Check Your Privilege.

So, I just saw this article on Facebook and it infuriated me. I know class is over but I figured I would post it to see if anyone had any thoughts on it. I'm literally fuming right now.

Anyways, I will miss you all and I hope everyone has a good finals week and a great summer!


-Gabby Castriota


(Link to article: Yuck.)

Lemonade for Thought.

During the last weeks of class, the main focus and discussion has been  centered around the book Fault Lines. This book opens the door to the voiceless people of Haiti , that society as a whole simply forgot about or pushed to the side. The book too speaks of the destruction that was left behind after the  horrific Earthquake, as well as what the people themselves were left behind with. Also alluding to how the aid that people thought the Haitian nation as whole was receiving, only replenished about 10,000 homes out of 300,000, basically saying how nothing was done. The way I plan to tie this into a recent news scene is by comparing this entire disaster to the newly released visual album by Beyoncé  entitled Lemonade.

Over the weekend Beyoncé released her latest album, which of course sent cyber space into a frenzy of overzealous fans and supporters. Personally I am not a huge fan of Beyoncé , I just never felt the diehard urge to be apart of the "Beyhive" but still I decided to see what the huge uproar was truly about. The video its self is about an hour long I'll attach a link to the bottom. During the visual album Beyoncé begins to release some well kept secrets to her fan base. She begins to expose hidden parts of her life and relationship with her husband that she was able to keep well under wraps. The destruction that relationship brought into her life. This is where I began to think back to class videos, as well as the book and articles we had been reading. Destruction in Haiti of course is ten times as massive as the destruction done by Jay Z's infediltiy issues, but unfortunately this is what society tunes into. As the video continued, Beyoncé seemed to go through some mistrust, betrayal, and problems within herself due to the ways of her husband(the storm). She speaks on how it literally destroyed her for awhile, her pain felt as real as the Haitians to me , still no real comparison as far as situational , but the emotion is what I'm more so reaching for. Mid way through the video her mood shifts from destructed to enraged. Here another strong emotion (rage)the feeling that I received while reading about everything that went on in Haiti as well as the feeling a lot of Haitians felt themselves for themselves. First the Haitian community was destroyed by the massive storm that sent there lives into chaos and destruction, a few months pass and that feeling too turned into rage, because of inadequate help and concern. Coming closer towards the ending of the Lemonade video, Beyoncé feelings yet change again(trying to express how she is truly only a human, just as everyone else) as she begins to pick up the pieces that she at one time thought could never be restored. Relaying this back to the last video we watched in class, in that video I feel the Haitians left behind voiceless finally begin to restore the pieces as well, having to live and make work the best way they could with the destructed but still usable resources. To wrap up the Lemonade video Beyoncé goes into a mood of forgiveness and hope, willingness to look for better days ahead. The way I tied this to the Haitians was by simply realizing that they too are human beings, vulnerable at a time of loss, they really had no one to blame or forgive but my point is the other aspect of how , they had to pick themselves up and simply move forward the best way they could.

Learning about the Haitian nation was a great way to close this semester, because it allowed us to dig deep within ourselves and pull out genuine emotions for the people who were effected and forgotten. In no way does the Lemonade video express how much of a tragic loss the people of Haiti faced but it does tie in when you look at it as a cry for help, in which I did. I think Beyoncé's purpose was too open up and show the world the storm she too had to come out of as a women. Proving my point with the Haitian Nation , it seemed society after the storm recognized the citizens as something other the humans with needs and emotions just as you and I. Her cry for help was given a voice just as the cry from the Haitians was given a voice through Fault Lines. Breaking free from silence and restriction, allows one to enter restoration and I feel the Haitians as well as Beyoncé can now begin that restoration process since the storm is over. Life gave them lemons, now they must turn it into Lemonade

https://goo.gl/wV2OEH — with Beyoncé.

Haitian Survivors

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYGm_VUb_ug
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuRb1vimyqY

During this week’s lecture, we have been focused on Fault Lines—a book revealed the dark side of Haiti after earthquake. Among all the issues we have been discussed, female’s problem was the most concerned issue to me. After reading the book, and watching above videos, it is obvious that the situation of women in Haiti after earthquake is marginalized by its vulnerability and invisibility.
    The most serious trouble regarding Haitian females is the increased rate of rape. After earthquake, Haitians are placed mainly in transit camps consist of flimsy tents, which provides a living condition with no secure and protection towards females. Most females are struggling with sufficiency of food and clothing. Since they are not able to gain any finance after earthquake: no job, no salary, no money. More seriously, their possessions are most likely to be stolen by others with the lack of security in their residential area. They cannot stay at home all day just to watch over their properties, but if they left, they might face the great loss of their remains. Hence, the situation just gets worse and worse, until it reaches an impasse.
    Food and clothing are not the primary concerns of Haitian females. The security of their own body was the most important and urgent issue right now. Some Haitian women mentioned that rape is one of the most common crime in their camps, too often so people would not take it seriously. They even indicated that some rape victims might still live in the same camp as the rapists, because they got nowhere else to go to. Most rape victims are young girls, who most likely lost their families during the earthquake. So they have no one to talk to, or there is no one to help them. They even mentioned some young girl cried for help after the disaster, but no one reaches out, so they turned to sell their own body, in exchange for money or food, to survive. Furthermore, the lack of medical treatment was one of the biggest crisis in the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti. Some females would be forced to sleep with people, who are in charge of medicines. Because they have families who urgently need it to survive.
    Life is crucial, but human beings are cruel. All those Haitian females are survivors of the earthquake, but a twist of fate made them victims of daily life. I almost lost hope on life after watching these documentaries, but still, man’s nature at birth is good. Solidarity with those communities of Haitian camps lead people to organize a security group under self-government to provide protection over females and families. Some outstanding females even started women’s group for females to gain a sense of personal power. I found a global website focuses on defending human rights and defeats poverty for everyone, especially small countries like Haiti. It is called “Action Aid”, if you have time and energy or even a little sympathy, please go check on the website and offer a little help to change someone’s life! The following is the link of this website.
http://www.actionaidusa.org/

Voluntourism: Who Stands to Profit?

This last week, we have discussed the implications of globalization and the far-reaching effects of an exploitative, capitalist system.  In the documentary Life and Death, directed by Stephanie Black, elements of Jamaica Kincaid's text, A Small Place are used to contextualize the plight of Jamaican citizens within a larger and corrupt, economic system.  The narrative style of this documentary places emphasis on the tourist as complicit in a system of oppression which serves to perpetuate Western Imperialism.

When one thinks of a tourist, one might picture a person with a camera slung around their neck, feet clad in socks paired with flip flops, wearing a cheesy Hawaiian shirt and bright red sunburn, eager to get to the nearest beach.  However, in recent times, tourism has evolved and seemingly gained a conscious. These days it appears as though everyone has a friend who has recently returned from a so-called 'Third-World' country eager to share stories of their experiences building orphanages and teaching English. White guilt has a new face and it now goes by 'Voluntourism.'


Don't get me wrong, volunteering is a wonderful endeavor and many communities stand to benefit from the hard work of volunteers. I only seek to call into question the corporatization of what is fast-becoming one of the most popular forms of travel for young people.


In an article for NPR, Theresa Higgs, who heads the organization United Planet comments: "What I think often gets lost is the host communities [...] Are they gaining? Are they winning? Are they true partners in this? Or are they simply a means to an end to a student's learning objective, to someone's desire to have fun on vacation and learn something?"

Under the guise of benevolence (*cough cough* paternalism), one might argue that the popularity of Voluntourism works to disguise and perhaps even perpetuate larger systems of oppression.  What are your opinions on the Voluntourism Industry?  In what way might this industry work to damage the very communities it claims to help?

How Can We Shapeshift America?

This week in class we were faced with an exercise where we had to put ourselves in the shoes of the women in Shapeshifters and write encouraging letters to them, hoping to keep heads high and looking forward to the future. Thursday was an experience where I felt confused and unaware of how to go about writing a letter appropriately, but what even defines 'appropriate'? Every situation defines what appropriate means and in my case, writing a letter to La Tonya pushed me to realize that just because I may be uncomfortable addressing her poem, it’s what her poem means to her that matters. That was La T’s sense of agency, that was her way on owning her decisions, life, and sexuality, and it was a form in which she finally had power to control something on her terms. That is how she stood up for herself and that in itself if unbelievably difficult.

Watching A Girl Like Me was difficult. To think that there are mothers going to such lengths to bleach their skin and maybe their children’s skin is heart breaking but who has been there to tell them otherwise? Who has been there to tell them that black is just as beautiful? Recently, thanks to the Dear Black Girl campaign, people have been spreading the word and reminding little black girls of their worth and potential.  I stumbled upon an article in relation to the Dear Black Girl campaign where a women wrote a letter to a black girl. Stephanie, the women who wrote this letter, didn’t necessarily fit into the guidelines of the campaign but decided to comment anyways. (You can read her letter here). Her words were honest, meaningful and encouraging; setting an example to women of all races that every word of encouragement is another step towards helping young black girls to love themselves!

Unfortunately, young black girls are too often described similarly to “broken” neighborhoods, even though they were brought up generation after generation of family members who initially dealt with the discrimination of the housing market. Yet, people assume that families in poverty “put it on themselves” or “aren’t doing anything to fix it”. Gorski stated, “The myth of a “culture of poverty” distracts us from a dangerous culture that does exist – the culture of classism… The most destructive tool of the culture of classism is the deficit theory”. The deficit theory is lethal due to it’s dependency on stereotypes and not taking into account the systematic conditions in which people live in. By ignoring such circumstances and social influences, we do not understand the real and true picture. Thus, leaving families hindered in more ways than one. The need to understand completely and entirely, the history of every situation is crucial. History is the reason why things are the way they are today. Without understanding the history of different topics, we will never truly understand the issues at hand in today’s world.  So, what steps can we take to reverse the entrenchment of whiteness? How can we spread the importance of understanding interstionality when looking at a situation such as this? (Not sure if there is anyway to truly 'reverse' whiteness, but how do you think we can help?

There Goes the Neighborhood!

Lured in by click bait titles, short running time, and quirky video editing, I’ve always turned to Buzzfeed’s videos in my times of need (and by times of needs, I mean when I’m procrastinating really hard.) Recently, I fell into a rabbit hole of videos and came across this one, and I was surprised when it fell quite nicely in line with we have been exposed to so far in class. Most people will happily discuss issues and the intersections of race and gender but often leave out class, a very essential and defining factor in someone’s place in society. America values the bootstrap theory, the myth that class mobility is possible for everyone and that there is nothing holding them back. America is “classless” by nature; however, the reluctance and exclusion of discussion about the socio-economic state of American’s citizens, especially those face with more than one oppression, just perpetuates the vicious cycle of poverty.

As we watched in the documentary “Race the Power of an Illusion: Part II: The House we Live In”, racist housing practices along with white flight and urban migration, also known as white flight into the suburbs, helped to uphold de facto segregation. Many of the housing projects, with the loss of capital, jobs, and reputations, began to deteriorate, and the property values fell. However, in came gentrification! Huzzah! (Not really) As seen in the Buzzfeed video, it’s when usually upper-class white people come into neighborhoods that are viewed as deteriorating with the hopes of reinvesting and renewing the “undesirable” neighborhoods. However, this only benefits those who belong to the upper-class not the residents who already live there. In the video, Kai mentions that his family used to live in his house for $800 a month, but due to the Ellis Law, were kicked out and had it sold for $1.3 million with no benefit to them. The rapidly rising cost of living leaves so many unable to afford or even recognize the neighborhood that was once theirs.

It was very hard for me to understand this assumption of space and belonging under the guise that the new people were trying to make the neighborhood better, not for those already there, but for the new upper-class neighbors. Gentrification is not something natural and necessary, but just the way in which classist and racist systems intersect in order to maximize profit, serving a higher class while alienating the supposed middle class and excluding the lower class fully.

These new residents come in and make assumptions about the people and practices of the neighborhood, and while all are not at fault, there is a sense of privilege and entitlement. They make no efforts to learn the history of the neighborhood, and a whitewashing of the neighborhood begins. These marginalized people have created a community out of their exclusion from society, and yet once again, they have been displaced. As seen in Aimee Meredith Cox’s Shapeshifters, if you devalue the neighborhood, you also devalue the people who live there and easily transfix the descriptions of the neighborhood onto the people who previously lived there. Poverty easily distorts people's visions and expectations of those steeped in it.

Have you seen gentrification in neighborhoods before? Do you feel it is necessary? If you have personally been affected or had a hand in gentrification, what do you think you can do to alert everyone to these practices and possibly better/eliminate them? What other intersections of race and class are not as obvious in society?

Immigrant Minor: Ace Attorney?

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-immigration-toddler-lawyers-videos-snap-html-htmlstory.html

The topic of "illegal immigration" is a heated one in this country. Just looking at a Google News search of "immigration" (the results of which changed almost completely after only a few hours) revealed articles on the current political races, protests defending immigrants, governmental action against immigrants, and more. Texts like The Latino Threat, films like 9500 Liberty, and articles like "Alabama's Shame" point out this passionate debate and, especially in the lattermost example, note the troubles many immigration policies force on immigrants. Such stories are common and, therefore, already directly addressed by the above readings, so the link above leads to a Los Angeles Times story discussing a particular judge's opinion that three-year-olds can adequately defend themselves in immigration court.

I am unashamedly biased on this: no, they cannot; they are three. The aforementioned judge tries to argue that he had taught toddlers immigration law, but, as far as I am aware, gave no evidence to support this rather ridiculous claim besides his word. On the other side sits numerous immigration lawyers who decided to video "trials" of their toddlers to show just how lost children are when faced with the questions and demands of immigration court. Sure, YouTube videos might not have the same kind of credibility as an article in a peer reviewed journal, but they have more than assertions of the capability of three-year-old children in a courtroom.

As The Latino Threat discusses, the general attitude toward Latin American immigrants (and anybody thought to be a Latin American immigrant) is not good; this is a particularly extreme example of it. Some people would deny toddlers legal counsel, something that already is not assured for non-minors in immigration cases. This is, quite frankly, yet another blatant attempt to force Latin Americans out of this country regardless of how it would impact their lives, as well as those of everyone else involved, by targeting the defenseless.

What is your opinion on the idea of toddlers as competent in the courtroom? Is there any case you can think of in which a three-year-old would be able to adequately defend themselves legally?

Racial Profiling

 

This week, we watched a documentary about immigration wars of 2007-2008 in Prince William Country-- 9500 Liberty. The recorder showed us one of the tougher local immigration enforcement laws in the land. After watching this film, a serious issue and topic has been brought up in mind, which is Racial Profiling. "Racial Profiling" refers to the discriminatory practice by law enforcement officials of targeting individuals for suspicion of crime based on the individual's race, ethnicity, religion or national origin. In the film, the Country granted a law which requires the police officers to stop and question people of color, who appear to be undocumented immigrants. Apparently, from most whites' point of view, this seemed to be a logic and reasonable law for safety, however, if we bring it to a general level which involves everyone-- people of color or colorless, this would be a very offensive and racist institutional act.

After the civil rights movement of the 1950 dismissed explicitly racist laws, racism became colorblind to survive. However, it did not mean that the issue was resolved, and thereby, we already lived in a ideological society with an absolute racism-free zone. On the contrary, the issues of racial profiling went underground, which made it more complex and hard to settle down. Nowadays, although no law explicitly allows for racial profiling by law enforcement, it still related to the institutions. For instance, the Supreme Court's first step to sanction racial profiling was Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (1968), an 8-1 ruling that developed the "reasonable suspicion" standard. The Court, held that the Fourth Amendment's prohibition on "unreasonable searches and seizures" is not violated when a police officer has "reasonable suspicion" "in light of his experience" that a crime has been committed. By opening the door to greater law enforcement discretion with respect to whom to sop and search, the Supreme Court in Terry gave its first approval of racial profiling.

As a result of this deep, underground racial prejudice among the institutions, lots of people was victimized by it, and it is becoming a potential danger to people of color in their daily life. One of the worst outcome of racial profiling is the ultimate death  of the victims. Jonny Gammage, 31 year-old African American male, died on October 12, 1995, after being pulled over by five police officers from a predominately white community. Those police officers indicated that Gammage started to struggle with them which was the reason he got killed, however, a witness indicated that he saw one officer started the fight and while Gammage lay on the pavement under their command, the others began to kick and hit at him. First fact of this incident, the police officers are all white, and the victim was black. Secondly, the reason that police officers stopped Gammage's car at the first place was due to his race. Moreover, the brutal and unreasonable act of the five police officers was based on their personal prejudice toward people of Color. Therefore, there is no doubt that racial profiling is the major cause of this tragic incident.

The most outrageous problem about racial profiling is not only the tragic incidents and victims, but the fact that only a few people recognized this issue among our society. It has been covered up or twisted by the authorities or someone with a strong sense of racial prejudice for too long. Thereby, it is our duty to reveal the truth to public. We must find a way to undermine the discrimination towards people of color, otherwise, the American Dream would fall.

http://articles.latimes.com/1995-11-16/news/mn-3792_1_police-officers

 

http://www.digplanet.com/wiki/Terry_v._Ohio

Due Process!

In class this week we had a structured class discussion on Whiteness and Privilege. During the discussion the sense of uncomforted was tremendous because of the touchiness of the subject. Every individual was asked to choose three things from that could be related back to from "28 common attitudes". 28  common attitudes is based off of the "Common Racist Attitudes and Behaviors" ,"That indicate a detour or wrong turn into white guilt denial or defensiveness". As I read the 28 common attitudes it began to spark a small flame from within as well as having to discuss theses issues openly among the class. The flame was ignited by the enormous feeling of despair as an African American , to know that whiteness itself is the biggest privilege to have and you are one who does not get to experience the gratification of being white always sturs up something within.

Privilege was defined in class as " An invisible package of unearned assets that I c count on cashing in each day , but about which I was  "meant" to remain oblivious". Whiteness in lecture was described purporting to be both nothing and everything. In the 28 common attitudes the one that became the most relatable to me was Due process. Due process in the common 28 attitudes depicts the "Lady of Justice" as being colorblind, also it further explains the difference in interaction with the police force among African Americans and non African Americans.

Recently the news has been flooded with stories surrounded around the brutality and injustice that African Americans have to face from police officers. In my opinion police officers were designed to help not harm people no matter what the color of their skin may be. Mike Brown, Sandra Bland, Trayvon Martin are all very popular names that have been heard throughout the media, all of these deaths related to police brutality whose cases received in my sole option no justice, because we still live in an era of Whiteness. A study done by mappingpolicevionce.org shows that African Americans are three times more likely to be killed by police then any other race. Proving that the police officer's have changed from a being known as hero's to now being known as harmer's.

As an African American woman it terrifies me to think if I am ever stopped alone by a white police officer that I might not make it home. In the due process overview from 28 common attitudes it mentions how whites tell there kids to just be polite and everything will be just fine, while on the other end of the spectrum it would terrify my mom to even think of an officer stopping me, because of the things she has seen in the news. It amazes me to think how different the world really can be through the eyes of someone else. The feeling of being so privileged so care free, having the sole ability to be worry free.

Whiteness is truly a privilege but to be black is an accomplishment. No one person is better then the next and due process law  balances the power of law and the land and protects the individual person from it. Meaning everyone is entitled to justices , so my question is when will WE ALL get that?

"Heritage Not Hate"

The Confederate flag gained national attention early summer of last year when Dylann Roof took it upon himself to attempt to ignite a full-blown "race-war."  The basement of Emanuel African Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina became the scene of a horrible mass shooting perpetrated by Roof. Roof murdered nine African-Americans, who had gathered in the basement for Thursday night Bible study.  The ferocity of his crime was fueled by blatant and unflinching racism.  But many might claim that his ultimate goal of inciting a war between the races failed.  What exactly does a "race-war" mean?  What would it entail? And what does the Confederate flag have to do with it?

In the Confederate flag, Dylann Roof found personal justification for the horror of his actions.  Social media depicts the young man posing with the Confederate flag, holding a gun.  The individual nature of his crime has allowed for many to write off his interpretation of the Confederate flag as mired in his own personal opinion.  This young man was simply projecting his own mental instability onto the Confederate flag.  However, I argue  that Dylann Roof understood the truth of the Confederate flag, in its entirety.  A truth that the American people choose time and again to cast off and ignore.  

I understand that this piece of 'national news' is not particularly new.  But the casual regularity with which I encounter Confederate flags on a daily basis here in Tuscaloosa will never cease to amaze me.  

Dylann Roof cannot be as "mentally unstable" as those who blind themselves so that they may lay claim to the Confederate flag as "heritage not hate."  The simple act of placing a Confederate flag bumper sticker on the back window of a car belies the simple act of walking into a predominantly African-American Bible study with the intention of inciting a "race-war" and point-blank shooting everyone in the room.

Failing to incite a "race-war" ultimately means that Dylann Roof failed to incite a widespread violent response.  Violence inflicted in the name of racism and white supremacy is nothing new.  Roof sought to coax racial violence from the rhetorical shadows and into the hard, physical light of day.  In doing so, he hoped that his actions might evoke backlash so violent as to justify his motives in the first place.  The "race war" already exists and it is entirely one-sided.  

Once again, I know that this is not currently receiving mass attention in the media.  But it is for this very reason that the insidiousness of this symbol drives me to question it's "invisible" role in everyday life.  Ta-Nehisi Coates wrote: "The mettle that it takes to look away from  the horror of our prison system, from police forces transformed into armies, from the long war against the black body, is not forged overnight.  This is the practiced habit of jabbing out one's eyes and forgetting the work of one's hands.  To acknowledge these horrors means turning away from the brightly rendered version of your country as it always has declared itself and turning towards something murkier and unknown" (Between the World and Me, 98).

Please feel free to share in what ways, if any, you disagree with the assertions that I have made in this post.  How can symbolic rhetoric, such as that of the Confederate flag, be transformed to maintain the comfort of middle America?  What other symbols are at work in popular or regional culture and how do they serve to perpetuate damaging ways of thinking abut race in America?

If you would like to read more on the subject:

 http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/21/us/dylann-storm-roof-photos-website-charleston-church-shooting.html?_r=0

 http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/06/take-down-the-confederate-flag-now/396290/ 

   

Formation

                  Happy Black History Month, guys! This week, we focused on How Race Is Made and Ethnic Notions. Between race feeling and race thinking, I believe that there is a lot to discuss with a specific event that took place last Sunday. February is the one month a year dedicated to reminding us to remember the history and events that African Americans have lived through. This past week, Beyoncé performed at the most watched sporting event of the entire year, the Super Bowl. During half time, Beyoncé debuted her song “Formation” and took the audience through a visual time machine. From her powerful lyrics, to the performers thought provoking attire, and their formation, this song’s contribution to the remembrance of black history was crystal clear.

                  So, I’ll give you guys some background on the song in case you haven’t heard it or seen the music video. 1) Beyoncé’s lyrics are KICK A**! This song is basically a tribute to how she became the person she is today, where she came from, and the extremely important events in black history that should never be forgotten. 2) The symbolic imagery and rhetoric in her music video is loud! Between the dancing formation, the reference to the Black Panthers, and postbellum “free” slave attire, she is expressing what seems to me to be her identity as an African American from the South. Now that I’ve explained why I think Beyoncé’s song is clever and expressive, let me tell you about what did NOT sit with me well at all.

                  Tomi Lahren, a television host, posted a video about her ‘final thoughts’ and concerns with Beyoncé’s performance. Right off the bat Lahren says, “First it was ‘Hands up, don’t shoot’, then it was burning down buildings, then it was looting drugs stores, all the way to #OscarsSoWhite, and now even the Super bowl halftime show has become a way to politicize and advance the notion that black lives matter more”. Let me start of by saying, already in that first sentence that she voiced, I already disagree with her. Where does she get off by assuming that this performance was organized to convey and send a message that black lives matter more? (let’s remember, the movement is called “Black Lives Matter”, not “Black Lives Matter More”.

Lahren’s entire video was a rant on how this song “wasn’t about equality, it’s about ram-riding an aggressive agenda down our throats and using fame and entertainment value to do so”.  To be quite honest, she seems to have race feeling and race thinking down pretty well. She’s opinionated and clearly not afraid to express that. But really? Come on, why wouldn’t Beyoncé use the fame and the power she holds to send message to her audience. A message that says, “I’m African American, I’m proud, and I want you all to remember what we lived through and remember to love yourselves”. She has the freedom to address that and I definitely do not believe that should be seen as having an ulterior motive to “overthrow white domination” (as Lahren puts it). Overall, Tomi Lahren’s video was something that I couldn’t disagree with more and I believe she is a prime example of someone who has race thinking and race feeling embedded in them so deeply, that she is blind to the real purpose of Beyoncé’s song.
(Side note: This Saturday night after I had already uploaded this post, SNL did something incredible! They came out with a hilarious skit and showed the ridiculous reactions that Beyonce was getting from white people. Take a look for yourself here: The Day Beyonce Turned Black)

Do you all agree with how my reaction to Tomi Lahren's video? If yes, please explain as I would love to hear your thoughts about it too. If not, explain as well, because maybe I took it the wrong way and maybe you all understand where she might be coming from. How does SNL's skit ring true when making light of white people's reactions to "Formation"? What affect do you believe race thinking and race feeling could hold when it comes to watching Beyoncé’s video?

--Gabby Castriota

Tomi Lahren

Formation

Queer Like Me?

     With the concerns of the #OscarSoWhite issues growing, many feminists have expressed the sentiment that the movie industry is not only overwhelming white but also overwhelming straight. There is not only bias against those who are people of color but those who identify in anyway as queer. While many Black films have been snubbed at the Oscars, a queer-themed movie has never won, and only two actors have won Oscars for playing queer characters that lived throughout the entire movie. Even seeing as it is 2016, this probably came as no surprise to anyone.

      While queer roles and representation exist in visual media, it is often stereotypical and cater to the straight gaze. Queer people aren't seen as people or made with queer audiences in mind; they only exist to embody tropes and symbols and mediating stories through the more "acceptable" perspectives of outsiders. Queer characters are often a footnote in the stories of their straight counterparts, and in their own stories even, they are either deranged, dead, or doomed as if their identities forces the world to constantly punish them. In the ways that people of color are often delegated to roles in movies about their past sufferings or movies that only illuminate the skewed and outdated stereotypes of their people, queer people can not exist in media outside the cookie cutter positions that society has made for them. Any effort to do so is either ignored or belittled.

     These visual representations of queer people begs questions explored and applied to black people in the film Ethnic Notions: if all queer people aren't like that, why do we pretend in movies and television shows that this is the only representation of them that is needed? Why does this say about those who readily create and consume this media? As a queer person, the pervasions of these representation only hurt our community; we don't see these people or roles as relatable, and we then began to see them as fictional and valueless which only serves to excuse and justify the violence, harm, and exclusion that happens to us.

     Personally, I think queer representation is just as necessary as black representation seeing as I am both. There is not one that exists more readily than the other; I cannot only be just black or just queer. Those identities are constantly intersecting. However, there needs to be more representation. Without proper representation in my youth, I was left to think that either my identity was invalid, disgusting, and unwanted, and it wrecked severe havoc on my self-esteem. The idea that I'm still supposed to relate the tired stereotypes that only existed to belittle me in the past is insulting. Maybe that is the message that the mainstream media wishes to invoke, but I reject that notion and do not wish for any queer or black person to grow up with these pervasive beliefs.

     In the vein of How Race is Made, how do you feel the senses, physical and metaphorical, have defined our modern day representations of queer people in visual media?  What is the harm, if any, of these representations? Do you think the struggles of queer representation and representation for people of color have the same needs? Are they even necessary?

-Kristal Williams


(Inspired by this post)

"'Cultural' Appropriation" and Blame

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/news/beyonc-criticised-for-cultural-appropriation-in-new-music-video/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_appropriation

Though I personally pay very little attention to the music industry, a recent happening, revealed by a quick "News" search for "culture in news," seems as if it would open this blog rather well. Titled "Beyoncé criticized for 'cultural appropriation' in new music video with Coldplay and Sonam Kapoor" (the video is available further down the page), the article tells of controversy around the Indian (or, more precisely, Desi, according to the article) imagery invoked by the video and especially Beyoncé, specifically referencing numerous tweets about the video supporting both sides of the argument. After supplementing my general knowledge of the concept of cultural appropriation with the somewhat dubious source of Wikipedia, I watched the video for myself to form my own opinion.

Before I state said opinion, I would like to analyze the Wiki article on cultural appropriation, as it shares several fallacies with the more "informal" uses of the word "culture." Specifically, it uses phrases like "a culture" and "different cultures," which, really, is not how culture works. I would not go so far as to say that culture does not exist or that it cannot be studied; instead, to put it as simply as possible, I assert that it exists as a gradient through time and space, with each temporal-spatial location having its own influences on local culture. For example, in Nairobi, Kenya, 2007, there are undoubtedly heavy influences from its recent colonial history, the numerous ethnic groups (though I have read several rather convincing articles elsewhere that argue that even they were a product of colonialism), contact with the Middle East from the north and across the Red Sea (I would assume), and, naturally, the influence of local individuals. The colonial aspects were undoubtedly not present a few centuries ago, while contact with the Middle East probably fluctuated regularly. The popular conception of "cultures" does not account for the fluidity of what falls in the realm of "culture," implying a certain rigidity both spatially and temporally. In other words, it holds groups of people artificially separate, which can only intensify debates like this one. All of that said, the Wiki page does go on to mention that "cultural appropriation" can cause the appropriated's meaning to be "lost or distorted." Furthermore, the allegedly appropriated material seems to have been used entirely for the purpose of looking good, as I cannot remember anything in the music itself that referenced it (though I was not listening particularly hard). In this sense, despite the other problematic implications of the phrase "cultural appropriation," I think that, in this sense, that there was some "cultural appropriation" occurring (however, see below).

With that addressed, I move to briefly discuss the other things I think make this a good opening article. While I honestly have absolutely no idea who "Coldplay" or "Sonam Kapoor" are and only a minimum amount of knowledge on Beyoncé, the article name implied some sort of frivolous application of something ("culture"), so I already expected frivolous sexualization would be present. However, the title also had me assuming that Beyoncé played a more important role in the video than "occasionally audible background singer" and "purposefully visible dancer." While I do not profess any knowledge of how much control a celebrity has over their jobs, I would assume that, in this case, they have to follow the whims of the producer-types in charge of these videos. If these assumptions are true, then Beyoncé is being blamed for something she had little, if any, control over.

Do you think this video engaged in "'cultural' appropriation"? If so, who do you think made the decision that resulted in it? Did you understand my attempted summary of my idea of culture? If any of you listened to the lyrics of the song, know more about the music industry, or have knowledge on celebrity life that I do not, could you tell me if I messed up in my assumptions?

--Forest Copeland