My Feminism Will Be Intersectional Or It Will Be Bullshit!

[Catherina]

Look what popped into my Outlook yesterday. This rant was so good, I wish I'd written it.

MY FEMINISM WILL BE INTERSECTIONAL OR IT WILL BE BULLSHIT!


Now picture this: me screaming the above. Angry. VERY ANGRY as a matter of fact. Screaming this at my computer screen. Screaming it at nobody and everybody. At you. You, person I might have never heard from who might have not even commented on this blog or any of the other publications where I can be regularly found scribbling my discombobulated ideas. Even though we never met before, I AM ACTUALLY, SCREAMING AT YOU RIGHT NOW. MY FEMINISM WILL BE INTERSECTIONAL OR IT WILL BE BULLSHIT!. And I am screaming this because I want to convince you, I want to get it through you that this is not a choice or an abstract concept or an intellectual exercise. I am not screaming because well, you know, I just discovered intersectionality and OMG SO COOL GUYS. YOU NEED TO READ THIS. No. My feminism NEEDS to be intersectional because as a South American, as a Latina, as someone who knows certain parts of the Global South intimately by virtue of being a Southerner, as an immigrant living in Europe, as a woman, I am in the middle of what I like to call the “shit puff pastry”. The shit puff pastry is every layer of fuck that goes on above me, below me, by my sides, all around me. And in this metaphorical puff pastry with multiple layers of excrement, I am the dulce de leche that is supposed to make it palatable so that someone else, more specifically the kyriarchy, can eat me.

And here’s the thing: while I am screaming at you, I am also asking, nay, DEMANDING that you scream with me. And I am asking that you become as angry as I have been this past week. Because without anger and without righteous indignation and without the deep, relentless demand for change, my feminism, YOUR feminism, everyone’s feminism will fail. It will be bullshit.

This past week I’ve been screaming this a lot. Because I like to play “connecting the dots” (s.e. smith ipse dixit) as a matter of political practice. I play “connecting the dots” even though sometimes I might not get a properly outlined landscape but the equivalent of what my 1 year old niece playing with a bunch of sharpies on the coffee table would produce. Which is to say, sometimes, the pictures I draw when I connect dots might not make sense or might be inaccurate or might have missed a few dots to be totally accurate. But I am willing to pay the price of not making sense sometimes if I do eventually get it right. I would rather sometimes come across as far fetched than miss the landscape that the shit puff pastry provides. And these past few days I’ve been playing connect the dots more often than usual. Hence my anger. Hence my disappointment with feminism. FEMINISM! I AM DEEPLY DISAPPOINTED IN YOU. To the point that I even considered ditching the label altogether. And if that happened, I would use a new label that pretty much sums up my politics: Flame-throwerism. Wherein I set feminism on fire and with its ashes I fill my cats’ kitty litter box and let them pee on it. That’s how angry I’ve been at feminism this week. Kitty litter levels of outrage.

...

Layer five of this week’s shit puff pastry

I am hurting. Like real, physical pain on the right side of my torso. It’s been going on for a few days and I have no idea what’s causing it. I do know it’s gotten worse since I have been letting out all of this anger. I hurt even more so while I was researching my last post about the corporate profits behind the business of undocumented immigrants. Obviously this is not evident in the post itself but I spent days reading accounts of abuses perpetrated on immigrant bodies. I also saw the trailer to this film which Eli recommended in one of the comments. And I cried, when one of the Ethiopian women spoke of her abuse in the hands of smugglers and how she connected it with the European Union’s complicity. She had been raped in the name of my safety. Because I am a legal resident in a European country, I have to acknowledge that the State, on my behalf, deemed it acceptable that this body was abused. And I am also hurting because even though I put a lot of effort into that piece, nobody seemed to care much about it. AND YOU FUCKING SHOULD. Not because I wrote it, fuck that, no. But because all of that is done IN YOUR NAME. Because if you are a legal resident in a Western country, the State is actively abusing these people on your behalf. These immigrant, non White bodies are treated as worthless because YOU HAVE ALLOWED YOUR STATE TO DO THIS. And yet, few people seemed to connect to the piece or even find it worthy.

I do not give a damn that I wrote it. Moreover, I hereby give you permission to use my words as yours. Do not credit me if you do not feel like it. Use the words in that piece to discuss the subject. Tell people you wrote it if you need to. BUT IF YOU CALL YOURSELF A FEMINIST AND YOU DO NOT CARE THAT SOME WOMEN ARE GIVING BIRTH IN INHUMAN CONDITIONS AND THEIR CHILDREN ARE UNDER SUCH GRIEF THAT THEY HAVE SEWN THEIR LIPS TOGETHER THEN I AM NOT PART OF YOUR MOVEMENT. And if you cannot actively unpack your share of responsibility in these actions, which are happening right in your backyard, then one of us cannot call herself a feminist.

And if you cannot see how this issue is so deeply interconnected with all of the above, with racism, with violence on WoC, with rape culture, with colonialism, with our disdain for people from the Global South, with whose bodies are deemed human and whose are not (and as such, unrapeable), with institutionalized violence, with wars waged by our Nations on the countries where these people come from… if you cannot see all of this as part of the same landscape, as part of the same gigantic, oppressive shit puff pastry, then maybe I should not call myself a feminist. Maybe, indeed, throwing flames in the direction of feminism is all I have left.

http://tigerbeatdown.com/2011/10/10/my-feminism-will-be-intersectional-or-it-will-be-bullshit/

(Dear hosts, I quoted 6 paragraphs but the author is so fine with this being reproduced, she doesn't care about copyright, doesn't even want credit and doesn't even care if people say they wrote it themselves. It's in the 5th paragraph.)

[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.

[Starry Messenger]

3. Thank you for posting the OP, and the follow-up post here.

I've noticed this conversation happening in other places off DU too, and I'm glad we finally have a space to bring these discussions here. I think it's true what you say, we're all going to need each other strong real soon. More bad shit is coming down everyday in bucketloads.

Occupy has brought up a lot of these discussions too. The example of the offensive slutwalk sign has some parallels to discussions of what isn't cool if you are trying to fight oppression--contributing to the pain, even though you feel your heart is in the right place as a progressive, can/will cause division and hurt.

[Catherina]

5. I've been totally hooked on these discussions

Where else have you noticed it?

When Slutwalk first came up, I rolled my eyes thinking "bunch of privileged kids". I had no idea what outrage it was causing. Now I wish I'd paid more attention.

I think some really bad stuff is coming down the road. Iran. Austerity. Serfdom. Eradication of what's left of our rights. Need one say more?

It's encouraging that people are talking and educating each other but come on guys, start connecting the dots between sexism, colonialism and economic oppression real quick before they start parading us on TV to support some bullshit lie that we're going to Syria and Iran to bring the people *freedom*, especially the women. Sunera Thobani gave a fascinating talk about how the Feminist and other movements were used, were complicit, in the war against Muslims that hurt so many Muslim and brown women. Where was the much ballyhooed Feminist ethic there she asks. Good question.

I'm starting at the beginning of the controversy and trying to digest this right now

An Open Letter from Black Women to the SlutWalk
September 23, 2011

We the undersigned women of African descent and anti-violence advocates, activists, scholars, organizational and spiritual leaders wish to address the SlutWalk. First, we commend the organizers on their bold and vast mobilization to end the shaming and blaming of sexual assault victims for violence committed against them by other members of society. We are proud to be living in this moment in time where girls and boys have the opportunity to witness the acts of extraordinary women resisting oppression and challenging the myths that feed rape culture everywhere.

The police officer’s comments in Toronto that ignited the organizing of the first SlutWalk and served to trivialize, omit and dismiss women’s continuous experiences of sexual exploitation, assault, and oppression are an attack upon our collective spirits. Whether the dismissal of rape and other violations of a woman’s body be driven by her mode of dress, line of work, level of intoxication, her class, and in cases of Black and brown bodies—her race, we are in full agreement that no one deserves to be raped.

The Issue At Hand

We are deeply concerned. As Black women and girls we find no space in SlutWalk, no space for participation and to unequivocally denounce rape and sexual assault as we have experienced it. We are perplexed by the use of the term “slut” and by any implication that this word, much like the word “Ho” or the “N” word should be re-appropriated. The way in which we are perceived and what happens to us before, during and after sexual assault crosses the boundaries of our mode of dress. Much of this is tied to our particular history. In the United States, where slavery constructed Black female sexualities, Jim Crow kidnappings, rape and lynchings, gender misrepresentations, and more recently, where the Black female immigrant struggle combine, “slut” has different associations for Black women. We do not recognize ourselves nor do we see our lived experiences reflected within SlutWalk and especially not in its brand and its label.

As Black women, we do not have the privilege or the space to call ourselves “slut” without validating the already historically entrenched ideology and recurring messages about what and who the Black woman is. We don’t have the privilege to play on destructive representations burned in our collective minds, on our bodies and souls for generations. Although we understand the valid impetus behind the use of the word “slut” as language to frame and brand an anti-rape movement, we are gravely concerned. For us the trivialization of rape and the absence of justice are viciously intertwined with narratives of sexual surveillance, legal access and availability to our personhood. It is tied to institutionalized ideology about our bodies as sexualized objects of property, as spectacles of sexuality and deviant sexual desire. It is tied to notions about our clothed or unclothed bodies as unable to be raped whether on the auction block, in the fields or on living room television screens. The perception and wholesale acceptance of speculations about what the Black woman wants, what she needs and what she deserves has truly, long crossed the boundaries of her mode of dress.

We know the SlutWalk is a call to action and we have heard you. Yet we struggle with the decision to answer this call by joining with or supporting something that even in name exemplifies the ways in which mainstream women’s movements have repeatedly excluded Black women even in spaces where our participation is most critical. We are still struggling with the how, why and when and ask at what impasse should the SlutWalk have included substantial representation of Black women in the building and branding of this U.S. based movement to challenge rape culture?

Black women in the U.S. have worked tirelessly since the 19th century colored women’s clubs to rid society of the sexist/racist vernacular of slut, jezebel, hottentot, mammy, mule, sapphire; to build our sense of selves and redefine what women who look like us represent. Although we vehemently support a woman’s right to wear whatever she wants anytime, anywhere, within the context of a “SlutWalk” we don’t have the privilege to walk through the streets of New York City, Detroit, D.C., Atlanta, Chicago, Miami, L.A. etc., either half-naked or fully clothed self-identifying as “sluts” and think that this will make women safer in our communities an hour later, a month later, or a year later. Moreover, we are careful not to set a precedent for our young girls by giving them the message that we can self-identify as “sluts” when we’re still working to annihilate the word “ho”, which deriving from the word “hooker” or “whore”, as in “Jezebel whore” was meant to dehumanize. Lastly, we do not want to encourage our young men, our Black fathers, sons and brothers to reinforce Black women’s identities as “sluts” by normalizing the term on t-shirts, buttons, flyers and pamphlets.

The personal is political. For us, the problem of trivialized rape and the absence of justice are intertwined with race, gender, sexuality, poverty, immigration and community. As Black women in America, we are careful not to forget this or we may compromise more than we are able to recover. Even if only in name, we cannot afford to label ourselves, to claim identity, to chant dehumanizing rhetoric against ourselves in any movement. We can learn from successful movements like the Civil Rights movement, from Women’s Suffrage, the Black Nationalist and Black Feminist movements that we can make change without resorting to the taking-back of words that were never ours to begin with, but in fact heaved upon us in a process of dehumanization and devaluation.

What We Ask

Sisters from Toronto, rape and sexual assault is a radical weapon of oppression and we are in full agreement that it requires radical people and radical strategies to counter it. In that spirit, and because there is so much work to be done and great potential to do it together, we ask that the SlutWalk be even more radical and break from what has historically been the erasure of Black women and their particular needs, their struggles as well as their potential and contributions to feminist movements and all other movements.

Women in the United States are racially and ethnically diverse. Every tactic to gain civil and human rights must not only consult and consider women of color, but it must equally center all our experiences and our communities in the construction, launching, delivery and sustainment of that movement.

We ask that SlutWalk take critical steps to become cognizant of the histories of people of color and engage women of color in ways that respect culture, language and context.

We ask that SlutWalk consider engaging in a re-branding and re-labeling process and believe that given the current popularity of the Walk, its thousands of followers will not abandon the movement simply because it has changed its label.

We ask that the organizers participating in the SlutWalk take further action to end the trivialization of rape at every level of society. Take action to end the use of the word “rape” as if it were a metaphor and also take action to end the use of language invented to perpetuate racist/sexist structures and intended to dehumanize and devalue.

In the spirit of building a revolutionary movement to end sexual assault, end rape myths and end rape culture, we ask that SlutWalk move forward in true authenticity and solidarity to organize beyond the marches and demonstrations as SlutWalk. Develop a more critical, a more strategic and sustainable plan for bringing women together to demand countries, communities, families and individuals uphold each others human right to bodily integrity and collectively speak a resounding NO to violence against women.

We would welcome a meeting with the organizers of SlutWalk to discuss the intrinsic potential in its global reach and the sheer number of followers it has energized. We’d welcome the opportunity to engage in critical conversation with the organizers of SlutWalk about strategies for remaining accountable to the thousands of women and men, marchers it left behind in Brazil, in New Delhi, South Korea and elsewhere—marchers who continue to need safety and resources, marchers who went back home to their communities and their lives. We would welcome a conversation about the work ahead and how this can be done together with groups across various boundaries, to end sexual assault beyond the marches.

As women of color standing at the intersection of race, gender, sexuality, class and more, we will continue to be relentless in the struggle to dismantle the unacceptable systems of oppression that designedly besiege our everyday lives. We will continue to fight for the development of policies and initiatives that prioritize the primary prevention of sexual assault, respect women and individual rights, agency and freedoms and holds offenders accountable. We will consistently demand justice whether under governmental law, at community levels, or via community strategies for those who have been assaulted; and organize to end sexual assaults of persons from all walks of life, all genders, all sexualities, all races, all ethnicity, all histories.

Signed by: The Board of Directors and Board of Advisors, Black Women’s Blueprint | Farah Tanis, Co-Founder, Executive Director, Black Women’s Blueprint | Endorsed by: Toni M. Bond Leonard, President/CEO of Black Women for Reproductive Justice (BWRJ), Chicago, Illinois | Kelli Dorsey, Executive Director, Different Avenues, Washington, D.C. | S. Mandisa Moore | The Women's Health and Justice Initiative, New Orleans, Louisiana | Black and Proud, Baton Rouge, Louisiana | Civil Liberties and Public Policy Program at Hampshire College, Amherst, Massachusetts | Population and Development Program, Amherst, Massachusetts | Zeinab Eyega, New York, New York | Black Women’s Network, Los Angeles, California | League of Black Women, Chicago, Illinois | Institute on Domestic Violence in the African American Community, Minneapolis, Minnesota | Brooklyn Young Mother’s Collective, Brooklyn, New York | Women’s HIV Collaborative, New York, New York | National Organization of Sisters of Color Ending Sexual Assault (SCESA), Connecticut | Girls for Gender Equity, Brooklyn, New York | My Sister’s Keeper, Brooklyn, New York | The Mothers Agenda New York (the M.A.N.Y.), Brooklyn, New York | Sojourners Group For Women, Salt Lake City, Utah | Dr. Andreana Clay, Queer Black Feminist Blog, Oakland, California | Dr. Ida E. Jones, Historian, Author, The Heart of the Race Problem: The Life of Kelly Miller | Willi Coleman, Professor of Women's History, member of the Association of Black Women Historians, Laura Rahman, Director, Broken Social Contracts, Atlanta, Georgia | Marlene McCurtis, Director, Wednesdays in Mississippi Film Project | Issa Rae, Producer, Director, Writer, Awkward Black Girl, Los Angeles, California | The Prison Birth Project| Ebony Noelle Golden, Creative Director, Betty's Daughter Arts Collaborative & The RingShout for Reproductive Justice | Yvonne Moore, Southern California, Sexual Assault Survivor | Kola Boo, Novelist, Poet, Womanist | Jessicah A. Murrell, Spelman College C'11, Candidate for M.A. Women's Studies | Shanika Thomas | Cathy Gillespie | Kristin Simpson, Brooklyn, New York | Mkali-Hashiki, Certified Sexological Bodyworker, Certified Sound, Voice, & Music Healing Practitioner, Owner & Operator of Body Ecstasy, Erotic Wellness Facilitation | Linda Mizell, Ed.D., Assistant Professor School of Education, University of Colorado at Boulder| Sherley Accime, President, C.E.O. ANEW, NY, SeaElle Integrated Therapies | Diedre F. Houchen, M.A. Ed., Alumni Doctoral Fellow, Black Education, University of Florida | Hanalei Ramos, Co-founder, Filipinas for Rights and Empowerment, NYC | Minh-Ha T. Pham, Cornell University Professor | Cynthia Nibbelink Worley (W.A.R., Women Against Rape) | Wendi Dragonfire, wendi-dragonfire.com | Sydney Kopp-Richardson Urban Policy Analysis M.A. Candidate, Milano the New School for Management and Public Policy Research Assistant, Social Justice Initiatives | Radha McAlpine | Desi K. Robinson, Executive Producer, Women in the Making: Tomorrow's History Today | Laura E. Polk, Anthropologist, Washington, D.C. | Sfirah Madrone, Olympia, WA | AF3IRM | Rev. Raedorah C. Stewart, MA aka RevSisRaedorah, Queer Womanist Scholar Poet Mother | Jacqueline A. Gross, Oakland, CA | Devorah Hill, Media Educator, Manhattan Neighborhood Network, New York City | Elizabeth Lipton, Member, Pitzer College Feminist Coalition | Robin Morgan | Charlene Sayo, Member National Alliance of Philippine Women in Canada | Elizabeth C. Yeampierre, Esq, Executive Director, UPROSE | Mandy Van Deven, Writer, Speaker, Changemaker | Wendy Ruiz | Hortensia Gooding, Vocalist, Administrator | Carol Griffin | Karynna A. Lynne, Lancaster Pennsylvania | Idrissa Simmonds, Writer and Educator | Ginnette Powell | Sydette Harry, Blackamazon, New York, NY | Susan Brison, Author, Aftermath: Violence and the Remaking of a Self | Yolanda M. Carrington, Activist, Durham, NC | Christine Barksdale, Owner - Sustainable Passion - Womencentric Erotic Boutique and Investigator, Ithaca Police Department | Taja Lindley, Colored Girls Hustle, Brooklyn, NY | Tesa Johnson Ferrell Jones, Vice-President, Metro State Student Government Assembly 2011-2012, AMSA National Gender & Sexuality and Women's Grassroots, Regional Coordinator, 2011-2012 | Jeannette Bronson, Black Lesbians United Co-Founder | Dr. Blair LM Kelley, Associate Professor of History, North Carolina State University | subRosa art collective (Faith Wilding and Hyla Willis) | Valerie Ann, Johnson, Ph.D., Mott Distinguished Professor of Women's Studies and Director, Africana Women's Studies, Bennett College for Women, Greensboro NC | Megan Walker, Executive Director, London Abused Women's Centre, London, ON Canada | Girls Education and Mentoring Services (GEMS) | Natassja Gunasena | Pat Gargaetas, Your SillySister, PGar | Mandy | Amy Walls | Tatiana Ray, San Francisco, CA | Tatiana Ray, San Francisco, CA | Makeda Martin, Vancouver, Canada| Elisa Schmelkes | Sekile Nzinga-Johnson | Kate Ferguson, Editor-in-Chief, Real Health Magazine | Rais Neza Boneza | Allison Tucker | Diane Sharif, PMP®, IBM Certified Sr Project Manager, IBM People Manager, Integrated Cross-Service Line Delivery | Sonya M. Toler - former Executive Director of the PA Governor's Advisory Commission on African American Affairs and incest & rape survivor | An'Drea Hall, senior double-majoring in Criminology and Criminal Justice and Sociology, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale (SIUC) | Dayanara Marte, Executive Director, Casa Atabex Ache, The House of Womyn's Power--La Casa del Poder de La Mujer| Maksim Bugro, Mora Media Management - Lighting Design, College Policy Debater for East Los Angeles College 09-11, and Cal State Fullerton 11-Present| Susanna Reid, PhD, ND, Sandoval Melim, PhD, DrPH, ND, Honolulu, HI | Jasmine Burnett and Trust Black Women | Brittney Glass | Patty Wetterling, Program Director, Sexual Violence Prevention, Minnesota Department of Health | Greer Schoeman, Capacity Building and Outreach Coordinator, SANAC Women's Sector Secretariat | Patricia E. Gary, Detroit, MI | Kadihjia Kelly, MSE, Harbor House Domestic Ab use Programs, Community Education Coordinator & Outreach Advocate | Rejané Claasen, Toronto, ON | Carol Corgan | Andrea Barrow, New York, NY | Annika Leonard, Survivor of Sexual Assault, Daughter and Mother | Betty T | Angelita Velasco, Jackson, MI | Dr. Gloria J. Johnson, CEO, Life Source Consultants, St. Louis, Missouri| Heidi Williamson, SPARK RJ Now! | Monica Simpson | Jean Richards | Yasmin A. Sayyed, Ed.D. | Kim Dartez, Director of Family Tree Healthcare and Chair of Women of Color Committee for the Arizona Coalition Against Domestic Violence | Shemeka Brand | Faith Bowman | Patricia Gray Chef/Caterer| Asha Family Services, Inc. Milwaukee, WI | Alkia L. Washington, VP of Finance, National Communication Association Student Club, University of Florida | Keleigh D. Felder | Dr. Yasmin A. Sayyed, Ed.D, Iwa Rere Arts, South Lake Tahoe, CA | The Audre Lorde Project | Rukshana Afia | Latoya Harrison | Kenya Lynn Murray | New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault | Victoria McWane-Creek | Deon Haywood, Women With A Vision,Inc | Phyllis Seven Harris | Aura Bogado| Aisha Josina Jean-Baptiste, MHP and Reproductive Health Educator | Sur Rodney (Sur), archivist | AT2W- S. Alexandryte | Julian Real, A Radical Profeminist | EL Putnam, artist and scholar, Boston, MA | EL Putnam, Artist & Scholar, Boston, MA | Sherri Rosen | Samanthis Q. Smalls | Rebecca G. Pontikes, Employment Lawyer, Pontikes Law LLC, Boston, Massachusetts | Amanda Davila | Shawn Powell Joseph | Adjoa Duker MD, MPH | Jessica Eden-Correll | Victoria McWane-Creek | Vivian Lu, The Microaggressions Project | Sherri Rosen, Sherri Rosen Publicity | Gianofer Fields, Curator - itsamaterialworld.org | Ms. Maximillienne Elliott, Esq., Principal of The Law Offices of Max Elliott, Ltd., Chicago, Illinois, USA.| Marie Michaud | Dirk Velten,
www.mandorla.com | Saswat Pattanayak, Editor, Radical Notes | Adelaide Ward | Caryn Ward Ross, Creator/ Executive Producer of The siSTARS | The Women of Color Network, Harrisburg, PA | Nourbese Flint M.A. Women's Health, Program Manager | Nicole Landreth, University of Illinois Springfield, Intern in Practical Feminism-Women and Gender Studies Dept, Psi Chi President | Carol J. Matthews-Shifflett | Phelonise Willie | Cheryl-Ann Weekes, School Counselor | Charisse Terry-Deas RN/MPA | Deleta Smith | Najmah Thomas, PhD, Founder, Prince & Princess, Inc. | Alison Diem | Alessandra Berti, University of Bristol Feminist Society | Tonya Lovelace, Project Manager, Women of Color Network | Tamia Barriga | Deborah Allen,Sexual Assault Program of Northern St. Louis County | Tishania Shana Louallen, M.S.W. Candidate at the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College | Lazandra Dial-California | Alina Nguyen, Long Beach, CA | Lydia Howell, KFAI independent journalist, white anti-racism activist & feminist, Minneapolis, MN | Michelle Gross, President, Communities United Against Police Brutality, Minneapolis, MN | K. Shakira Washington, student, activist | Susanna Reid, PhD, ND, Sandoval Melim, PhD, DrPH, ND, Honolulu, HI | Lethia Cobbs | Swan The Storyteller, Artist and Filmmaker, USA |Anthony Bailey, Director of the Equity Center of the Social Development of Human Justice | Pamela E. Ashe, Ph.D., Counseling Psychologist, Counseling and Psychological Services,California State University, Long Beach | Amee Le, YU Free Press, Toronto, ON | Bonnie L Edwards, UMSL- BSN student | Chude Mondlane, Performing Artist, Brooklyn & Mozambique | Flavia Santos de Araujo, Department of Afro-American Studies, PhD Student, University of Massachusetts | Charisse Terry-Deas RN/MPA | Phelonise Willie | Amie Lewis, LEED AP, Founding Partner, SHiFT Industries | Ali Ojanen-Goldsmith, Founding Member and Core Organizer, Full Spectrum Doulas | Carolyn Scott, MA HR Business Professional | Joanne Smith, Girls for Gender Equity| Helen Collins, Director AND THE STAFF at Womens Health Matters, Bridge House |
Shermayne Brown, opera singer Brooklyn, NY | Maretta J. Short, Women of Color And Allies Essex County NOW - New Jersey |


- To endorse this letter, email us with Subject: “Add My Name” to: [email protected]

- To be part of the broader conversation, learn more and to participate in our “Live Free” campaign to end sexual violence, email: Farah Tanis, Executive Director, Black Women’s Blueprint, [email protected]

- Add Your Voice! Take Our Survey- Answer Anonymously-10 Questions About Rape/Sexual Assault. https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/V868RZG

- Join Our Workshop: Silent No More: Supporting the Survivors and Creating Response to Rape/Sexual Assault in African American Communities. Friday, October 28, 1:30-4:30 PM – RSVP for more information and location to [email protected]

- Give What You Can! Support the Work at The Intersections http://www.indiegogo.com/Help-Finish-The-Film-Under-Siege-The-Policing-of-Women-Girls-In-America?c=activity&a=214519&i=addr

- Join the Cast or Sign Up For Updates On Mother Tongue: Monologues In Sexual Revolution! For Black Girls & Stolen Women Taking Back Our Bodies, Our Selves, Our Lives – The National Black Theater of Harlem, February 24, 2012 [email protected]

http://www.facebook.com/notes/blackwomens-blueprint/an-open-letter-from-black-women-to-the-slutwalk/232501930131880

[Starry Messenger]

8. Mostly on blogs, tumblr, even Twitter a bit.

There wasn't really a forum to kind of bring them all together, which is why having the group to signal boost and aggregate discussions will be helpful, I think. Have you tried out tumblr, Catherina? It takes a little getting used to. I thought it was just for posting pictures, but lots of people are using it for creating great material. It has a tag system like Twitter's, so you can find things in streams in a similar way. http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/intersectionality

That letter is excellent. I'd never thought of how calling yourself "slut, whore" in a public protest like this is white privilege. But that totally makes sense. And with the vicious right-wing assault on women's rights, the right is looking to take back those names anyway. They really think we are all sluts and whores, there isn't any irony to mine there. But the biggest burden of all that is going to fall right on black women, who are the most vulnerable.

We ask that SlutWalk take critical steps to become cognizant of the histories of people of color and engage women of color in ways that respect culture, language and context.

We ask that SlutWalk consider engaging in a re-branding and re-labeling process and believe that given the current popularity of the Walk, its thousands of followers will not abandon the movement simply because it has changed its label.

We ask that the organizers participating in the SlutWalk take further action to end the trivialization of rape at every level of society. Take action to end the use of the word “rape” as if it were a metaphor and also take action to end the use of language invented to perpetuate racist/sexist structures and intended to dehumanize and devalue.

In the spirit of building a revolutionary movement to end sexual assault, end rape myths and end rape culture, we ask that SlutWalk move forward in true authenticity and solidarity to organize beyond the marches and demonstrations as SlutWalk. Develop a more critical, a more strategic and sustainable plan for bringing women together to demand countries, communities, families and individuals uphold each others human right to bodily integrity and collectively speak a resounding NO to violence against women.

We would welcome a meeting with the organizers of SlutWalk to discuss the intrinsic potential in its global reach and the sheer number of followers it has energized. We’d welcome the opportunity to engage in critical conversation with the organizers of SlutWalk about strategies for remaining accountable to the thousands of women and men, marchers it left behind in Brazil, in New Delhi, South Korea and elsewhere—marchers who continue to need safety and resources, marchers who went back home to their communities and their lives. We would welcome a conversation about the work ahead and how this can be done together with groups across various boundaries, to end sexual assault beyond the marches.

Wow, what an awesome force that would be. Did the SlutWalk people ever respond?

[Catherina]

9. Wow. There's some really rich stuff there

Thanks for turning me on to yet another thing.

This is one of the first things I saw and I'm grabbing it. (emphasis, bolding is from the original)

Yes, ol’ fashioned racism can and does get to me. Those racial slurs as I ride my bicycle, being the only one followed by the security guard, or the never-really-random airport search, but most days, if I had to choose my direct racist experience, I’d rather any of the above over encounters with a Good White Person.

If you’re a POC, you probably know at least one of these Good White People! If you’re white and reading my blog, maybe you are one; a well intentioned whitey. You’re ‘on my side’, right? You figured out racism is ‘bad’ so now you’ve joined the fight against racism! Maybe you work in a social enterprise, for a charity, with refugees, or Indigenous people, or in the multi-cultural arts. You’re proud of yourself for your many years of human rights work. You’ve claimed your anti-racist identity, you have friends and maybe even lovers who are people of colour, so how could you possibly be racist?

How could you NOT be racist? We have been raised in a white supremacy and we have all internalised racism. We are all racist.

I don’t have the emotional or political energy for friends and acquaintances who express that they are hurt and offended that I’ve inferred that they are racist by critiquing their behaviour or by simply withdrawing from their company. I know that it hurts to feel admonished or abandoned, but this is not comparable or relevant to the hurt and betrayal I feel by people who have tried to contextualise the racist behaviours I experience in terms of the person who has enacted racism’s ignorance, insecurities, or good intentions (which are factors in their behaviour, but don’t alter my experience of their behaviour as racism). This justification de-validates my experience, and though I remind myself that friends are well intentioned in trying to comfort me by convincing me that I needn’t feel bad because nobody meant any harm, they are silencing me as a person of colour, re-centering the experience around whiteness, and being complicit in white supremacy. In contrast, I emphasise how empowering it has been to share experiences of racism and have my anger and sense of alienation validated by others. This has been infinitely more ‘comforting’ than the friends who have had a ‘Don’t worry about it’ attitude. That’s their privilege not to worry about something that permeates all aspects of my daily, lived experience.

....

I operate with great suspicion around white people and white dominated collectives and spaces that claim anti-racist motivations. It so often seems that embracing diversity is seen as a magical recipe for equality when it’s no guarantee that everyone’s experience in the ‘diverse group’ will be an equal experience. It means there’s a complicated mix of power dynamics to do with race, class, gender, able-bodiedness, etc that need be acknowledged and constantly addressed. I’m not going to applaud them for their embracement of diversity, I’m going to wonder about how those dynamics play out and doubt that those from ‘marginalised groups’ feel empowered in the situation. Just because the doormat, the signage, the mission statement or they personally say ‘You’re welcome here’, does not mean that I have automatically been made to feel welcome, and when the racisms I critique are condoned or denied, that welcome means nothing.

...

http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/intersectionality

It's gotta be something in the water that all these people who have had enough are all over the place, demanding major attitude readjustments recently.

Slutwalk lol. They responded... were very defensive and did nothing at the time. But I'm not holding it against them right now because it's

" just the beginning. See, Slutwalk is one of the many long, long conversations about relationships between feminism, racism, class, nation-states, colonization, and power. We’ve got more than 70 posts on feminism and its discontents on our blog alone. And it’s a big, big internet with many others debating, writing, blogging.

So at this point, these aren’t accidents – it’s willful ignorance. One of the respondents says she’s fifteen – that she really didn’t think about all of those things. She’s still early in her walk, and people can change, if they chose to.

Unfortunately, as we see from the continuation on the thread, some people don’t want to understand why women of color would be angry at that phrase, and they don’t care why John Lennon isn’t the best representative on race issues. As Miles pointed out yesterday in the comments to the original post, some “white people just want to say the word nigger.”

And that they have.

The message – and the subtext – came through loud and clear. It just wasn’t the one they meant. "

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

I'm also not holding it against them because, after their initial defensiveness, they started doing a whole lot of talking internally

We recognize that SlutWalks around the world have been critiqued from anti-racist standpoints since the first Walk. We agree with many of these critiques, and have attempted to engage with them in our organizing. We recognize that under the banner of SlutWalk, we put logistics over politics in many cases, and that this was a failing. But now as we are moving forward, we realize that we cannot cultivate an identity as a coalition without upholding all of the intersecting identities of our organizers and participants.

....

We realize that privilege within our movement must continue to be decentered. We are currently searching for strategies to resist replicating oppressive patterns within our organizing. We are willing to do this work for the rest of our lives, because we recognize that anti-oppression is life-long work. We recognize that we cannot do this on our own. We need to look to radical communities whose knowledge and experiences are as diverse as we wish to be.

...

10/8/11

http://slutwalknyc.com/post/11198191308/to-our-community-we-are-responding-to-the-outcry

We've come a long way baby but by no means of the imagination are we anywhere near *there* yet.

I'm posting this with no comment, no endorsement either because I know what happens when intersectional people stand in the middle of the road and can see both sides of things. Then there's the problem with messy generalizations.

Me: Hey, so I've noticed that Slutwalk is using the "N" word in their campaign and it's actually quite hurtful and dismissive of the Black Women involved.

White Feminist: OMG! YOU DON'T GET IT! They're using it figuratively, so why do you feel offended? Nobody called you that! You're the only racist around here!

Me: *listening to rap music*

White Feminist: WHAT'S WRONG WITH U OMGAWSH!?!?! Why would you listen to such garbage, it's offensive to me that you're allowing yourself to be oppressed! UGH!

http://getsnarly.tumblr.com/post/17509539343/me-hey-so-ive-noticed-that-slutwalk-is-using

Tumbler? A new one? Thanks StarryMessenger.

[Starry Messenger]

10. I had a feeling you would like tumblr.

I saw that article with the certificate yesterday, it's so brilliant. When 'friendly fire' blasts away from what is supposed to be 'your side', it's worse than some of the outright obvious hate. It's like an extra reminder from the world, that there is really nowhere safe.

I'm glad SlutWalk is doing some reflection. This episode brought back memories of an arts organization that tried to get started in the neighborhood I was living in in Oakland at the time, which is primarily Latino/a. I didn't join it, so I have this story second-hand, but basically a bunch of warehouse dwellers got together and formed an association of artists, put together a name that referenced the neighborhood name and put together a mission statement etc.

It was finally brought to their attention that there had been artists living in the neighborhood for decades already, Latino and Latina, and that the newer white artists who had just moved in, coming in and saying "Hey, we're the arts organization", was hugely arrogant and blind. My partner was on the list-serv for the org. and there were huge faily emails of "Oh god, we didn't know, we're not bad people". "Hey, they can join, we're diverse!" on and on. I don't think they ever got to that place of "Shit, we fucked up. We need to do something about that."

[justiceischeap]

2. Thanks for cross-posting this Catherina!

It's a great read.

As far as this year being interesting, I have friends that believe all the 2012 hype but they believe instead of the world coming to an end, that it's more a time of change. I don't know if I subscribe to their beliefs but who knows, it sure seems some tides are turning.

[Catherina]

6. I don't dare put my thoughts about 2012 in words here

because people would laugh but I think there's something to it. All three major JudeoChristian religions pinpointed this time and whether or not their pinpointing was true, certain people are doing all they can to speed things along.

I've seen non religious people feel that same sense of urgency, especially young people.

I posted this here last year but it's still a favorite. It's a good expression of that urgency


http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/_/12004639/Keny+Arkana+7383kenyarkana.jpg

Don't cry my sister, 'cause you carry the world
noble is your heart, believe in yourself and get up
don't listen the bastards who want to see you sad
Even mother earth is sick, but mother earth is resisting

...

the big day is coming, don't you see the signs?
death doesn't exist, it's just the end of the cycles
this end takes shape, humanity decimates itself
indigo hope, the Pleiades are choosing us
raise your head and understand
feel the strength in your soul
rise above babylon,
solve the mystery
nothing's coming by chance,
heaven bless you,
children of the 5th sun, understand what's between the lines

(spoken)

understand between the lines,
children of the 5th sun
the sun is in you.
shine your interior light to illuminate the chaos of their world
we're not here by accident
the Pleiades are choosing us
raise your head
understand what's written between the lines
listen to your heart
disobedience
because the truth is inside us
because the solution is inside us
because the life is inside us
because the life is inside us

[Whisp]

11. Those words remind me of Hopi Elder speaks:

A Hopi Elder Speaks
"You have been telling the people that this is the Eleventh Hour, now you must go back and tell the people that this is the Hour. And there are things to be considered . . .

Where are you living?
What are you doing?
What are your relationships?
Are you in right relation?
Where is your water?
Know your garden.
It is time to speak your Truth.
Create your community.
Be good to each other.
And do not look outside yourself for the leader."

Then he clasped his hands together, smiled, and said, "This could be a good time!"

"There is a river flowing now very fast. It is so great and swift that there are those who will be afraid. They will try to hold on to the shore. They will feel they are torn apart and will suffer greatly.

"Know the river has its destination. The elders say we must let go of the shore, push off into the middle of the river, keep our eyes open, and our heads above water. And I say, see who is in there with you and celebrate. At this time in history, we are to take nothing personally, Least of all ourselves. For the moment that we do, our spiritual growth and journey comes to a halt.

"The time for the lone wolf is over. Gather yourselves! Banish the word struggle from you attitude and your vocabulary. All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration.

"We are the ones we've been waiting for."

-- attributed to an unnamed Hopi elder
Hopi Nation
Oraibi, Arizona

[Catherina]

12. Thanks for sharing that

It's beautiful. Is that where "We are the ones we've been waiting for" came from?

[Whisp]

13. I'm not sure, Catherina. That might be so.

[Rex]

4. I will have to read both posts a few times before I

can really comment on the subject. There is a huge amount of information to digest.

[Catherina]

7. I read it so many times and am still digesting it

Everytime I think I got it, some other twist pops up.