Category: Uncategorized

Everything is whiteness

the art that we call fine art versus the art that we call “ethnic art”

Oluo

Here Oluo is talking about this white standard in our society, which dictates what is appropriate, and what is not…like African American braids and afros being unprofessional, when it is a common hairstyle. She also mentions a standard of race in the art world. In my creative invention class, we also discussed this idea of elitism and classism in art. For example, the Venice Biennale, a huge event in the art world, was infiltrated by a female artist who goes by “Swoon.” She built a raft out of trash found in NYC and sailed it through Venice as a statement. I just thought it was interesting that Oluo mentioned this, as I’m an art major and a person of color. 

As white women ignore their built-in privilege of whiteness and define woman in terms of their own experience alone, then women of Color become “other,” the outsider whose experience and tradition is too “alien” to comprehend

Lord

 This quote points out to me how those in privilege ignore the oppressed, continuing to benefit from the cycle. Rather than joining together for a common cause of women’s rights, Black women are excluded as this “other.” This connects to the idea of the white standard in our readings this week as well as the connection to last week of the idea of intersectionality affecting people even within the same group (women) differently based on race. 

Our situation as Black people necessitates that we have solidarity around the fact of race, which white women of course do not need to have with white men, unless it is their negative solidarity as racial oppressors. We struggle together with Black men against racism, while we also struggle with Black men about sexism.

Combahee Statement

What I interpret from this quote is that Black women not only have to face adversity from other white women, but from black men as well. Thus the Black Feminist group, while alienated from who should be allies, seeks for better understanding between the groups as well as joint effort to end systemic racism. 

Connections

While playing Momo Pixel’s Hair Nah, I felt a feeling of disgust as well as being overwhelmed. The hands which kept constantly reaching out in increasing intensity just felt wrong in so many ways. Not to mention, the people saying phrases like “can I touch it?” without waiting for a response just solidified this idea of entitlement and privilege. While researching this topic more, I learned that this act can be considered a micro agression according to Simone Aba Akyianu. She is a lawyer and an educator who wrote in Parents for Diversity. She explains its a micro agression because in wanting to touch this particular hair, it is singling out difference by making it seem as an exotic “other” and dehumanizing them by petting their hair like you would a dog. She also talks about how its a privilege to always be able to walk into salons and have them know how to do your hair, which relates to the white standard of our society. Overall it was an interesting read and if you would like I’ll leave the link here: https://parentsfordiversity.com/touching-black-hair-as-micro-aggression/

Some questions I have left after this are if this phenomenon of exotic hair being touched is common in other parts of the world. I’ve heard for example that blondes travelling to asain countries will get their hair touched. Another question I have is about the Combahee statement. It was a bit difficult for me to read and I’m wondering if anyone else interpreted it the way that I did 🙂

Key Words: Alien, standard, opression, privilege

Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference (Lorde)

I learned something from reading Lorde’s text this week. In the stirring essay Women Redefining Difference, women are urged to band together, create a strong movement, and identify oppressions beyond sexism. Lorde accomplishes this by speaking from a black lesbian perspective, which sheds light on issues that have gone unnoticed and dispel many myths and assumptions that both black and white women hold. Lorde explains how class and race are frequently linked with producing various forms of literature, outlining some issues that sustain a flawed system of handling differences. Poetry, which Lorde claims many people consider to be a less severe or rigorous art form, contrasts with prose. Lorde’s identity, which she reveals in this text, Lorde’s identity is a complex amalgam of many various elements, as she explains here. In this particular instance, the inclusion of a poem at the end of the prose demonstrates the author’s distaste for restrictions on her writing and the way she presents herself in general. Lorde writes in the passage that others frequently encourage her to showcase one aspect of her identity and give it an accurate representation of who she is as a whole. One of Lorde’s main points is that everyone has been taught to react to difference with “fear and loathing” and to deal with it.

The Combahee River Collective Statement

From what I learned about reading, this is that Between 1974 and 1980, a Black Feminist Lesbian group called the Combahee River Collective operated. They collectively joined forces to develop the Combahee River Collective Statement, a key document in developing contemporary Black Feminism. This intersectional group was founded because they felt that neither the feminist movement nor the civil rights movement adequately addressed the needs of Black women and lesbians. They have been working on defining and clarifying their politics during that time and conducting political work within our own group and in collaboration with other progressive movements and organizations. The broadest summary of our political philosophy at the moment would be that we are actively committed to fighting against heterosexual, sexual, and racial.

 

Momo Pixel , Hair Nah

Hair Nah is a fun game that is video game about a black woman tired of people touching her hair. The game is played via motion captured without using joysticks and buttons. I feel like this game shows what black women are going through compared to white women because white women’s hair is seen as normal, so they had it easier because black women’s hair was different, so their hair was seen as nappy.

Keywords- Feminist, Feminism, Oppression

Question: Did this week help you understand the struggles that black women go thought?

Age, Race, Class, and Sex

Being black and being a woman is no joke. My everyday life consists of having to fight for rights to my body and to go home safely without being shamed for my skin tone. Today’s readings hit the nail completely on the head. It gives everyone an insight on the things that black women have to go through just because they are women and black. In the text, Age, Race, Class, and Sex, Lorde stated, “For in order to survive, those of us for whom oppression is as American as apple pie…”. My colleague told me one day that, “Racism is so American culture, that when you fight against it, citizens feel as though you are fighting against America. Also reading this text I feel as though, educating someone can be tiring because of the simple fact that it has been decades and centuries trying to educate and fight for the equality that we are still fighting this day. This reading gave a look at stereotypes that are common being in the black feminist and of the LGBTQ community. I find it most interesting when Lorde talks about the similarities between the oppressions of being black, being a woman, and part of the LGBTQ community.

The Combahee River Collective Statement

This text really put some insight on the struggles of being liberated as a woman and a black woman. Often times we hide our struggles, so we don’t be seen as the “bitter” woman or too masculine when we are talking about what our everyday struggles are and this text really shared some insight on that! That I enjoyed reading and learn things that even I, not so much as didn’t know, but didn’t too much recognize or kind of brush it off. A quote that kind of put it in a simple context for me was ” We exists as women who are Black who are feminists, each stranded for the moment, working independently because there is not yet an environment in this society remotely congenial to our struggle—because, being on the bottom, we would have to do what no one else has done: we would have to fight the world.” This was also such an amazing read as well. Touching basis on black lesbian feminist in comparison to “Age, Race, Class, and Sex.”

Femininity-Love- Race

The songs for this week were ones that have always been on my playlist and have been with me in times where oppressions were taking over. Or when I just want to feel like the black woman I am. Honestly, I think that every reading was in correlation with all the songs, so it was very difficult to choose texts to link together because they all come from one message and one message and that is how we live day by day with our struggles as black women and feminists in a predominately white male society. Nina Simone and Solange have some of the same concepts and approaches when it comes to boundaries black women have set for us, such as phrases like “Don’t touch my hair, when it’s the feelings I wear” and “my hair is woolly, my back is strong, strong enough to take the pain.”

Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference (Lorde)

The writing this week from Lorde is an amazing piece defining the issues that black lesbians go through, both from racism and homophobia, and how these issues interlock to form a unique group of people that don’t have the chance to fit into many groups that claim to be for social justice. She goes into the subject of difference, and how important it is to recognize it, as our differences mean we go through different issues that the people around us should be aware of. She explains this well in her quote, “These accusations, coming from the very women to
whom we look for deep and real understanding, have served to keep many Black lesbians in hiding, caught between the racism of white women and the homophobia of their sisters.” She goes into detail in her piece, explaining that white women do not nearly face the same problems as black women, and often, they turn their backs on women of color to be seen as more agreeable to the patriarchy they want to be liked by. Along with this, being called a lesbian in the Black community is seen as synonymous to being, in her words, “unworthy of the attention or support of the scarce Black male”.

The Combahee River Collective Statement

The Combahee River Collective Statement is a writing that details both that goals and struggles of black feminists. They explain that they realized that white feminist movements sometimes did not apply to them and even, in some cases, were against them. However, they do not believe that they deserve liberation more than any one group; all they ask for in the end is equality. “We reject pedestals, queenhood, and walking ten paces behind. To be recognized as human, levelly human, is enough.” They contend that while difference is important, it does not make one oppressed group more or less in need of help than another. I did find this interesting, because I do tend to find myself thinking like this sometimes. It is a good reminder to readers that no one group deserves help any less than another.

Hair Nah – Game

This is a fun, but also enlightening game. It’s so simple but manages to get its point across fairly effectively. It starts out kind of difficult and only gets harder, the barrage of hands coming toward Aeva getting almost overwhelming. I feel like this is a metaphor for how constant and overwhelming this kind of behavior from other people can be in everyday life. The vocal lines in the background, like “Can I touch it?” and “Is it attached to your head?” also pack a powerful punch, and they’re more than just meaningless dialogue. They illustrate how black women and their hair are seen almost like strange foreign objects to play with and explore rather than just people with their own boundaries.

I feel this game relates to the texts, as it is a good example of something that black women go through that white women will never understand. Their hair has never been seen as strange or bad, it is simply the norm. It is another aspect of black women’s lives that white feminists may be disconnected from.

Keywords: Sexuality/Intersectionality/Difference/Politics/Feminism

Question: Did this week’s texts open your eyes a bit to the experiences black women go through that you didn’t know about? How did it make you feel?

This week’s readings are Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference by Audre Lorde and The Combahee River Collective Statement. In Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference, Lorde talks about how different people’s perspective and ideologies on age, race, class and sex and how these different perspectives and ideologies of these topics can create conflict, mis-information and skepticism. Lorde talks about each topic in detail by stating the problem, people’s perception and idea of the problem and how it effects women and women of color. In The Combahee River Collective Statement, the reading talks about four main topics: The genesis of contemporary Black feminism, what we believe, the problems organizing Black feminists, and Black feminist issues and practice. This reading goes into great detail about each topic and how it effects Black feminist and women of color.

One thing that both of these readings have in common is they both highlight the oppression that surrounds women of color. For example, in the reading Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference, the reading states that “In a society where the good is defined in terms of profit rather than in terms of human need, there must always be some group of people who through systematized oppression can be made to feel surplus to occupy the place of the dehumanized inferior”. The reading continues on to state that “Within this society, that group is made up of Black and Third World people, working-class people, older people and women”. In The Combahee River Collective Statement, the reading states that “The most general statement of our politics at the present time would be that we are actively committed to struggling against racial, sexual, heterosexual, and class oppression, and see as our particular task the development of integrated analysis and practice based upon the fact that the major systems of oppression are interlocking”. the reading continues on to state that “As black women we see Black feminism as the logical political movement to combat the manifold and simultaneous oppressions that all women of color face”.
Two quotes I found interesting from Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference, are : “Certainly there are very real differences between us of race, age, and sex. But it is not those differences between us that are separating us. It is rather our refusal to recognize those differences and to examine the distortions which result from our misnaming them and their effects upon human behavior and expectation”. Another quote is “Racism, the belief in the inherent superiority of one race over all others and thereby the right to dominance. Sexism, the belief in the inherent superiority of one sex over the other and thereby the right to dominance”. There were also two quotes that were confusing to me as I was understanding this week’s reading material. Those quotes are: “Institutionalized rejection of difference is an absolute necessity in a profit economy which needs outsiders as surplus people”. The other quote states that “Unacknowledged class differences rob women of each others’ energy and creative insight”.

I think the song Four Women (1966) by Nina Simone relates to Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference by identifying the mis-naming of Black women. In the song, Nina states multiple times what her name is, however each time, she names a different name such as Aunt Sara or Sarah, Sephronah or Saffronia, sweet thing or peaches. in the reading, it talks the mis-naming of black individuals as well as Black women. the reading states that “Those of us who are black must see that the reality of our lives and our struggle does not make us immune to the errors of ignoring and misnaming differences”. The reading continues on to state that “Differences between ourselves as Black women are also being misnamed and used to separate us from one another”.

Key Words: Ageism, Elitism, Purgatoried

Question: How can better inform the next generation of Black feminism?

(1977) “The Combahee River Collective Statement”

Key Words: Feminism, Identity, Race

The reading about ” The Combahee River Collective Statement” explains about how most black women went through certain obstacles during that time in order to have justice, “Afro- American women’s continuous life and death struggle for survival and liberation”. This emphasizes of how black women are treated poorly in the political system. Yes, they faced a lot through feminism but endured harsh sufferings in order to have Women’s rights.

Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference

In this reading of “Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference” Lorde thinks that women are sperated by their color mostly than just by their sex. “As white women ignore their built-in privelege of whiteness and define women in terms of their own experience alone, then women of Color become “other,” the outsider who experience and tradition is too “alien: to comprehend”.

Solange (2016), “Don’t Touch My Hair” lyrics

 The music by Solange may sing about “Don’t Touch My Hair” throughout the entire song, but that is not the only part it is directing towards. One our hair is defined as our crown and what makes up our identity. But, this song is towards women of color because afro hair tells a story from past generations from styles of braids, locs, and weaves. A lyric that stood out to me the most was this saying “Don’t test my mouth; they say truth is in my sound.” Meaning that many black women have been ignored for a long time for their women’s rights. Mouths is the sound for others to hear them and understand their pain and hardships they faced in order change to happen.

Questions:

While reading these texts and listening to the videos that were given, which one of them interest you the most?

What other songs or poems that you know relate towards black feminism and what do they mean to you?

Keywords: Black feminism, Oppression, Black women

(1977) “The Combahee River Collective Statement”

The Combahee River Collective Statement discussed Black women’s struggle and negative relationship to the political system that is ruled by white males, the belief that it’s difficult to separate race from class, sex, and oppression because black women experience them simultaneously. The statement also discussed how difficult it is to organize around Black feminist issues such as addressing a whole range of oppression.

“We know that there is such a thing as racial-sexual oppression which is neither solely racial nor solely sexual, e.g., the history of rape of Black women by white men as a weapon of political repression”.

(1977) “The Combahee River Collective Statement”

The reason it’s so difficult to separate race from class, sex, and oppression is because of Black women’s history. Black women have history of being enslaved and repeatedly raped by white men. We can’t minimize history, or the fact that it happened, because history doesn’t want to hold white men accountable for executing this act. This racial-sexual oppression upholds racism, sexism, and also enhances white superiority over Black women.

Talking About Race

Ijeoma Oluo (2018), “So You Want to Talk About Race”

We have to talk about race. How can we understand or have meaningful conversations about race, cultures, “the system”, if we don’t know what it is? It may be difficult to have this type of conversation, especially if the focus is on people of color in our society, but Ijeoma Oluo said:

“Trust me, no conversation on race has ever ended nearly as bad for you as it ends for people of color”.

(Oluo, 21:21-21:28)

People of color may be reluctant to have a conversation about race, but if they are willing to talk to a white person about race, it’s generosity. People of color, specifically Black people, have received death threats, been harassed, killed, fired from their jobs, or unable to get hired from a job based on their race. This is only the half of the everyday things Black people go through. It affects not only themselves but their livelihood and ability to take care of their families.

Uluo mentions that we live in a world defined by whiteness because everything we view is based on whiteness. This goes from our calendars, holidays, fine art versus ethnic art, and even as far as professionalism. If you are white and know that the world is defined by your whiteness, understand how and why it’s a generosity to receive an explanation or conversation with a Black person on race. The world is different for Black people, and not acknowledging that brings back the pain this society isn’t built for them or defined by them. As a Black woman myself, conversations on race need to happen way more than they already are.

Women Redefining Difference

Audre Lorde (1980), “Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference”

In “Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference ” by Audra Lorde, oppressors must take responsibility for their actions instead of Black and Third World people having to educate white people on their mistakes. We must acknowledge our differences such as class, race, sex, and even our economic differences to move forward in our society. Audra Lorde noticed that white women have difficulty reading Black women’s literature because in their word’s classes can’t “get into” them (117) or because they come out of experiences that are “too different” (117). Lorde believes that white women are reluctant to see Black women as different from themselves which is why it’s difficult for them.

“To examine Black women’s literature effectively requires that we be seen as a whole people in our actual complexities– as individuals, as women, as human- rather than as one of those problematic but familiar stereotypes provided in this society in place of genuine images of Black women”.

(Lorde, 118)

Many people refuse to acknowledge the history of Black women and even Black men. It’s like the racism women or people of color never existed. White women who don’t want to acknowledge the situations Black women face and how different their lives are different from Black women or women of Color, will never be able to admit that they are inferior. It’s important that conversations like this happen because as Lorde states:

“Refusing to recognize difference makes it impossible to see the different problems and pitfalls facing us as women”.

(Lorde, 118)

Momo Pixel’s: Hair Nah

Momo Pixel (2017), Hair Nah

Learning more about Momo and everything that she’s done is so refreshing to see! Momo is an award-winning art director, game designer, and so much more. The game she designed, Hair Nah, is a response to people touching a Black woman’s hair without permission. As a black woman myself, this game couldn’t be any more relatable. There have been countless situations where white people have tried (some successfully) touching my hair without acknowledging how disrespectful it is. Black women are not animals that you can just pet and touch all over. This is the micro-aggression that needs to be addressed. The game was a perfect representation of the control people think they have over Black women and black bodies. Who are you to touch anything on anyone without permission?

Question:

Have you ever had a conversation about race? Could be with friends, family, etc. How did that conversation go? Did it go downhill? Was there new enlightenment after the conversation? New beliefs? Feel free to talk about tough conversations you’ve been in.

What can I say about this weeks assignment? As a black woman in America, the first thing I’d like to say is THANK YOU. The readings and music resonated with me as a woman because I am that woman. While reading and listening to the music as well as playing the game, I’ve been that woman in some capacity. I have tried to take a different perspective in this reading in that I want to tie in the readings, music, and game but I’d also like to hit on something that I totally did not understand or maybe need to discuss more. So here we go….

(1977), “The Combahee River Collective Statement.” What caught my eye?? I highlighted and starred so many statements in this entire reading but I focused more on sections 1. The genesis of Contemporary Black Feminism “There is also undeniably a personal genesis for Black Feminism, that is, the political realization that comes from the seemingly personal experiences of individual Black women's lives. Black feminists and many more Black women who do not define themselves as feminists have all experienced sexual oppression as a constant factor in our day-to-day existence. As children we realized that we were different from boys and that we were treated differently. For example, we were told in the same breath to be quiet both for the sake of being "ladylike" and to make us less objectionable in the eyes of white people. As we grew older we became aware of the threat of physical and sexual abuse by men. However, we had no way of conceptualizing what was so apparent to us, what we knew was really happening.” I can resonate as one of the black women who does define myself as a feminist but I have experienced sexual oppression in my day-to-day existence as an only girl growing up with three boys and the “ladylike” image. And as i grew older, I became fully aware of the threat of sexual abuse in that I was raped by a family friend.

2. What We Believe “This may seem so obvious as to sound simplistic, but it is apparent that no other ostensibly progressive movement has ever consIdered our specific oppression as a priority or worked seriously for the ending of that oppression. Merely naming the pejorative stereotypes attributed to Black women (e.g. mammy, matriarch, Sapphire, whore, bulldagger), let alone cataloguing the cruel, often murderous, treatment we receive, Indicates how little value has been placed upon our lives during four centuries of bondage in the Western hemisphere. We realize that the only people who care enough about us to work consistently for our liberation are us. Our politics evolve from a healthy love for ourselves, our sisters and our community which allows us to continue our struggle and work. What I took away from this section is that they haven’t seen a movement that has worked to end oppression and these women came to a realization that they are the only people who care enough to work for their own liberation…why??? Because of Self-Love!!!

Audre Lorde (1980), “Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference” Before reading this piece, I listened to Ijeoma Oluo (2018), “So You Want to Talk About Race” and while I was reading, some of the comments from Oluo came to mind. On page 114 of Lorde says “Traditionally, in american society, it is the members of oppressed, objectified groups who are expected to stretch and bridge the gap between the actualities of our lives and the consciousness of our oppressor.” Who is the Oppressor? Well, in my household growing up, this was “The Man…the white man”. I felt like Lord’s comment tied in well with Oluo presentation because she talks about racism, lived experiences, and the differences of how something may seem bad to the white person who is trying to talk about race but is afraid because he/she may be called a racist. Oluo says Oluo states if a white person is afraid they will be called a racist when they try to talk about race to a person of color. She says “Trust me, no conversation on race has ever ended nearly as bad for you as it ends for people of color.” that if a person of color is willing to talk to you about race, even if they don’t seem very friendly while they’re doing it, it’s a generosity.” And I believe that when a person of color is willing to talk, they are attempting to bridge the gap between the actuality of their live and the consciousness of the oppressor.

Solange (2016), “Don’t Touch My Hair” (lyrics) and Momo Pixel (2017), Hair Nah The song and the game are enough within itself. DO NOT TOUCH a BLACK woman’s hair!!!! My favorite verse “Don’t touch my hair when it’s the feelings I wear and I love the hook “what you say to me”

Nina Simone (1966), “Four Women” (lyrics)… My manner is tough. I’ll kill the first mother’ I see. My life has been rough. I’m awfully bitter these days because my parents were slaves. What do they call me My name is PEACHES! Who is Peaches? I want to know more about Peaches. I could visualize everyone else (Aunt Sara, Soffronia, and Sweet Thing) described in the song except Peaches. I absolutely loved this song and it was my first time hearing it. However, in reading the comments, I saw that Jay Z sampled the song. Does anyone know which of his songs, sampled Four Women?

Tupac Shakur (1993), “Keep Ya Head Up” (lyrics) I wonder why we take from our women Why we rape our women, do we hate our women? I think it’s time to kill for our women Time to heal our women, be real to our women.. So this ties in well with the (1977) “The Combahee River Collective Statement” We believe that sexual politics under patriarchy is as pervasive in Black women's lives as are the politics of class and race. We also often find it difficult to separate race from class from sex oppression because in our lives they are most often experienced simultaneously. We know that there is such a thing as racial-sexual oppression which is neither solely racial nor solely sexual, e.g., the history of rape of Black women by white men as a weapon of political repression.

KEYWORDS: Racism, Sexism, Ageism, Hetersexism, Elitism, Classism, Feminism, Smart-Ugly, Lived-experiences

As a black woman born in the 70’s and a woman who has “lived-experiences”, I appreciate the readings and resonated with the hair, the racism, the politics, the different wages, etc. I feel like we are considered the lowest in the class. I don’t let that get me down, I keep moving forward and I am a PROUD BLACK WOMAN!!!

I would like to end with this one comment from this week’s work. “It is very hard to survive as a woman of color in this world, and I remember saying once if I stopped to feel, really feel the pain of the racism I encounter, I would start screaming and I would never stop!!!!” Ijeoma Oluo (2018). https://youtu.be/0P4A1K4lXDo

• Keywords: oppression, women, race

The Combahee River Collective Statement

Keywords: sex, oppression, sexuality

In this week’s text for the Combahee River Collective Statement, something that was mentioned that stood out to me; “we are actively committed to struggling against racial, sexual, heterosexual, and class oppressions and see as our particular task the development of integrated practice.” I believe this was the most highlighted piece of text throughout this article because it shows that so many groups in today’s society is still oppressed no matter the race, religion, sex, sexuality, etc.

Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference

In Age, Race, Class and Sex: Women Redefining Difference says, “For us, increasingly violence weaves through the daily tissues of our living, – in the supermarket, in the classroom, in the elevator, in the clinic and the schoolyard…” The text explains how black women and men are oppressed. The questions, the odd looks, the deadly traffic stops. We as black women have to go through so much in this society because of racism and sexism.

Connection

For my connection, I used Tupac’s Keep Ya Head Up. In this song, he stated “and if we don’t, we’ll have a race of babies that will hate the babies. And since a man can’t make one, he has no right to tell a woman when and where to create one.” I love this quote because it speaks volumes to society about how black women should stay positive throughout the things life throws at us. Never allow the world to change or alter us just because we are oppressed.

Question:

How do you go about your everyday life dealing with oppression?