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DiscussionBlackface
I am a black american woman and I expressed annoyance to the constant mentions and comparisons of drag and/or transgenderism to blackface on Ovarit yesterday but the comment thread was removed so I thought I'd make a post.
I've been here quite a while and I did not ever really comment on the mentions of blackface but I feel like I shouldn't have to hold my tongue on something so frequently brought up like blackface, especially as a black american woman. Racism is not often discussed here, unless it's some TRA showing their ass, but it's not something deeply discussed about how it affects women of color. But something that is brought up a lot race-wise is blackface, often to prove a point. Imagine being a black member here and just constantly seeing mentions of it. And based on demographics probably by non-black members. I'm not saying there aren't black women who don't think drag and blackface are equivalent. I don't think they are equivalent but whether they are equivalent or not is not really may point. Frankly it makes me uncomfortable how often I see it. I don't like when TRAs use black people's oppression to prove points, and I find it no different when it's done here.
Plenty of users here understand how wrong it is when TRAs say how something is "no different than segregation"...so why say something is no different than blackface? The oppression of black people is not some measurement tool that everyone needs to use for comparison.
Drag and transgenderism can be critiqued on their own without the need to compare it to something else. In fact I think comparing them to blackface does more harm than good.
I would like to find another parallel that isn’t offensive to black women yes. Because they’re the afterthought in every feminist movement.
I suppose it’s different if you are also advocating for black women.
How does this one person speak for all black women? She's just sharing her personal view and you've decided never to bring up blackface again. She isn't even saying never say it again; she's saying it's done too loosely and too frequently. She says she personally thinks the two can be critiqued independently, but other black women hold that the comparison is apt and useful.
People can hold a different opinion and still advocate for black women. I believe black women are fully capable of forming rock-solid arguments without completely relying on appeals to emotion. That's me advocating for black women's full humanity.
Black women are not a monolith and one black woman's ideas about what's best might actually be a disservice to black women. Being offended isn't a great argument.
I definitely didn’t say anything about her speaking for all black women. I’m trying to be more mindful with my words. I don’t know why we are having this back and forth or why you’re saying what black women really need as if there isn’t black women in the post talking about it you can engage with.
Because women and girls are socialized to defer to anyone who says they are offended and that includes deferring to emotional appeals concerned with race that shut down discussions that need to be had. I see it as posturing, that's why.
I actually agree with that. Maybe I’m subconsciously doing that to an extent. But I’m also working on being anti-racist at this moment, so I’m trying to be more open minded and listen to black women about their feelings.
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You have beaten your point repetitively now. I get it.
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