By now, most people have probably seen the commercial for the Realize Band, a gastric band used to assist those with morbid obesity begin their weight loss journey. In the commercials, each person gives a reason why they want the surgery.

A white male says that he “wants to do karate with his little warrior” and an image of his daughter in her karate uniform appears and a white woman talks about wanting to be able to fly comfortably to Paris with her husband. To each his own. Of course the main reasons to lose weight are due to health, but there’s nothing wrong with the reasons offered above.

Fast forward to Christmas Eve 2008.

In an effort to get deeper into the holiday spirit, I decided to turn off the tube and turn on one of the local urban radio stations with the hope of hearing some soulful carols. The radio didn’t disapoint and I continued to deck the halls to the sounds of The Temptations, Boys II Men and even Mariah Carey Canon.

Then it happened.

A commercial for the Realize Band interrupted my aural merriment. I didn’t pay any attention to it at first, thinking it’d be the same as the television spot. Of course, I was wrong. What I heard over the next 30 seconds was another cog on the wheel of the ongoing assault against black womanhood. Three distinct voices give reasons for wanted the surgery; each desiring the same conclusion: to snag a man.

Say what Johnson & Johnson, makers of the Realize Band?

Yup. Woman A wants to be seen in the clubs; Woman B wants to be looked at the way her friends are; and by the time Woman C professed her desire to be more appealing to whatever piece of man would have her, I was disgusted.

I understand the idea of appealing to a certain demographic, but I do believe that black women do take their health seriously and have way more on their minds than snagging the nearest brotha. What about Woman A wanting to lose weight so that she can reduce her risk for diabetes and heart disease; two health issues that plague the black community.

Or, what about Woman B desiring to get healthy so that she can be more active with her children without getting winded quickly. I mean, we do worry about quality of life issues outside of dating. And, not all black women want to date nor do all black women want to date a man, ok? And at least the television commercial had a male. What, no black men want/need to lose weight to snag a black woman? Oh, right, we take whatever we can get, huh?

Johnson & Johnson, thank you for the epic fail and showing how and what you think of black women. Thanks for continuing to see us as one-dimensional hottentots only caring about probable relationships with yet-unknown men.

I’ve made it my personal business to no longer use Johnson & Johnson products. They don’t value me, so they don’t need my money.