My Feminism Will Be Intersectional Or It Will Be Bullshit!

[Catherina]

1. Here's what prompted that rant: 'Slutwalk, Slurs, and Why Feminism Still Has Race Issues'

(crossposted from FG)

Disclosure: I've used the Lennon quote that "woman is the nigger of the world" several times. I'm Bi-racial with a really thick skin and, because of the sentiment of the song, never gave it a second thought. Now I'm hearing from sisters that they find it extremely offensive. So first, an apology is in order and I apologize if I ever offended anyone here with that quote. My world is so colorless that I honestly didn't see but now I feel like this poor White feminist, who was photographed holding a sign that read "Woman is the nigger of the world" at Slutwalk.

I did not make the sign, but still feel wrong and sick. I apologize for being photographed with it and would like to ask for it to be taken down. I never thought this experience could make me ashamed or hurt, or even make me cry, but it has. Anyone who has seen photos of me with it please ask for them to be taken down. Erin this is not your fault, I just don’t wish to be hated for a word.

I'm still not sure how I feel about it because I think sometime's you have to look past words and not let them divide us. I still like the Lennon/Ono song and still agree with its sentiment. On the other hand, I understand the outrage many Black women feel because, well this sister explained it really well

Wow, if women are the niggers of the world what the flying fuck are Black women? Double niggers? And White feminists wonder why women of colour especially Black women don’t want to join them.

The whole incident is very sad and was what prompted the rant My Feminism Will Be Intersectional Or It Will Be Bullshit!

So here goes:

Slutwalk, Slurs, and Why Feminism Still Has Race Issues

by LATOYA PETERSON



Woman is not the nigger of the world.

John Lennon is not the final authority on whether it’s ok to use the term nigger.

Quoting black men from the 60s is not a valid defense against critiques from black women, black feminists, and our allies today.

The term nigger is not “in the past.”

The term nigger has not, and has never been, a term that can be equally applied to everyone.

Arguing that black people don’t have a monopoly on the term nigger is just fucking disgusting. You want it that bad? Really?

Over on Facebook, the woman posing with the infamous Slutwalk NYC photo (and the woman who created the sign) defended themselves. The short version of their statements: “It was wrong to use the word nigger, but the song is true!” Here’s the convo:

Read the convo here: http://www.racialicious.com/2011/10/06/slutwalk-slurs-and-why-feminism-still-has-race-issues/

This entire month is turning out to be one long, rich, learning experience and very rewarding too, despite all the pain. If you read the convo, it's a fascinating eye-opener.

There must be something in the water, or maybe it's the moon causing all these explosions in our world. I think the universe is telling us to get our shit together quick because we're gonna need each other strong real soon.