Somersaultr

Feminist texts written by women of color

This list is still a work in progress, but I really wanted to get it posted. I have either read parts of/all of the texts below or they have been recommended to me. Please reblog and add your own suggestions to the list. Each time someone adds something new, I’ll go back to this original post and make sure to include them. Thanks and enjoy!

Books

Women, Race, and Class by Angela Davis

Women Culture and Politics by Angela Davis

Black Feminist Thought by Patricia Hill Collins

Borderlands/La frontera: The New Mestiza by Gloria Anzaldua

Aint I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism by bell hooks

Feminism is for Everybody by bell hooks

Feminist Theory from Margin to Center by bell hooks

Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde

Feminism without Borders: Decolonizing Theory, Practicing Solidarity by Chandra Talpade Mohanty

Medicine Stories by Aurora Levins Morales

Reimagining Equality: Stories of Gender, Race, and Finding Home by Anita Hill

Killing the Black Body: Race, Reproduction, and the Meaning of Liberty by Jessica Yee

Conquest: Sexual Violence and American Indian Genocide by Andrea Smith

Anthologies

Companeras: Latina Lesbians by Juanita Ramos and the Lesbian History Project

Colonize This! Young Women of Color on Today’s Feminism edited by Daisy Hernandez

This Bridge Called My Back edited by Cherríe Moraga and Gloria Anzaldúa

this bridge we call home: radical visions for transformation edited by Gloria Anzaldúa and AnaLouise Keating

Making Face, Making Soul/Haciendo Caras: Creative and Critical Perspectives by Feminists of Color edited by Gloria Anzaldúa

Women Writing Resistance: Essays from Latin America and the Caribbean edited by Jennifer Browdy de Hernandez

Unequal Sisters edited by Ellen DuBois and Vicki Ruiz

The Color of Violence: The Incite! Anthology

Essays

“Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence” by Adrienne Rich

“Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence Against Women of Color.” by Kimberle Crenshaw

The Combahee River Collective Statement

Other authors and poets you should know

Maya Angelou

Toni Morrison

Alice Walker

Nawaal El Sadaawi

Mary Crow Dog

Zora Neale Hurston

Arundhati Roy

Zadie Smith

Dorothy Roberts

Nikki Giovanni (submitted by my bff maskofmaterials)

Lucille Clifton (submitted by my bff maskofmaterials)

(via glamaphonic)

6 months ago 4,324 notes

Things People Need To Stop Believing

panasonicyouth:

jaded16india:

As a dusty third worldling, one of the things I learnt first was to see if there were other dusty people in the room whenever I go to any transnational feminist conferences. Something else I also learnt is to not expect ‘solidarity’ from anyone unless expressly proven otherwise — and these views are a result of the way people view me and my body in notIndia, what people assume of me in most internet spaces and fandoms. My friend and I compiled this list comprising of a few of the most repetitive and inane stereotypes that we’ve encountered of Third World Women. By no means is this list exhaustive, feel free to add your experiences in the comments — and tread carefully, the list is full of racial slurs and epithets.

1. We’re not disposable objects or your fetish or ‘flavour’ of the month. Not all Third World Women are ‘women’, but we don’t have the choice to identify the way we want, because exotification gets in the way of our special plans.

2. Not all Third World Women live in lands that are in a state of constant war. We exist in cities, between towns and villages — many in the West. There is no fixity of geo-political location, we don’t need to be in the Third World to be marginalised.

3. Not all of us live in tin shacks or mud houses, like every other group we too are scattered across classes and communities across the planet.

4. In popular culture and media, if Third World Women characters don’t wear shiny and bright colours, reality will not crack I assure you.

5. Hospitals exist in the third world too. So not all Third World Women need to squat in bushes to give birth.

6. Third World Women aren’t all ‘irresponsible mothers’ or ‘birthing cows’ because they have children at [x] age instead of the more socially ‘forward’ and ‘acceptable’ [y] age. I can vouch that the world will not come to an end if you don’t see Third World Women as ‘bad people’ for ‘not knowing better’ and ‘not having careers’.

7. We’re not your ‘Eternal She’, Earth Mother, Infinite Vessel, [Insert Inappropriate Phrase That focuses And Equates Sex Organ With Gender Here].

8. We are capable of doing more than care-taking children, cleaning houses and sewing immaculate quilts. We exist in all fields of work, equating every Third World Woman as a sweatshop worker is not necessary.

9. There is no situation where phrases like ‘exotic princess’ can be considered a compliment, even more so if this ‘compliment’ is based solely on skin hue.

10. We’re not always natural cooks or nurturing ‘goddesses’. We can do said jobs if need be, doesn’t mean we’re ‘more’ adept at menial jobs than anyone else.

11. We’re not ‘eager’ to dispense dusty wisdom and folktales on demand — especially about breastfeeding or childbirth. Take a close look at the Not All Third World Women Are ‘Women’ bit here.

12. No, we cannot be ‘purchased’ outright — definitely not if the sole ‘value’ that decides the ‘purchase’ are our hues.

13. When we say ‘no’ we mean ‘NO’ too. So saying ‘we can’t decipher your tongues’ is not an excuse.

14. Third World Women aren’t always looking to ‘entice’ White Men. Shocking, I know!

15. We’re more than just ‘enticing eyes’, or ‘gorgeous hair’ — we’re people and not body parts.

16. Most of us don’t have names like ‘Kali’, ‘Sarasvati’, [Insert Name Of Exotic Goddess], generally because we know the magnitude behind adopting such names and the cultural significance they carry.

17. If Third World Women have voice parts in popular media, the world will not turn upside down. Especially not if the said voice parts don’t involve being in the hotel industry.

18. Representation of Third World Women that doesn’t posit the hijab synonymous to oppression will not mess with Global Time.

19. We don’t like to be compared to food — ‘exotic’ or not.

20. When we’re involved with White people — sexually and otherwise — saying, “You’re a beautiful hue of Brown” isn’t helping anyone get laid.

21. Not all Third World Women roam shoe-less. (Sidenote: how come we can be shoe-less, but can afford to buy dresses? Curious minds want to know).

22. We’re not ‘sexually unrestrained’ — our cultures do not ‘encourage’ “godless unions and perpetual orgies”.

23. Not all of us have British accents, we don’t speak in archaic prose when addressed. And we do speak even when no one addresses us — apparently this is very shocking for people.

24. In the rare instance we do have voice-parts in popular media, and we’re speaking out against the dominant culture, our hair is ‘natural’ and ‘loose’ and ‘wild’.

25. In other rare instances where we do get screen time and space in popular media, we’re freedom fighters, UN refugees, sometimes nurses to Big Important White doctors, almost never as fully developed characters.

26. We’re not ‘natural hard-workers’. Back-breaking straining physical labour isn’t ‘easy’ for us either.

27. As Third World Women, we’re not ‘in tune’ with our ‘natural femininity’. Subservience isn’t coded into our genes.

28. Third World Women are queer too! And still people! Who knew?

29. Contrary to popular opinion, I have on good authority that not all Third World Women despise sex. And we need consensual sex as much as everyone else — even the supposed ‘desperate hookers’ from Pan Asia — and yes, they’re all in one monolithic identity like the rest of us.

30. Some of us speak multiple languages, some don’t. Some have the privilege of speaking in our native tongues and not get shamed for it, some don’t. Don’t expect ALL Third World Women to start ‘shrieking hysterically’ in ‘devilish tongues’ over canned soup.

—-

P.S. Thank you Roshan for your help and company while writing this.

Simply amazing. And much love for Roshan, too! GET ONLINE AND TALK TO ME ABOUT AVATAR, ROSHAN.

(via pseudo-tsuga)

1 year ago 211 notes

Washington Independent: Abortion Ban for American Indians Only (March 5, 2008)

Following scant debate, the Senate last week approved an amendment to an Indian health care bill that would permanently prohibit the use of federal dollars to fund abortions for Native Americans except in rare cases. The move has prompted an outcry from women’s health advocates — who point out that a similar ban has existed on a temporary basis for years — and from tribal groups, who are asking why Native American women should be subject to restrictions not applicable to other ethnic groups. Some charge that the Senate proposal is overtly racist.

The issue is a sensitive one in American Indian communities, where women are statistically more likely to be victims of rape or sexual assault than other American women — but also where victims very rarely use the exceptions to the current federally funded abortion ban in the wake of those crimes. In the face of that discrepancy, advocates say, Congress should encourage victims to take advantage of the available services, not impose tighter restrictions.

(Source: liquornspice, via formerlyroxy)

1 year ago 81 notes

Asian American Teenage Girls Have Highest Rates of Depression

Asian American girls have the highest rates of depressive symptoms of any racial/ethnic or gender group;
Young Asian American women ages 15 to 24 die from suicide at a higher rate than other racial/ethnic groups;
Suicide is the fifth leading cause of death among Asian Americans overall, compared to the ninth leading cause of death for white Americans;

(Source: asiansnotstudying)

1 year ago 20 notes

inkstone:

asiansnotstudying:

Slaying the Dragon: Reloaded, a 30-minute documentary about representations of Asian women in the media today, sponsored by Asian Women United of California and directed by Elaine H. Kim, will be screened at the 29th San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival preceding the feature film, Anna May Wong: In Her Own Words, directed by Yunah Hong.

Oh, they updated it! I watched the original Slaying the Dragon documentary when I was in college for one of my classes.

(via pseudo-tsuga)

1 year ago 302 notes

iambickilometer:

kiriamaya:

[TRIGGER WARNING for murder and trans-hatred]

[Image is a black-and-white picture of Tyra Hunter, a short-haired black woman, wearing what appears to be a turtleneck with a necklace]

abbyjean:

It was the morning of Aug. 7, 1995, and Tyra Hunter, a popular African-American hairdresser, was on her way to work in Washington, D.C. Suddenly, the car she was in was broadsided. In this situation, one would expect that Hunter would have promptly been taken to a hospital, where she would have received whatever medical care she needed. But tragically, and outrageously, that is not what happened. When emergency personnel arrived on the scene, they helped the barely-conscious Hunter out of the car and began treating her, but only until one of them realized she was transgender after cutting open her clothing. At that point, they backed away from her, began laughing at her and taunting her with anti-transgender slurs. They stopped treating her in a life-threatening situation. In what world does someone sworn to help others in emergency situations stop treating them to attack them? When she was finally transported to a hospital, her ordeal didn’t end. Doctors refused to treat her, and by the time she was finally granted medical care, it was too late. Hunter was pronounced dead the same day. (via COLORLINES)

Mandy Carter, “Still No Freedom Rainbow for Transgender People of Color”

Do you see this? This is why it’s important to fight these battles. To stop using those slurs. To tell people their casual language is hurtful, their jokes aren’t funny. Tyra shouldn’t have died. Those emergency personnel should have been mindful enough of their job if nothing else to treat this woman instead of standing back and making jokes. This is disgusting. How can anyone think of such actions as okay? Who can we trust to help us in a crisis if those who are supposed to choose to ridicule us and then murder us by inaction? Because when those paramedics chose to step away from the woman they should have helped, were sworn to help — they as good as killed her themselves.

(via glamaphonic)

1 year ago 1,721 notes

Two years ago today, in a story that shook me to my core, a woman walking her dog found a femur in the desert. She alerted the police, who began a three-month dig, covering a vast area of the mesa near my home. The police found the bodies of 11 women, one of whom was four months pregnant. Many of the women were close to my age and grew up here like me. Were brown like me. Had struggled here, like me. But when these women were found dead, President Obama did not come to town. There was no jam-packed memorial to mourn their lives cut short. What we had instead were devastated families whose greatest fear had been realized when their daughter’s remains were discovered on the mesa. As the story unfolded, terrible sounds echoed in my ears. Not the sounds of the shovels in the desert, but the sound of these lives being erased. Not only through death, but through the official description of the events. The women were not brave heroes who faced histories of poverty, abuse and trauma with the best tools they could find. They were “addicts.” And because they used drugs, many earned money the best way they could—by selling sex. And so they were “prostitutes.” The authorities thought the story could begin and end there: bodies found, case closed. 11 more prostitutes dead. Done. I often found myself wondering if that would that fly if these were 11 white college students found buried under a football field.

–

Eleven Women Murdered in the Arizona Desert and No One Spoke Out (via thetart)

Horrifying.

(via viviopsis)

(via pseudo-tsuga)

1 year ago 797 notes

Are black women invisible? A new study says yes.

roxanneritchi:

so-treu | manifestfreedom:

“According to some it could be because we do not fit the “stereotypical” image of womanhood. Or as the article in Psychology Today puts it, “when people discuss ‘women’s issues’ or when research is conducted on gender bias, the focus is usually on white women. And when people discuss ‘racial issues’ or when research is conducted on racial bias, the focus is usually on black men.”

By Clutch Magazine via the grio

this part in particular breaks my heart:

Not only were the study’s participants unable to pick out black women’s faces, a follow up study found that black women’s voices also tended to go unnoticed/overlooked in group conversations as well. During a follow up study, participants observed a conversation between eight people — two black women, two black men, two white women, and two white men. After the conversation, observers were given a list of comments that were made and asked to attribute them to the correct speaker.

The study showed that the participants had the most difficult time attributing the correct quotes to black women. The findings ultimately showed that participants “were more likely to mix up comments made by the two black female speakers, suggesting that they perceived the two black women as relatively interchangeable.” Also, “participants were also more likely to misattribute the black female speakers’ comments to the other speakers in the group. Taken together, these results indicate that compared to black men.”

not cause it’s nothing i haven’t seen or heard before but there’s something especially disheartening about seeing it backed by science.

(via formerlyroxy)

1 year ago 154 notes

newwavefeminism:

dr-grumbles:

melancolyscholar:

Never Tickle A Sleeping Dragon: Why I love Feminism

melbelle89:

This is a further response to this post,

I hate to get so political and defensive but if there is one thing my mother taught me it is to always to stand up for women’s rights so here is a timeline of important events I believe all females (and males) in America should be…

Hi, Um just going to throw out my opinion on this timeline.

I think it should perhaps be called “THE WHITE PEOPLE’S GUIDE TO FEMINISM, WHERE WE DON’T INCLUED ANY OF PEOPLE OF THE WRONG GENDER, RACE, CLASS ETC.”

None of these bullet point include the problems, both historical and present with feminism. I think that in order to be a feminist one must be willing to think critically about their place in society. I look at this list and all I see is whiteness. No mention of the struggles that WOC have gone and are going through. Like when “women” first got the vote, it was really only WHITE women, who were in the “right” class. Throughout the suffrage movement WOC were denied a voice, denied access, even denied “womanhood” by the white suffragette.

Margaret Sanger, yes she support abortion and birth control. Do you want to know why? SO THAT ONLY THE ~~WHITE~~ RIGHT PEOPLE COULD HAVE BABIES. She was a firm believer in eugenics. That basically means that anyone not deemed fit was foricibly made unable to have children. Even today many women are being sterilized AGAINST THEIR WISHES, because of their race, class or ability.

Birth control in and of itself has a troubled history on it’s own. While it was being tested guess who they tested it on? Women of colour.

This timeline also erases the history of feminisms throughout the world. I don’t just mean the Western World like Canada and the UK, or white feminist impositions on brown women, but actual grassroots movements around the world which help women (and all without the help of us Western White women. Amazing, I know)

This is also a list based upon the Rule of Law. The problem with this is that even though we have laws doesn’t mean that society has adapted to them. The law says that rape is illegal. It still happens, it still prevades our culture in the form of jokes, many movies show rape, victims are blamed for their rape, most rapes go unreported (and no, not reporting a rape does NOT make you a bad victim), women’s previous sex lives can be used against *them* in a rape case, and it is very rare for the accused to be convicted. This is only one way in which the law really doesn’t mirror reality or even protect women. It is not so much laws that need to be changed but our attitudes.

Now don’t get me wrong. I am, in fact, an ardent feminist. I claim that name for myself, but I am not going to push it on anyone else and I am certainly not going to let it go unquestioned either as a historical movement or as a set of values and goals that I set for myself.

This is very important commentary that needs to be seen.

I have to admit, whenever i see posts on tumblr about Elizabeth Cady Stanton concerning feminism i always wanna reblog saying “i’m pretty sure she was racist guys… her speeches definitely said women deserved to vote more than blacks.” But for some reason… i don’t say these type of things that need to be said.

I always take for granted the fact that i’m a women of color and already look at feminism through a critical eye, and that most people aren’t already aware of the issues i’m aware of. I love looking at the history of feminism because I love seeing how far it’s come and all the people along the way who made sure to incorporate their voice. I think one of the first feminist pieces i’ve ever read was bell hooks. (I think i’ll post some quotes later)

I mention these issues every once in a while, but i think it’s time to make a point to represent these types of views a lot more. The intersectedness of oppression. Issues of global feminism and how western feminism tends to stop outside of the American bubble. There are still a lot of issues when it comes to mainstream feminism. Here’s a story: A professor of mine, who grew up in poverty, is a specialist on class issues and a part of the womens studies department at my college. Whenever the department would campaign around an issue (for example, breast cancer) professor adair would always make a point to insert how class plays a factor (for example, poor womens access to health centers) and it would always be at this point all the other professors would roll their eyes in a “we get it, you used to be poor. get over it” kind of way. It’s kind of disgusting. It’s like everyone is super excited to supposedly fight for the rights of women, but only the women who already have resources to fight for themselves. The women who are the most affected by laws that make abortion harder to gain access in low income areas. Women on welfare who literally get penalized through the system for having children out of wedlock at a certain age and are forced to work low paying, non flexible jobs in order to get enough foodstamps to eat. The women all over the world who are working in sweat shops for pennies a day so they can make those (overpriced) champion hoodies every college campus has in their bookstore - those are the women we should be out on the streets with picket signs for.

These are things you wouldn’t realize is a problem if it were for mainstream feminism. We have to challenge the dominant culture and introduce previously ignored issues in the feminist community. We have to be open to listen to uncomfortable opinions on things.

I could go on and on about this but i think i’ll just stop here for now. This probably wasn’t as articulate as i would have liked - oh well. Anywho, very very important. Please read.

(extra bolding added by me)

(via )

1 year ago 180 notes

obsessionful:

Chess is One Girl’s Ticket Out of the Slums

Now, this is amazing. Phiona Mutesi, a 14-year-old girl from the Ugandan slums of Katwe, has been recognized as a chess phenom — and has traveled to Russia to compete in the 2010 Chess Olympiad.

Says ESPN, “To be African is to be an underdog in the world. To be Ugandan is to be an underdog in Africa. To be from Katwe is to be an underdog in Uganda. And finally, to be female is to be an underdog in Katwe.”

Mutesi learned chess from Robert Katende, a young man who coaches kids in the town of Katwe. She quickly proved gifted.

Click through for the ESPN article.

(Source: obsessionfull, via agent355)

1 year ago 223 notes

We are two soon-to-be PhDs within Asian American Studies who want to think and write about what it means to be Asian American, but who struggle with the limits of academia, in the kinds of questions it allows and answers it provides. We are left wanting, as we struggle to reconcile our knowledges and our questions, our intellectual pursuits and our daily lives, our selves and our various communities. So we decided to start this blog, a space where the two of us as individuals and as conversation partners can reflect on our own experiences and our encounters with the social and cultural world. Here, we share our thoughts and feelings as we explore the possibilities and limits of our Asian American women of color queer feminist identities and politics, in the hopes that we can think (and write and act) our way out of the deathly conditions that structure our lives.

–

Hello! « not that kind of asian doctor (via curate)

not even gonna lie this will prooobably be my new homepage

(via dancingonembers)

Must bookmark.

(via sheresists)

signal boost

(via genderbitch)

more signal boost (I lol’d at “not that kind of Asian doctor”)

(via glamaphonic)

1 year ago 66 notes

Dana

panasonicyouth:

fuckyeahftmsofcolor:

tqnation:

Trans Atlanta: A look inside an evolving community

As a black man living in the South, Dana Prosser knows he faces certain prejudices — racial profiling, people crossing the street to avoid walking past him on the sidewalk, women locking their car doors when they see him in a parking lot.

That’s why his driver’s license still identifies him as a woman.

Knowing he faces possible repercussions for being a black man, especially by police, having that “F” on his license ensures that, for example, if he is sent to jail, he would be put in with the female population. A trans man locked up with other men in jail could be in real danger, he said.

“On paper, I’m still female,” he says. “I’m a realist.”

Prosser, 35, of Atlanta, began his transition seven years ago, has had top surgery (breasts removed) and takes testosterone. He lives his life as a man, identifies as a man, but knows he still must take precautions.

But now his outer appearance matches what he sees inside his mind, he said. And for that Prosser has Atlanta’s transgender community to thank.

“I come from Columbia, S.C., and would visit Atlanta all the time on the weekends. I didn’t know it was an option until I moved to Atlanta, where you have more of a trans community,” he said.

Struggling with his gender identity put Prosser into a deep depression that resulted in a stay in a psychiatric hospital. There he met a psychiatrist who helped him understand what he was enduring and come to grips with his true identity.

“It was a deep struggle within myself,” he said. “But transitioning was the best decision I made in my life. I’ve been happy ever since.”

As a member of Atlanta’s leather community, Prosser said he found a home long ago while still struggling with his gender identity because in the leather scene there is no strict binary code. People can identify however they want, offering a freedom not always found in other communities, he said.

“There are a lot of transgender people in the leather community because there is not that judgment. Everyone is more accepting,” he said.

Prosser acknowledges he doesn’t go around telling everyone he is a trans man. But if asked, he will be honest.

“It’s about opening people’s eyes. I want people to know there are different people walking amongst you,” he said. “I am who I am.”

Read more

LGBT narratives are often New York/San Francisco/LA-centric, erasing the experiences of queers living in other places such as the South, Midwest, small towns, rural areas, and so on. Here’s an interesting article about the growing trans visibility in Atlanta, Georgia

Read this.

(via pseudo-tsuga)

1 year ago 56 notes

At the Movies: The Warrior’s Way | Audrey Magazine

meatandsarcasm:

crazydonna:

Audrey Magazine has a good article, with interview, about the new movie The Warrior’s Way. (Followers may remember I’ve mentioned this film before).

For a film that some thought would never get made (even [director Sngmoo] Lee originally envisioned a low-budget El Mariachi-like indie), The Warrior’s Way has the star power and backing of some of the biggest names in entertainment around the world. The film is Korean superstar Jang Dong Gun’s American film debut, and also stars Academy Award winner Geoffrey Rush, Kate Bosworth and Danny Huston. Backed by Barrie M. Osbourne, who produced the incredibly successful The Lord of the Rings franchise, and Korean mega-producer Jooick Lee, and featuring the talents of three-time Academy Award winning costume designer James Acheson (The Last Emperor, Dangerous Liaisons), and original music by Javier Navarrete of Pan’s Labyrinth, The Warrior’s Way truly is an international collaboration. (The film itself was shot in New Zealand, almost entirely against green screen.)

I found this Q&A to be particularly interesting:

AM: There really hasn’t been an Asian hero with a Caucasian female love interest in American films. Why do you think developing that storyline was necessary?

SL: I did not originally think about that in the beginning, but I did want to show an Asian male that had a love that was more multidimensional. Because there have been many Asian male heroes, but their role was very limited to the great fighter. I wanted to push the presentation of Asian men as very sexually attractive. Because this kind of love story has never been presented on the big screen in this way before, that was very challenging for me and for the actors. And because it’s groundbreaking, I didn’t have any references. So I had to start from scratch. But the chemistry [between Kate and Dong Gun] was great so when we first met, I really didn’t have to worry about it anymore. After that, it was an automatic process. You wouldn’t view it as, “Oh, she’s Caucasian and he’s Asian.” You would just view it as two great actors loving each other onscreen.

The parts that I bolded really struck me. The idea that Asian guys can be sexually attractive is a new thing in U.S. films? How—who—what—? This never occurred to anyone in Hollywood before? I mean, I know that Hollywood is run by middle-aged white guys, so they like to see white guys as the heroes. But—never?!

Then I try to think of a counter-example.

….

This is where centuries of Yellow Peril, exoticism, and orientalism gives us.

Asian men = Emasculated, asexual. NOT SEXY.

Asian women = China Dolls, Dragon Ladies, geisha dolls (geisha are and were NOT prostitutes by trade historically)

The original ending of Romeo Must Die had Aaliyah and Jet Li kiss, but it didn’t test well because people couldn’t get over the fact that a Chinese man can be sexually attractive to a black woman. Although they flirted a lot during the movie and the movie was a remake of Romeo and Juliet, hence the title.

P.S. Anyone interested in the stereotypes of East Asian and East Asian-American men in American films should watch The Slanted Screen. Mako (r.i.p.), Jason Scott Lee, and Will Yun Lee are among the Asian-American actors interviewed.

It’s true, movie romances involving a Caucasian man paired with an Asian woman are a dime a dozen, but the reverse is depressingly rare.

(Source: madladyrandom, via pseudo-tsuga)

1 year ago 8 notes

Feminist texts written by women of color

mylifeasafeminista:

This list is still a work in progress, but I really wanted to get it posted. I have either read parts of/all of the texts below or they have been recommended to me. Please reblog and add your own suggestions to the list. Each time someone adds something new, I’ll go back to this original post and make sure to include them. Thanks and enjoy!

Books

Women, Race, and Class by Angela Davis

Women Culture and Politics by Angela Davis

Black Feminist Thought by Patricia Hill Collins

Borderlands/La frontera: The New Mestiza by Gloria Anzaldua

Aint I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism by bell hooks

Feminism is for Everybody by bell hooks

Feminist Theory from Margin to Center by bell hooks

Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde

Feminism without Borders: Decolonizing Theory, Practicing Solidarity by Chandra Talpade Mohanty

Medicine Stories by Aurora Levins Morales

Reimagining Equality: Stories of Gender, Race, and Finding Home by Anita Hill

Killing the Black Body: Race, Reproduction, and the Meaning of Liberty by Jessica Yee

Conquest: Sexual Violence and American Indian Genocide by Andrea Smith

Anthologies

Companeras: Latina Lesbians by Juanita Ramos and the Lesbian History Project

Colonize This! Young Women of Color on Today’s Feminism edited by Daisy Hernandez

This Bridge Called My Back edited by Cherríe Moraga and Gloria Anzaldúa

this bridge we call home: radical visions for transformation edited by Gloria Anzaldúa and AnaLouise Keating

Making Face, Making Soul/Haciendo Caras: Creative and Critical Perspectives by Feminists of Color edited by Gloria Anzaldúa

Women Writing Resistance: Essays from Latin America and the Caribbean edited by Jennifer Browdy de Hernandez

Unequal Sisters edited by Ellen DuBois and Vicki Ruiz

The Color of Violence: The Incite! Anthology

Essays

“Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence” by Adrienne Rich

“Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence Against Women of Color.” by Kimberle Crenshaw

The Combahee River Collective Statement

Other authors and poets you should know

Maya Angelou

Toni Morrison

Alice Walker

Nawaal El Sadaawi

Mary Crow Dog

Zora Neale Hurston

Arundhati Roy

Zadie Smith

Dorothy Roberts

Nikki Giovanni (submitted by my bff maskofmaterials)

Lucille Clifton (submitted by my bff maskofmaterials)

(via glamaphonic)

Things People Need To Stop Believing

panasonicyouth:

jaded16india:

As a dusty third worldling, one of the things I learnt first was to see if there were other dusty people in the room whenever I go to any transnational feminist conferences. Something else I also learnt is to not expect ‘solidarity’ from anyone unless expressly proven otherwise — and these views are a result of the way people view me and my body in notIndia, what people assume of me in most internet spaces and fandoms. My friend and I compiled this list comprising of a few of the most repetitive and inane stereotypes that we’ve encountered of Third World Women. By no means is this list exhaustive, feel free to add your experiences in the comments — and tread carefully, the list is full of racial slurs and epithets.

1. We’re not disposable objects or your fetish or ‘flavour’ of the month. Not all Third World Women are ‘women’, but we don’t have the choice to identify the way we want, because exotification gets in the way of our special plans.

2. Not all Third World Women live in lands that are in a state of constant war. We exist in cities, between towns and villages — many in the West. There is no fixity of geo-political location, we don’t need to be in the Third World to be marginalised.

3. Not all of us live in tin shacks or mud houses, like every other group we too are scattered across classes and communities across the planet.

4. In popular culture and media, if Third World Women characters don’t wear shiny and bright colours, reality will not crack I assure you.

5. Hospitals exist in the third world too. So not all Third World Women need to squat in bushes to give birth.

6. Third World Women aren’t all ‘irresponsible mothers’ or ‘birthing cows’ because they have children at [x] age instead of the more socially ‘forward’ and ‘acceptable’ [y] age. I can vouch that the world will not come to an end if you don’t see Third World Women as ‘bad people’ for ‘not knowing better’ and ‘not having careers’.

7. We’re not your ‘Eternal She’, Earth Mother, Infinite Vessel, [Insert Inappropriate Phrase That focuses And Equates Sex Organ With Gender Here].

8. We are capable of doing more than care-taking children, cleaning houses and sewing immaculate quilts. We exist in all fields of work, equating every Third World Woman as a sweatshop worker is not necessary.

9. There is no situation where phrases like ‘exotic princess’ can be considered a compliment, even more so if this ‘compliment’ is based solely on skin hue.

10. We’re not always natural cooks or nurturing ‘goddesses’. We can do said jobs if need be, doesn’t mean we’re ‘more’ adept at menial jobs than anyone else.

11. We’re not ‘eager’ to dispense dusty wisdom and folktales on demand — especially about breastfeeding or childbirth. Take a close look at the Not All Third World Women Are ‘Women’ bit here.

12. No, we cannot be ‘purchased’ outright — definitely not if the sole ‘value’ that decides the ‘purchase’ are our hues.

13. When we say ‘no’ we mean ‘NO’ too. So saying ‘we can’t decipher your tongues’ is not an excuse.

14. Third World Women aren’t always looking to ‘entice’ White Men. Shocking, I know!

15. We’re more than just ‘enticing eyes’, or ‘gorgeous hair’ — we’re people and not body parts.

16. Most of us don’t have names like ‘Kali’, ‘Sarasvati’, [Insert Name Of Exotic Goddess], generally because we know the magnitude behind adopting such names and the cultural significance they carry.

17. If Third World Women have voice parts in popular media, the world will not turn upside down. Especially not if the said voice parts don’t involve being in the hotel industry.

18. Representation of Third World Women that doesn’t posit the hijab synonymous to oppression will not mess with Global Time.

19. We don’t like to be compared to food — ‘exotic’ or not.

20. When we’re involved with White people — sexually and otherwise — saying, “You’re a beautiful hue of Brown” isn’t helping anyone get laid.

21. Not all Third World Women roam shoe-less. (Sidenote: how come we can be shoe-less, but can afford to buy dresses? Curious minds want to know).

22. We’re not ‘sexually unrestrained’ — our cultures do not ‘encourage’ “godless unions and perpetual orgies”.

23. Not all of us have British accents, we don’t speak in archaic prose when addressed. And we do speak even when no one addresses us — apparently this is very shocking for people.

24. In the rare instance we do have voice-parts in popular media, and we’re speaking out against the dominant culture, our hair is ‘natural’ and ‘loose’ and ‘wild’.

25. In other rare instances where we do get screen time and space in popular media, we’re freedom fighters, UN refugees, sometimes nurses to Big Important White doctors, almost never as fully developed characters.

26. We’re not ‘natural hard-workers’. Back-breaking straining physical labour isn’t ‘easy’ for us either.

27. As Third World Women, we’re not ‘in tune’ with our ‘natural femininity’. Subservience isn’t coded into our genes.

28. Third World Women are queer too! And still people! Who knew?

29. Contrary to popular opinion, I have on good authority that not all Third World Women despise sex. And we need consensual sex as much as everyone else — even the supposed ‘desperate hookers’ from Pan Asia — and yes, they’re all in one monolithic identity like the rest of us.

30. Some of us speak multiple languages, some don’t. Some have the privilege of speaking in our native tongues and not get shamed for it, some don’t. Don’t expect ALL Third World Women to start ‘shrieking hysterically’ in ‘devilish tongues’ over canned soup.

—-

P.S. Thank you Roshan for your help and company while writing this.

Simply amazing. And much love for Roshan, too! GET ONLINE AND TALK TO ME ABOUT AVATAR, ROSHAN.

(via pseudo-tsuga)

Washington Independent: Abortion Ban for American Indians Only (March 5, 2008)

Following scant debate, the Senate last week approved an amendment to an Indian health care bill that would permanently prohibit the use of federal dollars to fund abortions for Native Americans except in rare cases. The move has prompted an outcry from women’s health advocates — who point out that a similar ban has existed on a temporary basis for years — and from tribal groups, who are asking why Native American women should be subject to restrictions not applicable to other ethnic groups. Some charge that the Senate proposal is overtly racist.

The issue is a sensitive one in American Indian communities, where women are statistically more likely to be victims of rape or sexual assault than other American women — but also where victims very rarely use the exceptions to the current federally funded abortion ban in the wake of those crimes. In the face of that discrepancy, advocates say, Congress should encourage victims to take advantage of the available services, not impose tighter restrictions.

(Source: liquornspice, via formerlyroxy)

Asian American Teenage Girls Have Highest Rates of Depression

Asian American girls have the highest rates of depressive symptoms of any racial/ethnic or gender group;
Young Asian American women ages 15 to 24 die from suicide at a higher rate than other racial/ethnic groups;
Suicide is the fifth leading cause of death among Asian Americans overall, compared to the ninth leading cause of death for white Americans;

(Source: asiansnotstudying)

Are black women invisible? A new study says yes.

roxanneritchi:

so-treu | manifestfreedom:

“According to some it could be because we do not fit the “stereotypical” image of womanhood. Or as the article in Psychology Today puts it, “when people discuss ‘women’s issues’ or when research is conducted on gender bias, the focus is usually on white women. And when people discuss ‘racial issues’ or when research is conducted on racial bias, the focus is usually on black men.”

By Clutch Magazine via the grio

this part in particular breaks my heart:

Not only were the study’s participants unable to pick out black women’s faces, a follow up study found that black women’s voices also tended to go unnoticed/overlooked in group conversations as well. During a follow up study, participants observed a conversation between eight people — two black women, two black men, two white women, and two white men. After the conversation, observers were given a list of comments that were made and asked to attribute them to the correct speaker.

The study showed that the participants had the most difficult time attributing the correct quotes to black women. The findings ultimately showed that participants “were more likely to mix up comments made by the two black female speakers, suggesting that they perceived the two black women as relatively interchangeable.” Also, “participants were also more likely to misattribute the black female speakers’ comments to the other speakers in the group. Taken together, these results indicate that compared to black men.”

not cause it’s nothing i haven’t seen or heard before but there’s something especially disheartening about seeing it backed by science.

(via formerlyroxy)

Dana

panasonicyouth:

fuckyeahftmsofcolor:

tqnation:

Trans Atlanta: A look inside an evolving community

As a black man living in the South, Dana Prosser knows he faces certain prejudices — racial profiling, people crossing the street to avoid walking past him on the sidewalk, women locking their car doors when they see him in a parking lot.

That’s why his driver’s license still identifies him as a woman.

Knowing he faces possible repercussions for being a black man, especially by police, having that “F” on his license ensures that, for example, if he is sent to jail, he would be put in with the female population. A trans man locked up with other men in jail could be in real danger, he said.

“On paper, I’m still female,” he says. “I’m a realist.”

Prosser, 35, of Atlanta, began his transition seven years ago, has had top surgery (breasts removed) and takes testosterone. He lives his life as a man, identifies as a man, but knows he still must take precautions.

But now his outer appearance matches what he sees inside his mind, he said. And for that Prosser has Atlanta’s transgender community to thank.

“I come from Columbia, S.C., and would visit Atlanta all the time on the weekends. I didn’t know it was an option until I moved to Atlanta, where you have more of a trans community,” he said.

Struggling with his gender identity put Prosser into a deep depression that resulted in a stay in a psychiatric hospital. There he met a psychiatrist who helped him understand what he was enduring and come to grips with his true identity.

“It was a deep struggle within myself,” he said. “But transitioning was the best decision I made in my life. I’ve been happy ever since.”

As a member of Atlanta’s leather community, Prosser said he found a home long ago while still struggling with his gender identity because in the leather scene there is no strict binary code. People can identify however they want, offering a freedom not always found in other communities, he said.

“There are a lot of transgender people in the leather community because there is not that judgment. Everyone is more accepting,” he said.

Prosser acknowledges he doesn’t go around telling everyone he is a trans man. But if asked, he will be honest.

“It’s about opening people’s eyes. I want people to know there are different people walking amongst you,” he said. “I am who I am.”

Read more

LGBT narratives are often New York/San Francisco/LA-centric, erasing the experiences of queers living in other places such as the South, Midwest, small towns, rural areas, and so on. Here’s an interesting article about the growing trans visibility in Atlanta, Georgia

Read this.

(via pseudo-tsuga)

At the Movies: The Warrior’s Way | Audrey Magazine

meatandsarcasm:

crazydonna:

Audrey Magazine has a good article, with interview, about the new movie The Warrior’s Way. (Followers may remember I’ve mentioned this film before).

For a film that some thought would never get made (even [director Sngmoo] Lee originally envisioned a low-budget El Mariachi-like indie), The Warrior’s Way has the star power and backing of some of the biggest names in entertainment around the world. The film is Korean superstar Jang Dong Gun’s American film debut, and also stars Academy Award winner Geoffrey Rush, Kate Bosworth and Danny Huston. Backed by Barrie M. Osbourne, who produced the incredibly successful The Lord of the Rings franchise, and Korean mega-producer Jooick Lee, and featuring the talents of three-time Academy Award winning costume designer James Acheson (The Last Emperor, Dangerous Liaisons), and original music by Javier Navarrete of Pan’s Labyrinth, The Warrior’s Way truly is an international collaboration. (The film itself was shot in New Zealand, almost entirely against green screen.)

I found this Q&A to be particularly interesting:

AM: There really hasn’t been an Asian hero with a Caucasian female love interest in American films. Why do you think developing that storyline was necessary?

SL: I did not originally think about that in the beginning, but I did want to show an Asian male that had a love that was more multidimensional. Because there have been many Asian male heroes, but their role was very limited to the great fighter. I wanted to push the presentation of Asian men as very sexually attractive. Because this kind of love story has never been presented on the big screen in this way before, that was very challenging for me and for the actors. And because it’s groundbreaking, I didn’t have any references. So I had to start from scratch. But the chemistry [between Kate and Dong Gun] was great so when we first met, I really didn’t have to worry about it anymore. After that, it was an automatic process. You wouldn’t view it as, “Oh, she’s Caucasian and he’s Asian.” You would just view it as two great actors loving each other onscreen.

The parts that I bolded really struck me. The idea that Asian guys can be sexually attractive is a new thing in U.S. films? How—who—what—? This never occurred to anyone in Hollywood before? I mean, I know that Hollywood is run by middle-aged white guys, so they like to see white guys as the heroes. But—never?!

Then I try to think of a counter-example.

….

This is where centuries of Yellow Peril, exoticism, and orientalism gives us.

Asian men = Emasculated, asexual. NOT SEXY.

Asian women = China Dolls, Dragon Ladies, geisha dolls (geisha are and were NOT prostitutes by trade historically)

The original ending of Romeo Must Die had Aaliyah and Jet Li kiss, but it didn’t test well because people couldn’t get over the fact that a Chinese man can be sexually attractive to a black woman. Although they flirted a lot during the movie and the movie was a remake of Romeo and Juliet, hence the title.

P.S. Anyone interested in the stereotypes of East Asian and East Asian-American men in American films should watch The Slanted Screen. Mako (r.i.p.), Jason Scott Lee, and Will Yun Lee are among the Asian-American actors interviewed.

It’s true, movie romances involving a Caucasian man paired with an Asian woman are a dime a dozen, but the reverse is depressingly rare.

(Source: madladyrandom, via pseudo-tsuga)

Feminist texts written by women of color

Things People Need To Stop Believing

Washington Independent: Abortion Ban for American Indians Only (March 5, 2008)

Asian American Teenage Girls Have Highest Rates of Depression

Are black women invisible? A new study says yes.

Dana

Trans Atlanta: A look inside an evolving community

At the Movies: The Warrior’s Way | Audrey Magazine

Feminist texts written by women of color

Things People Need To Stop Believing

Washington Independent: Abortion Ban for American Indians Only (March 5, 2008)

Asian American Teenage Girls Have Highest Rates of Depression

Are black women invisible? A new study says yes.

Dana

Trans Atlanta: A look inside an evolving community

At the Movies: The Warrior’s Way | Audrey Magazine

Somersaultr

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