Links all around March 30, 2009

I missed two weeks of updating, despite me saying I didn’t want to do that, not for a lack of topics to write about, but other, more immediately pressing life stuff got in the way. I probably won’t be updating too much in the next two weeks (which I hate to say, because then I always think up something to write) because I’m desperately trying to graduate this year in spite of everything. It’s taking up so much of my time that I’ve started being – gulp – nice to people just because it’s less time consuming than yelling at them about why they’re being obtuse.

However! There are some things happening on the Internet that I would like to point out to readers because they are brilliant initiatives, and good reads.

One of the main reasons I started this post was to point out Raven’s Eye. This is a space for women/trans people of colour to convene and talk about issues relating to us. The posts are usually cross posted from other blogs so that we can follow conversations with others like ourselves we might not even know are happening elsewhere in blogland.

Renee of Womanist Musings and Monica of TransGriot are heading towards their third week of hosting a web/blog radio show featuring topics on anti-racist feminism. You can catch recordings of the first two episodes at the link, and tune in on Sundays SATURDAYS at 4PM (I think EST? I dunno. I always miss it – maybe because it’s actually on Saturday and not Sunday. Oy.)

debunkingwhite, a community on LiveJournal has recently started a growing “basics” post on whiteness in anti-racism that can serve as a good resource.

Also on LJ is the “Writers of Colour 50 Book Challenge“, challenging people to read at least 50 books written by people of colour, in a year, or other time frame you set for yourself. A lot of attention has been brought to it lately given all the brouhaha about Racefail ‘09, which I am not even going to start on, lest I not graduate because of high blood pressure induced by clueless people. Check out the community for recommendations, resources, and reviews of books, non-fiction and fiction included.

Speaking of Racefail ‘09 and LJ (again), it’s good to be proactive. Check out Verb Noire, an independent press that has just launched with the goal of printing works featuring  underrepresented and otherwise marginalized topics/characters. Read this post explaining who is behind it and what the press is all about. If you’re feeling particularly generous, donate to help them keep going.

So, that’s that. Go read and partake and participate. If you have anything else to add, drop a note in the comments.

2nd WOC & Allies carnival is up! March 16, 2009

WOC and Allies Have Something To Say is up at Tell It WOC Speak! I am honoured that one of my posts is the featured post this month. As with the first carnival, there is an amazing array of posts by women of colour and allies that you should definitely read.

Since the first carnival last month, I have been thinking about the ways I’ve sold myself short when it comes to this sort of stuff. Inside and outside of feminist circles, women of colour are taught that we do not have ownership of our experiences and our emotions, that we are not authorities of our own lives. We live in a world that we are not authorities of our own lives and lived experiences, and that we need some kind of cred (academic or not) to warrant sharing our thoughts. We are subtly told we need to be legitimated somehow.

This type of understanding is insidious, and yes, not limited to women of colour. (It can be applied to other relationships of power between the oppressor and the oppressed.) As a writer, I’ve overcome the fear of submitting articles and letters for print in general, but on topics of oppression, I still have a fear with no particular name. I had wanted to submit something for the first carnival, but I found myself second guessing if any of my posts were good enough, and if I could possibly write something that is relatable to other women of colour. Yes, even though it is a space for the voices of women of colour. I had similar thoughts when I sat on my hands about starting a blog – the main question being, “how the hell could I possibly match up as a WOC blogger…?”, “But my grammar!!! oh and spelling” and “I can’t articulate like [insert any WOC blogger here who is not me].” I was thinking about it in the wrong way, though. I’m not writing to represent women of colour everywhere. I’m writing to represent myself.  

What I am trying to say is: I am glad this type of carnival exists, that I actually submitted something despite all my useless hand wringing, and so long as there are women of colour on the Internet, there will be a carnival like this. Your lived experiences, your power, your pain, your truth – no matter how or where you say it – they are all valuable.

Link: The Top Five Ways That White Feminists Continue To Discredit Women of Color March 9, 2009

Guest post by Aaminah Hernández at Problem Chylde:

1) Say we are too “involved” or biased in regards to the subject, and claim that you are more “objective”.

This is frequently done to silence people who are trying to tell their own story. Academia is famous for this, but it happens outside academia as well. For example, who are the acknowledged “experts” about our cultures, religions, and lives? Why are there white upper-class men teaching Women’s studies, white upper-class women teaching African or Latin American studies, and white upper-class Christians or atheists teaching Islamic studies? Why does the media go to people outside the group they are speaking about to ask their opinion and views on a subject? [...]

Read the rest.

On fundamentally missing the point of WOC-only spaces March 5, 2009

Yeah, I’m talking about so-called white feminist allies who want to question the need for WOC spaces.

Yeah, I’m talking about so-called white feminist allies who get defensive when someone points out structural white privilege in action, start lashing out at imaginary threats, which they then rationalize as people/women of colour in general, and make the whole thing about how victimized they are because they imagined someone calling them racist.

Yeah, I went there, offline buddies.

Why we need WOC only spaces:

Healing.

Oppression hurts. It cuts deep. Not all of us know how to deal with it without unknowingly hurting ourselves. Not all of us have the words to relay what we are feeling. Not all of us have the ability to speak out, because though silence isn’t comforting, it’s familiar. WOC only spaces give us a chance to discuss and listen to similar kinds of hurt without having to pander to whiteness. This doesn’t mean that other WOC will not come to the defense of whiteness, or become defensive/offended on behalf of whiteness, but the presence of whiteness in the space automatically makes many WOC feel like they have to watch what they say in order to not offend that whiteness. This doesn’t mean that WOC cannot disagree, or approach oppression differently, because we are all different people. We have chances to speak freely, question systems of domination, and each other in a collective environment. We are not alone. We can speak freely without having to resort to Racism 101 For White People, and any hand holding is done for the benefit of POC… not whiteness. 

Turning our anger into positive social change.

I would argue that looking after ourselves and allowing ourselves to heal by voicing our experiences is positive change and not to be frowned upon. It’s unreasonable to expect every WOC-only space to have a mandate of political action. I don’t believe that that all WOC only spaces need to do more than looking after ourselves, because WOC have been taught to never look after ourselves, and only give, give, give. That said, WOC only spaces allow us to engage in consciousness raising with each other, and to turn our anger into constructive anger and action, even if it is in our day to day lives. The existence of WOC only spaces that strive to be safe, inclusive, and welcoming to women of colour yields the opportunity to organize collectively when it is most needed. If we can develop a space where we find support that we do not get from the rest of the world, we are more likely to be motivated to effect social change by working together to find solutions.

So, for those white feminists who are missing the point of WOC only spaces, saying that women of colour are “segregating themselves” and forming vicious little cliques where we hate on white women…

… did you ever consider that it’s not always about you?