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Forum nameOkay Activist Archives
Topic subjectRE: Blacks acting white
Topic URLhttp://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=show_topic&forum=22&topic_id=20052&mesg_id=20116
20116, RE: Blacks acting white
Posted by cued, Thu Nov-16-00 11:26 AM
Ok, what I meant, is that, for all intents and purposes, I believe that "feminist" often forget to say that:

1) they are white
2) they are talking about white culture
3) they are talking about white men

Yes, there is a whole body of feminism out that that stem from women of color, however, I have to wonder, in what ways has that been "infected" by European cultural standards and thought and behavior?

And, _before_ you go off on me, please, if you know of any "womanist" writers/theorist, please, tip me off...

Also, the reason why I call for a distinction is because gender is formed differently in African-American communities and in Africa, so it follows that there should be a body of study that _reflects_ this.

Also, I have issues with the language. It is part of European culture to think of people in terms of either/or constructs, like men/women. I am not saying that Black people (when I say Black, I am referring to Americans of African descent) don't, but our adopting this kind of thought stems from the oppression we have been dealt. I am done with either/or constructs because they never felt right nor "sat" well with me... I feel as if I am talking in circles.

But another point I think I should make is that feminism often doesn't deal with:

1) Blackness
2) Black culture, specifically
3) Black men, specifically

because, we (Black men and white men) are not and cannot be lumped together... why? Because for one, they are exhibiting cultural traditions. For the other, they are 1)adopting those cultural tradition or 2) trying to come up with cultural traditions that reflect the culture from which they come from or 3) being very aware that the cultural traditions from which he comes have been lost to him or 4)... a whole bunch of things... I could go on and on, but that's because, as a Black man, I think about my brothas all the time...

So... that's what I meant...

Q
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