT weekends, and I can’t wait to give you the romance scoop next week!

{ 4 folks got down with the Funky Brown }