Why is it that just as Hammonds stated in her article entitled Toward a Genealogy of Black Female Sexuality: The Problematic of Silence she states that "African Americans continue to be used as the terrain upon which contested notions about race, gender, and sexuality are worked out." During my reading of the article I became inquisitive and frustrated. Mainly frustrated because you know how most things you do not realize until they are brought to you attention... well this was one of them. I did not realize that we let our sexuality continue to cripple and reduce us as the incredible black women that we are. Why is it that we have to continue the bullshit referring to our past sister Sarah Bartmann when her genitalia was referred to as being "primitive" defining our sexual appetites thus also as Hammonds goes on to further say "the black female embodied the notion of uncontrolled sexuality. And in tying it all together "racial difference was linked to sexual diference in order to maintain white male supremacy during the period of slavery."
Relating this to the movie "Something New" I draw from the part on page 175 of the article when Historian Darlene Clark Hine defines part of culture being "the behavior and attitudes of Black women that created the appearance of openness and disclosure but actually shielded the truth of their inner lives and selves from their oppressors." When I read that I wondered if this could possiblity be the explanation from why Black women are perceived to be outspoken, loud, and willing to say whatever we feel. Could it be that we are so open trying to shield and hide who we really are or is it that we are so loud because we for a large majority of our lives in history as Black women had been silenced for so long that we now will speak out and say whatever it is we feel. Just as in "Something New" during parts speaking on race and sexuality. Especially when the women come together and speak on men in their lives and experiences. Before I looked at the movie "Something New" as a romantic comedy but now as I stated above see the movie as an eye-opener to situations that we still current that cannot be ignored in relation to race.
2 comments:
I agree with your comment. For so long, black women have been silenced however there have always been at least one advocate like Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, Fannie Lou Hammer, and Assata Shakur. In addition to your comment, I believe that our voice is linked to our sexuality. Black women can use their voice as tools to express their sexuality. Black women who talk about sex and the enjoyment of sex defy society's dominant view and rule that sex should not be vocalized especially among women. In the movie,Something New, the scene where the women were talking about Kenya and Brian's sexual experience would be controversial because according to society women should not discuss their sexual experiences and pleasure. Black women that talk about sex also defy society's Virgin Mary role for women. Our voices are powerful, so what if they think we're LOUD!!
I think that black women on a whole have been silenced on one end, and hypersexualized on another. I felt in "something new" kenya's character demonstrated this perfectly. It started off with her being ultra conservative and professional, then her character changed after meeting the white man. She then became this risky, sexual, colorful woman. She risked everything for this white man, her job, family and friends, to try to be this "more adventurous" black woman. She risked everything for this white gardener who really didn't go out of his way for her. He didn't really become 3-D to me at all. I felt as though he was a static character, in that he didn't grow or change throughout the story. He always got what he want in the end, including kenya sexually.
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