Black sexualisation WoW style

Ok, this is a bit of a rant.

The south bank centre runs the Women of the World WoW festival once a year now and I may be suffering from the fact that nothing is going to compare to the first feeling I got of attending the event, but I was a little disappointed by some of the line up this year.

I went to the sexualisation of black women event hoping for some insightful debate on how black women fare in the realm of sexual imagery.

Indeed, some interesting points were raised about the number of black women who were abused by their partners proportionally and the phenomena of denigrating darker black women's skin tones, which is truly heart breaking.

However, then I felt the debate started to turn a little south.

Troubling ideas

The issue of white women being prized over black women, seems bizarre.

I have to say that is very damning and de-humanising of black men, not saying that they never do this, but the dialogue seemed to tar all black men in this way?

I felt similarly disturbed by claims that black women were punished for not being white.

Physical abuse may have more to do with other social and economic strains affecting black people, rather than because of any desire among black men to punish black women.

Again, not saying it doesn't happen, but I truly believe it's not all about race.

Let's just blame it on race

Then claiming that idealisation of lighter skin tones comes from the white community, it is a very select and privileged set of white people in charge of things like fashion magazines and they serve to dissempower both white and black women by trying to insist on a standard.

The debate started to simply sound prejudiced.

All white women, just like all black women are not the same.

This dialogue helps no one by being purely confrontational.

I have a dream

 I feel this is a more fitting tribute to Maya Angelou than I could muster in a discussion of her poetry.

Everyday racism

On a trip to get some lunch I encountered this:

A man shouting at a woman in the street.

I did not see the beginning of the altercation, but this is how it ended.

Anger

Black mixed race (yes this is relevant) tall bloke shouting at a woman wearing a head scarf with at least one child.

Man: "You bloody immigrants coming here robbing my country."

Bloke looks fit and healthy and in addition is wearing some expensive looking ear phones over his ears.

The woman who is shouting back at him seems to only have the child on her person.

I doubt highly in this moment that the woman has directly taken anything from this man at all.

Hypocrisy

So let me get this straight.

You, the man who more than likely have faced prejudice and racism in your life to get to this point is concerned that this woman and child is going to rob from your country.

On what basis?

Because she's wearing a head scarf.

Does that somehow make her a criminal?

I'm fairly sure that scarf has something to do with religious adherence, not crime.

Well this is embarrassing

Stop making 'your' country look like a disgrace.

I'm pleased that no one else joined in with you.

He may have said our country, I was not recording apart from in my mind.