Black Female Voices: Who is Listening - A public dialogue between bell h...

Excellent video of a dialogue between Bell Hooks and Melissa Perry discussing the voice of black women. Their discussion was very relevant to the one we had in class concerning the readings by Lorde, Cleage and Collins. They discuss the realities of different black women and expound on the voices of each. It is deemed as a blessing in today's society for black women to be able to have a platform, where they are actually able to share their thoughts and people actually listen and or read them. Very good discussion! They also touch on the many stereotypes that women have to deal with when they decide to speak up in this patriarchal society. They are automatically deemed angry or as hooks said "difficult", when attempting to voice their opinions on certain situations. We as black women must remember to always speak up and tell our truth despite the outcome or consequences. As Cleage said, "What's the point of fighting for the truth if you're not allowed to tell it?"

The true Statue

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XQVYo3yG_c Watch the link guys, its the poet Jessica Care Moore performing "Black Statue Of Liberty" very moving piece and she hit many of the topics we have discussed in class pertaining to whites and the patriarchy society we live in. African American women are truly the real statue, as we all know African American women have molded the foundation of white society yet and still being left at the bottom looked upon as less than and treated as to have little to no value. African American women as stated in her poem "I am a symbol of freedom but still not free."

It Ain't for Everybody!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/20/oscars-diversity-problem_n_6709334.html

http://www.eonline.com/news/626853/mo-nique-says-roles-in-empire-and-the-butler-just-went-away-lee-daniels-told-me-i-ve-been-blackballed

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/23/sheryl-lee-ralph-monique-blackball_n_6737830.html

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/oscars/oscars-2015-john-legend-makes-slavery-comparison-acceptance-speech-n310816

I'd like for everyone to take the time to watch the videos in the above links. They will clarify where I was coming from in class about my gripe with the Oscars and the entertainment field as a whole. In the story Black Ice that we discussed in class, we can see how audacious the main character Joyce was in standing up for herself and other women to a politician. As I'm typing this I can think of the movie American Violet which is the perfect visual depiction of a similar situation-a black woman going to bat ultimately for rights to herself (June Jordan reference), and her opponent is a not only a white man but a politician with ulterior motives ("This is an old and primary tool of all oppressors to keep the oppressed occupied with the master's concerns"). Watch the movie if you haven't already. It's very fitting for some themes we've covered in class and relevant to society as well. Great movie, watch it and thank me later.
Anyway, I call the first link the "crash-course" into the background of the Oscars and it's surrounding politics. The way that it's set up is undeniably discriminatory. Of course there's a sprinkle of brown faces, not because they're talented money makers but for "fairness" aka affirmative action purposes. I can understand why Audre Lorde wasn't readily supplying how to integrate instructions... because no one is oblivious to what's going! The way people are passive, assertive, or aggressive speaks to their character. Take the third link I posted. Sheryl Lee Ralph makes a snide remark regarding the attitude to take in showbiz sometimes (which really made me commend Mo'Nique's speech at the Oscars more)which to me says she lack integrity for herself. It says to me that she's willing to be that puppet on the string which we've had more than our share of in history. We need more Mo'Niques and more Joyce's amongst black people because obviously we still can't leave it up to black men to speak for us women either (hence John Legend and Common Oscar speeches).

Recap of first section

I guess overall in this session we've seen black women fight for their rights, we've seen black women submit,  we've seen black women assert their agency over themselves. All of these in regard to sex. After talking to a resident in my building we were discussing a few things about society and he responds, "Well society teaches us that sex sells." My response was, "Yea, well at what expense?"

Most people believe that sex is the only thing to sell.. so they feed into that lie to make the fast money.  If it's not sexual then they are the slave roles. I believe Oprah addressed this on her show a few years ago and sadly we are still having the same discussions.

I look forward to the day when we don't have to have these types of discussions because their will be more of a variety for the types of roles a black female can receive.  I don't think the stereotype of the over sexualized black woman will go away or the slave but their are plenty types in between and they can all be displayed more. I want people to be aware of what's going on.

In Cam's research he talked about people being brainwashed or something to the effect of believing what is meant to entertain. If people were more aware and able to identify these things I feel like these things wouldn't be. More people wouldn't be so accepting of the powers that be and more would be attempting to carve out their own space. More would demand room to be made for them.

"The Black Woman As The Site Of... Recap=)"

"The Black Woman As The Site Of..." unit got me to see things from a different perspective on certain topics, not so much that I thought SO differently before we began the semester, but just from the standpoint of considering that many of the events we've covered are EVERYDAY occurrences for some black women.

However, I think that "Corregidora" by far was the selection that has the most lingering effect in my mind in terms of seeing the plight of the black woman that often goes unheard, unnoticed, or just flat out ignored by the mainstream society and media. Again, rape is nothing new that we haven't heard of before, but generational and almost hereditary rape is another story entirely. I had my reservations about the graphic and violent details that Ursa's great grandmother told her about  "Old Man Corregidora" when she was only 5, but the reality is that SLAVERY was graphic and violent and that this story is just a small fictitious re-enactment of what literally did take place for many black women at the hands of their white slave masters who were conscious of the metaphorical branding that they would engrave on the on the minds of not only black women, but on the minds of black people for generations to come.

Corregidora is the "evidence" of those crimes against the race, and I place specific emphasis on evidence because it was a recurring motif throughout the story which more or less came to define not only who she was, but ultimately who she became, which unfortunately is the reality of far too many black women in this country. We covered so much more, but at the base of it all, at least in my opinion, is victim mentality, and the constant battle of how to successfully move past it into the women and ultimately the people that we are destined to be as a culture, since we all come from women in the beginning regardless of gender.

Rape is a recurring theme in what we've studied so far which, admittedly, was hard for me to stomach initially, because MEN get thrown under the bus an awful lot in what we've previously dissected. However, at the same time I have to realize that although many blanket statements do get tossed around in our class discussions from time to time, it doesn't mean that they necessarily have to apply to me specifically, and in most cases, they generally don't.

As a man, and as a black man, who is "supposed" to hate black women according to the numbers, I do sincerely empathize with them over many of the stigmas and stereotypes that have been automatically associated and attached to the black female "character" that has been constructed by mainstream white society at the expense of the human beings that wear that name. Unit I has offered some viewpoints that I don't totally agree with to be honest, but there's been truth in much of what we've discussed, which has definitely kept me engaged, never any dull moments to say the least.

Sapphire?

I found an article about how people were criticizing executive producer of the now hit, "How to Get Away With Murder". She was bashed by saying how she made it an ok thing to show how to be an 'Angry black woman'. It kind of reminded be about what we have been talking about in class about the Sapphire.

http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/10/04/4203484/on-culture-watch-that-term-angry.html

This photo represents the black woman and her ability to be silent yet strong. Using the body a symbol of strength rather than the sexual gaze.

Losing Sight

       The section The Black Woman's as a Site of...expressed many different meanings throughout the reading selections. When we did the first assignment in class we were asked, what a black woman's body represented for us? I only had one response. Since then the readings have broaden my horizon. But it all boils down too the fact that black women were once oversexualized by white men. Now its white men, black men, white women, and black women contributing to the epidemic.

      As black women I believe we know our worth but it is being overshadowed by other things. Black women, especially artists, may feel by wearing less clothing and advertising their bodies will get them more attention. They do not see the bigger picture. Yes you may get more noticed or recognized ,but why would you want that to be the deciding factor on whether you can establish your own empire? Black women are allowing the black female objectivity to overcome the black female subjectivity. The way that black females are portraying themselves in the media is allowing for our youth to be corrupted and also the perception of black women corrupted. If all that is seen or shown about black females are sex and aggression, how can we a black women and black people be upset with the stereotypes? I am not agreeing with stereotypes not in the least, but these reality t.v. shows nor our music do anything but encourage them. J. Cole said in his song, No Role Modelz "My only regret was too young for Lisa Bonet. My only regret was too young for Nia Long. Now all I'm left with is hoes from reality shows. Hand her script the bitch probably couldn't read along. My only regret was too young for Sade Adu. My only regret could never take Aaliyah home. Now all I'm left with is hoes up in Greystone. With the stale face cause they know it's they song. She shallow but the pussy deep.(Repeat 3x)". His whole album is fire and speaks on a lot of issues going on with the black community especially black women. In this verse he is speaking on famous black women who did not have to exploit themselves and paved their way through entertainment. Cole is wishing there were more black women like this to represent us when all we have are people negatively portraying us in the media. When Cole gets down to the last part of the verse he is trying to get across the fact that today women's personalities are shallow, which lead them to become very sexual with their bodies.
        It is a proven fact in order to be successful in the entertainment world you do not have to be naked all of the time. There are ways to show off your curves or still have a sexual aspect in your performance without showing every inch of your body. I'm not saying we should cut off every sexual aspect about us, but why must there be so much? Why must we subject to the white man's gaze? As black women, we need to look at the bigger picture and realize even though these attributes may be what we want to show, it may not be what needs to be shown. We have our youth looking and listening to the media, the t.v. shows, and music. They are susceptible to what they call their "role models" saying and doing each day. We do not see the bigger pictures, we're playing into the white man's gaze causing the black woman's body as a site of exploitation, commodity, dichotomy etc.

Black Media Stereotypes: Sapphire- The Angry Black Woman

This gives us an excellent portrayal of how the media manipulates everyone into thinking that all black woman are angry. The fact that they tried to portray the first lady as such was absurd to me. They will truly go to any lengths and it's quite pathetic. This video gives a good example of women in the media who represent the trope Sapphire. It also touches on how women of other races are considered "b*tches" or just being on their period when standing up for themselves or expressing a difference of opinion. Very interesting.

Big Talk: Represnetation of Black Women

I found this video quite interesting, while in most cases when someone asks what is the first thing you think of when thinking of a black woman the feed back is always negative. The responses in this particular video were positive as a whole. The way we are represented in the media as stated is sometimes false but has become how the worlds view. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuXTM5qTb7g

The Average Black Girl

I seen this video on Facebook a week ago and it really spoke to me. I feel Ernestine Johnson hits on a lot of points that we discussed in class throughout unit 1 in her poem.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tN4Zulagb8