One of my favorite feminist books is Bell Hooks’ ‘Ain’t I A Woman: Black Women and Feminism,’ which greatly details the unique struggles of Black feminists during our country’s most racist and sexist times. They faced both ugly racism and sexism during their fight for racial and gender equality for African-American women. Unfortunately, some times they were not welcomed by either the male leaders of the Black Civil Rights Movements or even White feminist leaders. So they formed their own activist groups dedicated to fighting both racism and sexism. Like all movements they faced hostility, but in their case from ‘both sides‘–Black men and White feminists. Some of the traditionalist male leaders of the Black Civil Rights Movement demanded that they submit themselves to sexist gender roles prescribed for women, and accept an inferior standing within the African-American Community. Some of the White feminist leaders of the Women’s Liberation Movement trivialized the sexism Black women faced not only from Whites but from Black men as well, and even told them that racism was the only form of oppression Black women suffered. So Black feminists (and Black women in general) had a “two-fer” when it came to backlashes and discrimination. In this particular case, via Prometheus 6, we see a classic sexist hyperbole made by reactionary Black men against Black feminism and Black women’s liberation from patriarchy–the very sort of misogynist defamation of Black feminist women Hooks’ highlighted in her book.
EXPOSING THE DAMAGE THAT 1970’s WOMEN’S LIBERATION HAS DONE TO THE BLACK COMMUNITY…
EXPOSING HOW BLACK FEMINISTS HAVE FAILED TO LEAD THE BLACK RACE ANYPLACE…
EXPOSING THE FAILURE OF BLACK LEADERSHIP…
(LIKE BILL COSBY!)REMINDING BLACK MEN THAT IT’S TIME TO JOIN THE GROWING MEN’S MOVEMENT…
WE ARE THE ONLY BLACK ORGANIZATION THAT EXPOSES AND OPPOSES LESBIAN FEMINISM WITCHCRAFT!!
Deeply ignorant.
Of course, there are reactionary slanders made by racist Whites against Black feminists as they also stride for racial equality. I’m sure it would reference some big evil “Black Panther ‘kill Whitey’ lesbian feminist witchcraft” conspiracy. Misogyny and patriarchy know no color. Thankfully the sexist sentiments of this particular group of African-American men does not reflect the ‘gender issue’ sentiments of all African-American men, and not all of the male leaders of the Black Civil Rights Movement were sexist (and not all White feminists were racist). There are sexists and racists found within just about every community. This is just an example of sexism perpetrated by the male members of a community against its female members. And I wonder since I’m only half-African-American and feminist, does this mean that I’m only bisexual and half-pagan to them?
Heh-heh. Damn people! I appreciate the very interesting discussion going on here. And yes, the focal point of my post was to highlight that Black feminist women faced a “two-fer” when it came to discrimination and backlashes because they were both Black and feminist women. The thread drifts are okay–a little weird, but no biggie.
>>because they won’t or can’t hush up about the things in your culture they find risible or crack-worthy.>>
Yeah, but that analogy sees feminist theory–you know, the way we determine what’s needed to achieve equality/victory–as on a level with wine and cheese. It belongs on a level with acknowledging German occupation of France as a bad thing for the French.
No kidding, La Lubu. I know you’re pretty bummed about the AFL-CIO split (I’m glad I won’t be in my old AFSCME fall for the fireworks, or worse, to witness the pitiful lack of fireworks or fallout). I daresay that the White guys busy parcelling the labor movement amongst themselves at the moment could have done a better job of learning that. JoAnn Wypijewski, amongst others, has taken Stern, Hoffa, et al to task for keeping the old-boy network intact in the top tier of most Unions, even as disproportionate numbers of women –Black, White, and more– continue to have a lot more at stake in this fight than ego, continue to do a lot of scut-work and continue to be dragged out for “diversity” photo ops. “Daddy knows best,” populist-style. >:
Maybe it’s all a one-door-closes-another-opens thing. I sincerely hope so. :(
Most of us aren’t “guys”…. At least I wasn’t the last time I looked. The presense of maybe three males has relegated the majority of people here who are female, into being included in a plural term for members of the male gender….hmmmm.
Most of us women folks are not slow on the pickup….No offense UA, but I run into the rhetoric that you have determined is best able to teach me about my own experiences, every day as part of my experience of being a women in a White male-dominated society. And I prefer straight-out discussion of what you mean, rather than games, experiments where the only one who has a rule book is yourself. The rest of us are left figuring out what’s meant, without your rulebook, and if we don’t get it right away, or we get it and just see it as jerkness, then we’re of course, slow on the uptake and I guess ingrates to men who wish to be allies(under their terms, of course). It just reeks too much of a setup, and we’re supposed to fall short, and then here the words, “see, you’re lousy feminists and you are man haters.”
The above is kind of a common experience for women. Some of us aren’t slow…just weary of it.
It’s shameful that the so many right-wing folks in this country can be so disdainful to the French who bailed them and the earlier Euro-colonizers out of two earlier wars…
And I really enjoyed this discussion. Thanks P-A for this topic, and thank you to those who participated. I’ve learned a lot. :-)
alsis, that’s some article. Fela Anikulapo Kuti had a whole album about that—“Yellow Fever”. Those whitening agents cause nerve damage as well as scarring; women who use these products with regularity can expect all kinds of problems to crop up later. Of course, those companies that produce them will say, “oh, the product wan’t used as directed”, knowing full well the motivations for the customers to keep glopping on that toxic shit. Gahh.
Good lord, I’ve been out of town for the last 4 days and I come back to this monster of a thread! There have been some really great comments made….. and some extremely irritating ones as well. As much as I would like to respond to some of U-A’s and Robert’s posts, I think keeping the conversation on track is a better idea. So in the spirit of actual progress…
Alsis- for some reason I couldn’t access the article, but from the excerpt you posted it seems to be related to our discussion. I would argue that the advertising of skin whitening is a black feminist issue. Skin whitening and other related products presents the idea that white is right, and it isn’t difficult within a patriarchal system to see that twisted to white women are more feminine or more pure- the way women should be according to the patriarchy. The characterization of black women as less feminine is not only insulting but very dangerous because it separates black women from the feminist movement AND it relies on gender stereotypes created by the patriarchy. So the fact that black women are purchasing these products in an attempt to be more “female” is a battle all feminists need to fight.
I can give another example using hair. Black hair is naturally curly and kinky, yet many black women (myself included) relax (i.e. straighten) our hair. We do it for a variety of reasons, but a major reason black women started relaxing their hair in the first place was in order to more closely resemble white women and to match (white) male standards of femininity. Due to the rampant racism in this country, female attractiveness was measured against a white standard and unfortunately, that standard is still being applied today. Now I’ve been in discussions with feminists about this before, but whenever I bring it up I am told that the images and portrayals of beauty that are imposed on black women are part of a greater problem all women face. In a sense, this is definitely true. However, the anger comes when the dialogues about beauty myths take place, and the myths which are discussed are issues white women are concerned about and not the images which trouble black women. And this is how divisions begin to occur between minority and white feminists.
My point is this- the struggles black feminists face within the feminists movement are based on racism and sexism that is both glaring obvious and extremely subtle in nature. The problem is that we don’t take the time to have dialogues like this thread so the issues minority feminists face aren’t always discussed. Instead, we just want minority women to suck it up and take one for the team. This attitude pisses many black feminists off, and has resulted in the refusal for some to use the feminist and instead adopt the term womanist which is designed to more inclusive.
After writing my last post it occurred to me that I never addressed Britgirl’s question as to what white feminists could do to make sure black feminists aren’t marginalized and silenced. I think one important way is to be an ally to black feminists. And a crucial way of doing that is what La Lubu said:
“Being an ally is work. Don’t kid yourself. It’s real work. And yes, you’re going to piss people off in the process. But you know what separates the workers from the players? Who gets pissy, picks up the ball, and goes home. Those who stay and do the work are for keeps.
This isn’t about how to “play nice” and “be polite”. This is strictly about survival. Anger is not a sign of disrespect. Think on that, because you have been indoctrinated into a culture that says anger is a sign of disrespect, and that the only socially-condoned expression of anger is that which flows from the top on down. Learning to shut up and listen is subverting the paradigm.”
This is quite possibly the wisest thing said on this thread. I’ve had many a discussion about race and sexism derailed because people refuse to actually listen to what is being said. They’ll say they are listening, but really what they’re doing is formulating defensive arguments about why you are wrong. And this is simply not constructive dialogue. Anger is not something to be only feared. Rather, anger is a powerful feeling that can be used to fuel meaningful change. Think about movements like the black power movement and the power their anger had in organizing a community to demand their equality. And that is why so many in the patriarchy fear it and have taken actions against it. But I digress. We were talking about solutions…
You’re not an effective ally if you’re un or mis- informed. So the first thing I would do is get educated. There is not a “right” way to go about this, but there are wrong ways. Allow me to name a few. Expecting your black friend to explain everything to you is not acceptable. As Sarah said, it’s not their responsibility to get you educated. Asking them their opinions on issues is okay, but just don’t expect them to do your work for you. Another bad thing to do is to not really listen, or worse, not believe that the issues black women bring up are ‘important enough’. If white women react with doubt and/or hostility every time a black woman expresses her experiences, then black women just won’t bother expressing their experiences and then you’ve lost us. Think the democratic party and the kos pie fight debacle. The same issue (lack of significance given to a minority group’s issues) is a big one for many black feminists- hell, for minority feminists in general. And here is a third no-no: don’t make the mistake of not thinking within racial terms. In other words, don’t be color-blind, but be colorful. I strongly believe that we need to stop thinking of feminism as a white women’s movement with minority branches, and to start viewing feminism as a movement begun by women which has a rich diversity in membership and viewpoints. And that this diversity, this complexity is a good thing. One way to start doing this is to create a platform that addresses the concern of all members and to make a point of advocating for these issues with the same intensity, understanding, and ferocity as you would for issues that concern mostly white women. We need to change the way in which we frame feminism so that we live up to standards of equality and liberty which we, as egalitarians, have demanded of ourselves and others.
I’m going to climb off my soapbox now…….
Sydney wrote:
Through my partner, I made the aquaintance not long ago of a jazz singer who absolutely knocks me out. She has formidable vocal chops, great taste in songs, dresses elegantly onstage, has lived in Europe and worked with the Big Names, etc. She wears her kinky hair super-short. Every time my partner and I see her, she exclaims over my long hair, telling me how gorgeous it is. This has become sort of a joke between us, because I love my hair, too, but can’t/never could sing my way out of a paper bag. I always quip that she can have my hair for a month if I can have her voice for a month.
I don’t think it’s “part of a greater problem,” but rather that it’s the BIGGER problem, because of the intersection of racism and sexism. If you’re a White woman who hasn’t intereacted with Black women much, beauty issues surrounding race (like other issues surrounding race), tend not to enter your sphere of thought until a ridiculously late age. For example, the receptionist I mentioned early on in this thread always wore her hair in a simple pageboy, which I thought looked nice on her. One afternoon while switching over the desk, we were talking about how much time we spent on our hair. I said that I did nothing to mine before work but brushing it out and twisting it in a bun. She said that she had hers “done” (straightened, etc.) at least every other week, by a professional. I seriously doubt that she was making much more money than I, and yet the expenditure (of money and time) she was making to be “professional” enough for the job was far in excess of mine. I had never thought about this before. I was twenty-nine. :o
The blind spot of a lot of White feminists is, ironically, echoed in the piece that sparked this whole thread. When blacktown’s author or his defenders rail about the aethestics of beauty mags, they overlook the fact that Black women’s “professionalism” in the wider world is directly linked to how many White norms they are willing/able to adapt. (What would have happened to my sister receptionist’s job security or earning power if she’d suddenly let her hair go natural one day ?) Or perhaps he thinks that it’s besides the point, because Black women shouldn’t be in the professional world in the first place.
Depressing, all around. :(
Yarrgh. Screwed-up quotes there. Sorry. :o
Word, alsis. Remember those lawsuits in the 90s when many black women who tried to wear more “black” hairstyles to the workplace were fired and sued their employers for discrimination? I have a wash’n’wear hairstyle myself, but I remember being surprised when I discovered how much time some of my friends would spend getting their hair done when we discussed these cases. It just never occurred to me that it would be different for them than for me, which I guess pretty well exposed my white privilege.
Alsis: “One afternoon while switching over the desk, we were talking about how much time we spent on our hair. I said that I did nothing to mine before work but brushing it out and twisting it in a bun. She said that she had hers “done” (straightened, etc.) at least every other week, by a professional. I seriously doubt that she was making much more money than I, and yet the expenditure (of money and time) she was making to be “professional” enough for the job was far in excess of mine.”
My friends love it when I put my hair in braids and when I get it relaxed. When my hair is the way it is right now, somewhat kinky with a lot of undergrowth, they always ask me why I don’t just put my hair in braids? I then have to point out that my braids (and I get the tiny zillion braids) cost $200 to do and another 50 bucks to buy the hair in the first place. If I want to relax my hair, that’s $65 dollars. Because I’m a poor student, most of the time I don’t even bother aside from my monthly relaxer. Oh, and this says nothing about the amount of time it takes to get braids or to have your hair relaxed. Yeah, maintaining black hair can be a pain in the ass which is why I seriously have thought about just shaving my head. But as you said, how professional would that look and would that create an “image” that deters potential employers?
Sydney, you could always do an Eleanor Holmes Norton and just keep it very short. I’ve noticed that very short hair is popular across all age and color groups lately.
Lee, see I tried that but as it turns out, short hair just looks awful on me! I wouldn’t care if it wasn’t for the fact that I have my fair share of personal vanity. Nope, I think i’m going to have to leave my hair just touching my neck or in braids :(
Sydney, I knew one Black woman at my last job who solved your dilemna in part by owning several wigs. Still, even those run into a lot of money if a person wants them to be convincing, and they have to be stored and cared for like any other part of a woman’s wardrobe.
Gack.
Lee, I don’t think I’d heard of any of the lawsuits you mention. :o If you’ve written about them or have a link to someone who has done so, I’ll try and check it out.
My mom actually has three wigs that she rotates. Her natural hair is actually cut very short- almost bald. If she gets bored, she will wear a weave.
But like you said, this gets very expensive and she is a professional with an actual income. I’m just a lowly law student who can’t afford to maintain my hair the way she can. Sucks, huh?
Luckily, my girlfriend doesn’t mind my hair looking funky from time to time…..
Alsis, there were a spate of them on the East Coast in the 90s. One in particular was, I think, in Washington, D.C., where a black bank teller came to work with her hair in many small, shoulder-length braids with beads at the end. And there was a hotel customer service employee who had somewhat thicker braids (no beads) styled in a pageboy, I think that one was in Philadelphia. I can try to find links, but I think they are probably subscription-only archives.
However, here is one I was able to find, but that was a male correctional officer who was Rastafarian: Booth v. State of Maryland (CA 4, 2003).