The Black Girl's Manifesto: The Basic Rights of Femininity
Monday, April 26, 2010 at 8:04AM The Blogmother One week left in script frenzy and mamacita is fighting to make it to the end. I got two weeks behind, but I turned on all cylinders this weekend and I am in the final stretch. I am more motivated than ever and I am truly enjoying learning by doing. To all my fellow Soul Sistahs out there participating in Script Frenzy, onward and upward.
One great way to pass on great posts on other blogs is by posting them on the What About Our Daughters Network. That's where I discovered this post "The Black Girl's Manifesto: The Basic Rights of Femininity" I will not post the entire thing. But this was great because it gave me some great ideas.
16. Black women have the right to social and cultural freedom and identity. Like black men, black women have the RIGHT to talk about their experiences SOLELY in society without the contexts of black men and to demand their issues be addressed over the stereotypes that prevent it. Nerds Evolving
Can I get an AMEN! I LOVE the trolls that try to stroll up in here and DEMAND that a blog called WHAT ABOUT OUR DAUGHTERS talk about anybody else other than Black women and girls. Its like the idea of Black women caring about hte plight of other Black women and girls is a threat to them.
11. Black women and girls have the right to expose the lie that hip hop speaks about "the experiences and reality" of black neighborhoods, when it is actually about preserving hegemonic masculinity by showing that black women aren't worthy of empathy from outsiders for having to deal with the consequences of hegemonic masculinity.Nerds Evolving
Translation- The hip Hop industrial complex isn't about "art" or being the voice of the street, but about, male supremacy and encouraging those from the outside who might intervene in the exploitation and destruction of Black women to remain on the sidelines. As long as the abuse is Black on Black its permitted.The modern incarnation of Hip Hop is Black-woman-oppression propaganda.
29. Black women must have the right to be hurt by the lie that we are less feminine, less vulnerable, less desirable and less hated than other women. Nerds Evolving
Preach sister! Ain't I a woman? Y'all are not superwomen. When you get pricked, you bleed. You have the right to feel a full range of emotions including ANGER and frustration. Stoicism is another word for LIVING DEAD!
She then ends it with a Declaration of Rights of Black Women
I have the right to change who I am, to experience personal growth, to go through "phases", and to grapple with my identity, to grow up and to change my political views with age because I am human, like other black females.
- I have the right to discuss my experiences in a public forum regardless of those who benefit from them being "uncomfortable" with the subject matter.
- I have the right to acknowledge that my body is viewed as deviant because I am shapely, and that I must want attention for something I was biologically predetermined to have, and that I should accept that I deserve everything from leering stares to sexual exploitation. Nerds Evolving
I would love to produce this in video form. I think it would totally rock.
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Reader Comments (16)
What a way to start a Monday morning. TY for sharing. Keep shining. Best wishes on your script. Keep taking great care of your spirit, mind, heart, and body.
I doing the cabbage path over here LOL
"I would love to produce this in video form."...I would love that too!!!!
People forget that we(black women) are human and have emotions too.
Great points!!! Thanks for sharing.
Gina, I am sending you a link to this while my WAOD Network membership is awaiting approval. This is a
wonderful, affirming letter from a VERY intelligent 15 year old girl to BET. If I didn't know better I'd say you have a child out there you have yet to meet:
http://www.theroot.com/buzz/15-year-old-honor-student-writes-bet-letter
You are so busy, I know you may not be able to read the entire letter until much later. So here's an excerpt. You gotta love a 15 year old honor student who comes up with "Buffoonery exists today" and "Blacks embarrasing Themselves" for BET!
"...Why do you hate us?
All of the values that my parents seek to instill in me and my brothers seems to be contradicted by a more powerful force from the media, and your show is at the forefront. Your network is the only network that features rap videos and shows exclusively to children of my color. I know that you have no control over the music that the artists put out, but you do have influence as to how you air these videos. I’m sure if a stand was taken to use the talent in your organization to actually crank out thought-provoking entertaining shows and videos, then artists will follow suit. Being that they need you as much as you need them...There was one awkward segment in the BET Awards when Jamie Foxx singled out three black doctors-turned-authors, but the introduction was so powerless that many of the viewers had no idea who they were. Had they been introduced as Sampson Davis, Rameck Hunt and George Jenkins, three brothers who overcame major obstacles to become a success without the use of lyrics that berate women, the sell of substance that destroy communities or through raps about loose gunplay, then maybe my classmates would have come to school talking about more than Beyonce, T-Pain’s BIG ASS CHAIN and Soulja Boy Tell Em’s hopping out the bed.
But they weren’t introduced like that. It seemed like a throwaway obligatory tribute to appease some irritated fans. It missed the mark. Big time. Ask Michelle Obama if she watches BET or encourages Sasha and Malia to do so. Ask President Obama. It’s a reason he is the leader of the free world, and it isn’t because of "Buffoonery Exists Today"
If you don't have time to approve my membership, please make sure someone posts this over on WAOD Network.
Thank you very much!
Thank you, bless you and bless the producers of this manifesto.
I love number 16 about our right to have our own identity seperate from black men. I also love the following which relates to your earlier Erica Jong, Oprah post:
8. Black women and girls have the right to expose the hypocrisy that liberal and progressives take on to be starch racists against black women because they think it's harder for black women to prove it.
9. Black women have the right to expose the sabotage of racist white women who view them as a threat through manipulation, cattiness, and other behaviors camouflaged in a sugary sweet fake persona, particularly in the workforce.
I'm not a big Oprah fan, she started catering to middle-class white women too much for me long ago, but she (a known liberal and probably a long-time Democrat) is getting stomped more for breaking with the woman ranks and supporting Obama over Hillary than is Colon Powell (a conservative Republican) who broke with party and ideology to support him. But then Colon is a man and men can do that sort of thing.
You know she would have caught it just as much from black men if she had picked Hillary over the brother too.
This has been my favorite reading (besides all the common sense you post, Gina) on any of the blogs I read. I think it should be printed and widely distributed and DEFINATELY made into video form. Do it Gina!!!!!
I would love to hear some more stuff from the writer
Thanks for posting my friend Shek's work she did a great job writing this.
Maria. this is actually not a 15 year old girl. It is a composite piece it was first published over at Clutch Magazine.
"I would love to hear some more stuff from the writer"
She also did that article everyone was passing around a bit back "What if Black Women Were White Women?".
""I would love to produce this in video form. I think it would totally rock."
Are you kidding?!?! That would be AWESOME! Please send me the link if ever you do (my email address is on the blog).
"I’m not a big Oprah fan, she started catering to middle-class white women too much for me long ago, but she (a known liberal and probably a long-time Democrat)"
I agree with this. Should've added "Black women have the right to choose our ally's based on sheer strategy as black men and others have done to suit their private interests, and abandon such ally's when they stop serving our collective interests." An example of this is that white liberals are the chief defenders of black male criminology, and sympathizers of black on black violence. I've heard so many liberals use the "black men assault black women and shoot up black neighborhoods because of racism" or "black men are in the criminal justice system only because of racism" line MANY times. This logic is simply not shelled out when these same acts reach white doors, and white neighborhoods. Then it's "well, he deserves the death penalty for assaulting :insert white person: because of this drastic crime, but not all black male criminals are this perverse". Meaning of course, a "true crime" is targeted at whites, and the crimes targeted at black women and girls are a product of unfortunate circumstances outside of anyone's control...
SMFH!
When it comes to such issues as crime, I'm sorry, but I'm more of a republican. Other issues I'm liberal about. Black women make up the MAJORITY of black voters, imagine if groups of us just made a strategic decision to vote republican because of crime. Not only does it force republicans to tackle this issue of crime, not only will the mainstream press say "oh, wait, it's not 'racist' to be anti-crime", more and more black women are showing this", not only will it show democrats that they cannot rely on black female voters and that they have to actually WORK for our votes, but it shows that black women are demanding our issues be taken into consideration.
A~
As long as the abuse is interracial its permitted.
Did you actually mean between races, or within a race (i.e. Black men oppressing Black women)? If the latter, it should read intra-racial, as inter means between.
Gem, let me just tell you. I'm a 44 yo OBGYN with a newly aquired JD. I have worked like a "dog" all of my life. I have lived the way the preacher, the mother the world has told me I should. I just want young BLACK(not kind of black or sort of balck) women to simply live their lives and do what ever it is that will make their lives better. They owe no one anything, since no one seems to value them. Go on young women. Be you, be free and live your lives. Be the best people FOR YOU AND NO ONE ELSE. You don't need a manifesto to claim yourself. God made you first and you are free.
I hope this message goes viral.
This sista is so on point, saying what needs to be said!
Re: This being a composite letter. So I learned after I posted it. It still speaks volumes on the topic. At any rate Congrats on the show and moving forward as a multi-(new) media mover and shaker!