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soyoudontcareaboutblackwome-blog · 8 years ago

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Misogynoir

How Stereotypes Last Forever: Misogynoir

When I think of Black Women I think of my mother and strong black females leader such as Angela Davis and Assata Shakur. As I come into Adulthood I recognize that society doesn’t appreciate Black women. Some people see Black women as undesirable,uneducated, and revolting. This perception of Black women dates back to the dehumanization of a thousand years dating back to slavery. Black women are discriminated against, victimized, always made to be the underdog and not recognized for their value. This is commonly perpetrated by the media.

You may say not everything has to do with slavery but this particular issue does. Black women being mistreated is not anything new we have been victimized by society. In the days of slavery black women were used as chattel to cook,clean, and birth children to make more slaves to be bought and sold. The job that was forced upon them came with physical,verbal,mental, and sexual abuse, In 2015 Macias stated “And while Black Women were also producing children who would inevitably be stolen and forced to enter the the labor market via chattel slavery, they were also simultaneously forced to work plantations and be sexually available to both black and white men.” Kelly Macias comments on the invisibility of Black women. I witnessed that disgusting situation in the Academy Award Winning film “12 Years a Slave” based on a the memoir of the same name by Solomon Northup. Northup was a black man from New York who was tricked into slavery. While working on a plantation he befriends a young slave girl named Patsey played by actress Lupita Nyongo. In the film she is repeatedly sexually assaulted by her white male slave owner Edwin Epps portrayed by Michael Fassbender. The very graphic depictions of the abuse Patsey suffered stuck with me. One particular scene was the beating she endured for asking another slave owner for soap. Edwin Epps savagely beats Patsey to please his jealous wife. Mrs. Epps is well aware of the sexual assaults but is still very jealous of the fact that her husband would rather leave from their bed in the middle of the night to rape an underage Black girl than have sex with her. Patsey is tied to a wooden stake and is humiliated and beaten. Her back is whipped continuously in front of an audience.

That image stuck in my mind. I did some research on Patsey. I discovered that at the time of her suffering that abuse she was only 12 or 13 years old. I felt ill while reading it I kept thinking about humiliating that and degraded she felt. Patsey wasn't the only slave girl exploited by a white man. America’s third president Thomas Jefferson had a 37 year relationship with a slave girl named Sarah “Sally” Hemmings and had 6 children with her. She was underage when the relationship started.

After Slavery three stereotypes of Black women were created from tv and false perceptions. On a popular TV show Amos n’ Andy from the 1950s actress Ernestine Wade played Sapphire Stevens. Wade’s character was emasculating, loud, aggressive, angry, stubborn, and unfeminine. What people of that time did not grasp was that Sapphire was european males perceptions of black women. Even though she was not a real person due to lack of race representation Sapphire became a toxic blue print of black women.

Those negative stereotypes were portrayed again in the 1985 film “The Color Purple” based on the novel of the same name. It was a box office success and was nominated for 11 Academy Awards and 5 Golden Globes. It was both Oprah Winfrey and Whoopi Goldberg’s film debut. The film showcased examples of domestic violence, incest, pedophilia, poverty, racism, and sexism. Winfrey’s character in the film Sofia Johnson has the same traits as Sapphire. Sofia is married to Harpo played my actor Willard Pugh. Harpo is very submissive of his wife and makes several unsuccessful tries to dominate her. Equipped with poor advice from Celie played by Whoopi Goldberg Harpo attempts to physically abuse her. Sofia confronts Celie giving birth to the famous line “All my life I had to fight” Sofia continues her statement with brief recap of abuse she endured by her family during her upbringing. Although one of my favorite movies it pushes a faulty generalization that strong black women have been abused.

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The Jezebel stereotype was used to sexualize black women. When European explorers came to Africa they were fascinated by the nudity of black women due to their hot climate and cultural wear. They sexualized the nudity of African women and equated it to promiscuity. If you’ve ever read the bible you know the biblical character Jezebel was the Queen of Israel she was hypersexual, seductive, manipulative, and an exploiter of Men’s weaknesses. This stereotype was used to victim blame black women when they were sexually abused or assaulted by white men. This particular stereotype holds a strong hand to the control and constant judgement of black women expressing their sexuality.

The third stereotype is Mammy. Mammy is self-sacrificing, nurturing, loving, and assexual. This stereotype was first introduced in 1852 in the anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin with a character named Aunt Chloe. In the 1939 film Gone with the Wind Mammy is played by Hattie McDaniel. “The basic description of Mammy is generally a very fat black woman with huge breasts capable of breastfeeding all the white children of the world. She is a domestic, and was born to it. She cooks like no one else, and has the best recipes. She is loyal and kind, superstitious, religious, gives cleaning tips, is always at the ready to advise housewives and their daughters — a great friend!, but what’s essential is using her image to emphasize a supposedly good relationship between masters and slaves that attempts to mask the glaring power relationship actually going on.” Suzanne Jardim explained in 2016. Although Jardim is afro-brazilian she details how these stereotypes have traveled to her native country .

Last but not least is the Welfare Queen. This Welfare Queen Stereotype comes from former US President Ronald Reagan. The welfare queen is irresponsible, unwed, and single. She has several children with different fathers who don’t help raise the children. This stereotype opened up the door to the common myth that Black men don’t take care of their children. “At a campaign rally in 1976, Ronald Reagan introduced the welfare queen into the public conversation about poverty: “She used 80 names, 30 addresses, 15 telephone numbers to collect food stamps, Social Security, veterans’ benefits for four nonexistent deceased veteran husbands, as well as welfare. Her tax-free cash income alone has been running $150,000 a year.” Said by Rachel Black and Aleta Sprauge when addressing the ridicule of Black women receiving government assistance. This false narrative has been branded on the backs of Black women. Shaming and accusing them of being lazy and not being able to take care of themselves.

These stereotypes are ugly and untrue they became a hasty generalization making it very difficult for black women to respected in society. Due to the these things black women are discriminated against disrespected and misrepresented starting at a very young age

In 2017 Georgetown Law published a study titled Girlhood Interrupted: The Erasure of Black Girls’ Childhood. Georgetown Law used the word adultification to define the discrimination of black girls. The study applied statistics from 325 adults of various racial and ethnic backgrounds and educational levels. A questionnaire was conducted and revealed that from ages 4-19 black girls are seen as more mature to adults. The data from the study recovered that adults perceive black girls as more educated on sex and less needing of protection than white girls. The study presented statistics stating that black girls are more 2 times more likely to be suspended for minor infractions than white girls and our 2.7 times more likely to be referred to the juvenile justice system. “These findings show that pervasive stereotypes of black women as hypersexualized and combative are reaching into our schools and playgrounds and helping rob black girls of the protections other children enjoy,” said report coauthor Jamilia Blake, an associate professor at Texas A&M University. “We urge legislators, advocates and policymakers to examine the disparities that exist for black girls in the education and juvenile justice systems and to pursue reforms that preserve childhood for all.” The use of the Zero Tolerance policy in the school system only intensifies the bias and violence against black girls. This policy was created during the Gun Free School of 1994. ZTP is a strict enforcement of regulations and bans against undesirable behaviors or possessions of items. 1 in 3 Black Females are suspected to be incarcerated in their lifetime. The focus of the pipeline to prison have shifted from the focus of Black and Latino males to Black females. The use of excessive force in school is commonly pressed on black females students. “The 2012 arrest of 6-year-old Salecia Johnson, a Black female student in Georgia who was handcuffed at school and removed in a police car, raises questions about how disciplinary policies are enacted at the micro level in classrooms.” Dorothy Hines- Datiri and Dorinda J. Carter Andrews examined how the Zero Tolerance Policy criminalizes Black girls and affects their education.

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Here we have a video of a school resource officer using excessive force on a black female student

These injustices that I have just explained is called Misogynoir. Misogynoir is misogyny directed towards black women where race and gender both play roles in bias. It was coined by queer black feminist Moya Bailey, who created the term to address misogyny directed toward black women in American visual and popular culture. Bailey used the term in 2010 on an essay titled “They aren’t talking about me…” posted on The Crunk Feminist Collective blog .” I was looking for precise language to describe why Renisha McBride would be shot in the face, or why The Onion would think it’s okay to talk about Quvenzhané the way they did, or the hypervisibility of Black women on reality TV, ” Bailey stated in an interview.

Misogynoir can easily be prevented by educating yourself and others about the dangers of sexism and racism. I suggest reading books about intersectional feminism and race relations in America. These books are titled “Women, Race, and Class” written by Angela Davis former Professor and the first Female Black Panther member “Between the World and Me” Written by Ta-nehisi Coates an American author and correspondent for the Atlantic. As a victim and former perpetrator of Misogynoir I recommend expanding your horizons and open your eyes to the versatility of Black women. Watch Tv shows with Black female leads or all Black female cast that aren't reality shows such as Insecure which was created and produced by a Black woman. Let’s remove the label of Black women having to be modest to respected and stop shaming them for the way they dress,speak, or wear their hair. Remove the label of Black women only being singers or actresses we are more than entertainers we are entrepreneurs,educators, writer, lawyers, athletes,business owners, and activist. In 2014 the Black Lives Matter Movement was created by three black women Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi. Their movement has been called racist,unorganized, and anti-police. These Black women stayed strong and refused to be discouraged by criticism.

What I’m saying is Black women deserve respect,recognition and protection. They are more than stereotypes and statistics they are human beings. Living in a post-racial society where color does matter and we have to take consideration the disadvantages that black women face in America.

#misogyny #misogynoir #racisim #black lives matter #lupita nyong'o #12 years a slave #moya bailey #angela davis #the color purple #amos n andy #stereotypes #mammy #jezebel #welfare queen #sapphire #zero tolerance #ernestine wade

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