my experience, the difference between Brothahs and white men is, since Brothahs in this society typically have no power, they attempt to overtly exert power in their relationships w/ Sistahs, their children, and each other. Unfortunately, this exertion often takes a negative turn, and results in abuse, or most recently here in Baltimore, death(some dude just smothered his 2-mo. old, and dumped her in the trash dumpster).

Agreed

>White men are the ones you USUALLY see supporting feminism, and >striving to be more 'in touch w/ their feminine side', because >they know they already HAVE THE POWER in society.

They do but not completely though. In the beginning it was for selfish reasons such as the sexual freedom aspect of it and that most early feminists were white and upper class. But I see what you are saying. But I think that we have two different cultures and that thsi idea of machismo is perpetuated by black men and women. If we continue to say...yea work from the background that is powerful. You know he has issues so treat him "special," that is not dealing with the real problem, it is just perpetuating it.

>I am ranting. The point is, Black machismo DEMANDS that Sistahs >be powerful undercurrents, NOT crashing sea waves when we deal >w/ them, IF we intend on being effective when we deal w/ them.

So what you are saying is that we need to adjust ourselves to black men and their issues? Are we supposed to overcompensate for Black men and their response to this society? Who is supposed to compensate and readjust for us? Should the focus then to be to inform brothers about the negative effects of sexism on ALL of us? Should the focus not then to be to help brothers overcome this culture of machismo and trying to live up the white man? I really believe that there is so much focus on the black man and his response to this messed up society that sisters are suffering.

>I don't know if U listen to Erykah Badu, but I declare I think >that Sistah is a prophet(notice how I don't make the assumption >that you have 2 B male 2 B a prophet). She explains the whole >thing her song, Orange Moon: "I'm an orange Moon, reflecting >the light of my Sun." That is it right there. EVERYbody knows >how powerful the Moon is, and how it affects the tides, women's >menses, AND people's behavior. Yet, when does the Moon come >out? At night. When people are sleeping, the Moon quietly >affects the earth, in a most powerful way. The Moon represents >feminine Energy. How does the Sun do it though? BRILLIANTLY. >During the day, so everybody can see. And what is the shining
>Moon lit up by? The Sun, which represents Male Energy. Yin and >Yang. Anima, and Animus.

I do listen to Erykah. But let me ask you a serious question: Who decided who represented the sun and who represented the moon? I mean I don’t get into all of that stuff because half of the time it does not make sense to me, especially after I took an astronomy class. Or how does that explain that in the womb for the first seven weeks we are all female? Or that the Y chromosome is just a small offshoot of the X chromosome and is the reason for a lot of sex linked diseases? It is just mans attempt to understand his world using metaphors which is cool – but somehow women always get put in the lower position – like black folks.

>That is how Sistahs need 2 B. SILENTLY powerful. Not in
>competition w/ the Brothahs, cuz their Energy is a different >kind of Energy, and they need<for various reasons>

Just because you are not silent and refuse to be put in some gendered category does not mean that you are in competition with a brother. I mean what you are saying *sounds* nice for real, but it is the same thing that I hear from sexist men I talk to. The undercurrent still sounds like a “women have their place and they should make the most of it” kind of thing. It is like when folks try and convince black people that racism does not exist and we should make the most of the opportunities that we have. I understand that men and women are different, but I believe a lot of that is mainly due to socialization. Like I said before that may be your path, and what is best for you. But I should hope you don’t believe that is the place for all women.